Bio
One of the UK’s most underrated musical forces, she quit her first band Powder, indie troubadours of the mid-‘90s still fondly remembered by the Camden cognoscenti of the time, after one of her bandmates declared “we don’t want you wobbling around on stage with a massive belly” on hearing she was pregnant. Disgusted with the sexism, she swore never to return to the music business. But for the best artists, a career in music chooses them rather than vice versa and Pearl was soon back in the spotlight with the hotly-tipped Lodger - until the same thing happened again.
Over the course of the past year, she’s been busy writing and recording with her long-term boyfriend, Danny Goffey from Supergrass. A number of their friends have popped into the studio too after hearing the demos - they simply had to get involved with material this good. So former Suede’s singer Brett Anderson and keyboardist Neil Codling feature along with actor Rhys Ifans.
Pearl is justifiably proud of the body of work that she’s recorded. “Looking back at my previous bands, the lyrics weren’t about anything,” she says. “They were nonsense. These are the first songs I’ve written that actually mean something. “These lyrics are about sex, hedonism, having children. It’s real life.” There’s an ultra cool air of Françoise Hardy coupled with a sophisticated jazz air to make the likes of Katie Melua weep. Dramatic, chiaroscuro melodies, the louche sound of a smoke-filled late-night bar tempered with a knowing grin and a cold martini.