Amy Macdonald (1987- ) is a singer and songwriter from Glasgow, Scotland. As I write this in August 2007 her song “Mr Rock ‘n’ Roll” is number 25 in Britain. It is from her first record, “This is the Life”, which came out in Britain at the end of July.
I heard her for the first time on Monday (August 20th) when I heard “Mr Rock ‘n’ Roll” on Virgin Radio from London (over the Internet). I found the song on YouTube and played it over and over again. I could not get enough of it.
It was like the first time I heard Alicia Keys or Norah Jones: a young, beautiful woman with an old soul singing a song that was new and yet sounded timeless.
The three songs of hers I like best so far:
- Mr Rock n Roll
- Run
- Footballer’s Wife
Because she is from Scotland most people will compare her to KT Tunstall. I do not: I hate Tunstall but love Macdonald. Macdonald is darker than Tunstall, not that that would take much.
She most reminds me of U2: in love with the world like the young yet knowing it has a dark side like the old.
She sees herself as continuing the music of the once and wonderful Libertines (check out their “Don’t Look Back at the Sun”). She gets her ideas about music from their lead man Pete Doherty and from Travis. She also has a bit of Johnny Cash, Jack White and Razorlight in her. She grew up on Oasis, The Verve and others.
The Guardian thinks she has no substance, the BBC thinks she has promise while Channel 4 and Radio 2 seem to love her.
She loved Jake Gyllenhaal in the film “Donnie Darko”. Her song “LA” is about him.
When Macdonald was 12 – which was just seven years ago – her grandmother gave her ten pounds (three crowns) to spend on holiday. She bought “The Man Who” by Travis. It changed her life. It gave her a burning desire to write and play songs like them.
So she took her father’s old guitar and taught herself how to play from the Internet. First she played songs she heard on the radio. Later she began to write and play her own songs.
She started singing at Starbucks, her own songs and others’. People liked her so she made home recordings of her songs and sent copies to anyone who might help her get a record deal. In time she landed one with Vertigo, the part of Mercury Records that has also signed up The Killers and Razorlight, two bands she likes.
She has a thick Scottish accent: it is hard for me to understand her when she talks, but not when she sings. She sings live with a Scottish accent, but not on her record.
She wrote songs to be sung to an acoustic guitar – that is how they got their start. But these days she has a band.
“Poison Prince”, about Pete Doherty, was her first song to be played on the radio. It did not do well. “Mr Rock ‘n’ Roll” has done much better.
See also:
- Songs on YouTube:
- Amy Macdonald:
- The Libertines:
- The Verve: Bittersweet Symphony
- YouTube
Excellent article. I especially like the comparison to Johnny Cash as I find her song Mr Rock n Roll draws me back to Cash’s song Ring of Fire. Kudos to you. -frank
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Thanks. I like knowing what a musician’s roots are.
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“She bought “The Man Who” by Travis. It changed her life. It gave her a burning desire to write and play songs like him.”
Travis is a band
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Travis_(band)
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Oops! Thanks! I made the correction.
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[…] netten Blogbeitrag hat Abagond geschrieben, am coolsten finde ich die Aussage … Because she is from Scotland most people […]
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I love KT Tunstall, so there. I love Black horse and the cherry tree.
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