What do you think?
Rate this book
Naked at the Albert Hall: The Inside Story of Singing
In her bestselling autobiography Bedsit Disco Queen, Tracey Thorn recalled the highs and lows of a thirty-year career in pop music. But with the touring, recording and extraordinary anecdotes, there wasn't time for an in-depth look at what she actually did for all those years: sing. She sang with warmth and emotional honesty, sometimes while battling acute stage-fright.
Part memoir, part wide-ranging exploration of the art, mechanics and spellbinding power of singing, Naked at the Albert Hall takes in Dusty Springfield, Dennis Potter and George Eliot; Auto-tune, the microphone and stage presence; The Streets and The X Factor. Including interviews with fellow artists such as Alison Moyet, Romy Madley-Croft and Green Gartside of Scritti Politti, and portraits of singers in fiction as well as Tracey's real-life experiences, it offers a unique, witty and sharply observed insider's perspective on the exhilarating joy and occasional heartache of singing.
Part memoir, part wide-ranging exploration of the art, mechanics and spellbinding power of singing, Naked at the Albert Hall takes in Dusty Springfield, Dennis Potter and George Eliot; Auto-tune, the microphone and stage presence; The Streets and The X Factor. Including interviews with fellow artists such as Alison Moyet, Romy Madley-Croft and Green Gartside of Scritti Politti, and portraits of singers in fiction as well as Tracey's real-life experiences, it offers a unique, witty and sharply observed insider's perspective on the exhilarating joy and occasional heartache of singing.
256 pages, Hardcover
First published April 30, 2015
32 people are currently reading
386 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 64 reviews
March 20, 2018
A couple of years ago, ‘Bedsit Disco Queen’ by the same author was an unexpected pleasure due to Tracey Thorn’s honest and intelligent writing style, and this - in some ways a follow-up, in most ways an expansion of specific areas associated with the craft, artistry and vocation of singing - was also a delight.
The appeal of her writing was the same - straightforward and approachable, yet deeply incisive in places, Thorn strikes a very readable balance between personal exploration and more general examination of what other people (other singers, authors and poets, the average man or woman in the street) think about singing. Piecing together research, autobiography and interviews with others in the music business, this makes for an excellent read.
The appeal of her writing was the same - straightforward and approachable, yet deeply incisive in places, Thorn strikes a very readable balance between personal exploration and more general examination of what other people (other singers, authors and poets, the average man or woman in the street) think about singing. Piecing together research, autobiography and interviews with others in the music business, this makes for an excellent read.
May 31, 2016
We all love to sing, don't we? Well in Ireland we certainly do. Weddings, christenings, funerals, or just an ordinary night down at the local pub (wait, especially an ordinary night at the local pub) - you'd better have a tune ready if you're attending any kind of social event here because you never know when you might be called upon to lead a sing-song. As I write this review I am still hoarse from belting out Bruce Springsteen's greatest hits along with 80,000 like-minded souls at his gig in Croke Park. So why do we enjoy singing so much? And what makes a good singer?
Tracey Thorn produced one of the best music memoirs in recent years with Bedsit Disco Queen. Eloquent, warm and witty, she pulled back the curtain and showed us what life was like in a hugely successful rock band. As a member of Everything But The Girl she sold millions of records but has always been a reluctant popstar. She sang for her first audition as a shy teenager from inside a wardrobe and has not performed in public since 2000.
In this insightful book Thorn examines the art of singing. Her passion for music is absolutely intoxicating. I loved her descriptions of her favourite singers - Liam Gallagher has "a sneering engine of a voice aimed straight at your forehead" and she praises Dusty Springfield at length: "that smoky, husky, breathy, vulnerable, bruised, resigned, deliberate, sensual voice."
The portrayal of singers in literature is impressively explored in novels such as Bel Canto and Daniel Deronda. She interviews some of her fellow artists such as Alison Moyet, Kristin Hersh and Green Gartside. She poignantly talks about her stage fright and her efforts to overcome it. The popularity of TV singing contests is also addressed - I'll even forgive her for liking The X Factor.
Thorn is a wonderful writer. Always articulate and engaging, she comes across as a very likeable person, unaffected by fame. Some of the discussions of singing technique may only be of interest to music nerds but there is something here for everyone. It is a fascinating, honest and revelatory read.
Tracey Thorn produced one of the best music memoirs in recent years with Bedsit Disco Queen. Eloquent, warm and witty, she pulled back the curtain and showed us what life was like in a hugely successful rock band. As a member of Everything But The Girl she sold millions of records but has always been a reluctant popstar. She sang for her first audition as a shy teenager from inside a wardrobe and has not performed in public since 2000.
In this insightful book Thorn examines the art of singing. Her passion for music is absolutely intoxicating. I loved her descriptions of her favourite singers - Liam Gallagher has "a sneering engine of a voice aimed straight at your forehead" and she praises Dusty Springfield at length: "that smoky, husky, breathy, vulnerable, bruised, resigned, deliberate, sensual voice."
The portrayal of singers in literature is impressively explored in novels such as Bel Canto and Daniel Deronda. She interviews some of her fellow artists such as Alison Moyet, Kristin Hersh and Green Gartside. She poignantly talks about her stage fright and her efforts to overcome it. The popularity of TV singing contests is also addressed - I'll even forgive her for liking The X Factor.
Thorn is a wonderful writer. Always articulate and engaging, she comes across as a very likeable person, unaffected by fame. Some of the discussions of singing technique may only be of interest to music nerds but there is something here for everyone. It is a fascinating, honest and revelatory read.
September 14, 2024
In Naked at the Albert Hall, Everything But the Girl singer Tracey Thorn explores the ins and outs of singing. Drawing on literature, profiles and interviews with fellow singers, and her own experiences as a pop vocalist, she examines the social and cultural significance of singing. She also wrestles with her own anxiety around the sometimes harsh spotlight of performing and pop stardom.
I love EBTG, so I was bound to like this book, but it exceeded my expectations. I thought it was a really insightful look into singing and the complicated dynamic between singer and audience. I enjoyed my time with the book, and I’m looking forward to Thorn’s playlist at the end of the book, which collects the many songs and singers she discusses.
I love EBTG, so I was bound to like this book, but it exceeded my expectations. I thought it was a really insightful look into singing and the complicated dynamic between singer and audience. I enjoyed my time with the book, and I’m looking forward to Thorn’s playlist at the end of the book, which collects the many songs and singers she discusses.
September 11, 2019
Tracey Thorne is known and loved to be the singer of Everything but the girl. And her writing a book on singing was something I was very curious about. But the book is about her personal way of living the experience of being a singer., I wouldn't call it the inside story of singing, since it is her personal take on it. And that is something personal, in the sense that everyone will live it differently. She speaks a lot about her stage fright, and how this, added to her paranoia of getting sick on tour made her eventually decide to stop singing. I have to say I disagree with many of the things she says. At one point she speaks of how she finds that her way of living and experiencing singing, is a way where the ego is not the only element, saying that maybe the people who do like to be onstage do have a bigger ego and all that. Being a shy person myself, I think that I have come to enjoy the experience of being onstage, without feeling that is it the only place in the world, since when I am not onstage I am just fine, thanks. Still the whole book going around the idea that there are only two types of singers, those who enjoy the stage and those who don't, I thought was very limiting; since there are more ways of enjoying singing than just that. But I did enjoy this anyway, I find it great to read someone else speaking of an experience that I have come to love, even if when I stared singing it was a struggle for me to enjoy being a singer.
May 30, 2015
Tracey Thorn is fast approaching national treasure status - her Everything But The Girl days a distant memory, she is successfully beating a new path as author, columnist, speaker and essayist. A woman of letters she'd have been called in the olden days. There's a sideline in music too, including her recent soundtrack to the hysteria-in-a-girls' school melodrama The Falling. Two years ago, Bedsit Disco Queen put her at the top of the Sunday Times bestseller list and on to A Book At Bedtime. While Naked At The Albert Hall doesn't have quite the same unique appeal, it's still a warm, witty book infused with Thorn's trademarks - understatedness, wry humour and gentle intelligence.
Her dissection of the art of singing may not be scholarly, but it's borne out of her own knowledge and experience, and those of her carefully chosen interviewees including Linda Thompson, Romy Madeley-Croft, Green Gartside and Alison Moyet. There are discourses on why Elvis Costello is so important, the allure of Dusty Springfield and the fascination of Sandy Denny, not to mention a spirited defence of The X Factor despite its high cheese quotient. But it's Thorn's own experiences, her reasons for singing in the first place and why she won't now perform live that give this its credibility and a sense of an author with a strong grip on her own reality. Genuine insight.
Her dissection of the art of singing may not be scholarly, but it's borne out of her own knowledge and experience, and those of her carefully chosen interviewees including Linda Thompson, Romy Madeley-Croft, Green Gartside and Alison Moyet. There are discourses on why Elvis Costello is so important, the allure of Dusty Springfield and the fascination of Sandy Denny, not to mention a spirited defence of The X Factor despite its high cheese quotient. But it's Thorn's own experiences, her reasons for singing in the first place and why she won't now perform live that give this its credibility and a sense of an author with a strong grip on her own reality. Genuine insight.
January 27, 2016
Tracey's boss. The most distinctive british female voice.... ever, in my humble opinion, and responsible for some of the most literate pop songs in existence, at the tender age of 22.
Goodness she's impressive. It begins as a lovely (virtually academic) rumination on the voice, singing, and (I suppose, minor) celebrity (right up there with someone like Simon Reynolds) invoking such literary references as George Eliot (Daniel Deronda), Du Maurier's Trilby, and Willa Cather all the way up to John Cheever and Ann Patchett (Bel Canto). She's also quite well read on those others who've tackled this subject before, including England's balladeering history, such as Simon Frith, Will Hodgkinson, and Rob Young.
She then walks us through her own influences and what she perceives to be their own relationship(s) with their respective voice(s) and, natch, their own celebrity, including Dusty Springfield, Sandy Denny, Karen Carpenter, Patti Smith, Lesley Woods (the Au Pairs), Poly Styrene, and latterly, the XX's Romy Madley Croft, who could literally be Tracey's daughter, only being in her early 20's. Croft's earliest memory of Tracey is "Missing?!" which means she missed (sorry) Tracey's entire career!
Sadly the book does devolve a wee bit into a wobbly confessional, concerning Tracey's own stage fright and her subsequent withdrawal from public performances, exhaustively cataloguing all those neuroses from which she suffers every time she tours?! but it never lacks for either charm or wit. She really is a treasure.
And bonus, it ends with one hell of a playlist to keep you rather poor and iTunes rather wealthy........
Goodness she's impressive. It begins as a lovely (virtually academic) rumination on the voice, singing, and (I suppose, minor) celebrity (right up there with someone like Simon Reynolds) invoking such literary references as George Eliot (Daniel Deronda), Du Maurier's Trilby, and Willa Cather all the way up to John Cheever and Ann Patchett (Bel Canto). She's also quite well read on those others who've tackled this subject before, including England's balladeering history, such as Simon Frith, Will Hodgkinson, and Rob Young.
She then walks us through her own influences and what she perceives to be their own relationship(s) with their respective voice(s) and, natch, their own celebrity, including Dusty Springfield, Sandy Denny, Karen Carpenter, Patti Smith, Lesley Woods (the Au Pairs), Poly Styrene, and latterly, the XX's Romy Madley Croft, who could literally be Tracey's daughter, only being in her early 20's. Croft's earliest memory of Tracey is "Missing?!" which means she missed (sorry) Tracey's entire career!
Sadly the book does devolve a wee bit into a wobbly confessional, concerning Tracey's own stage fright and her subsequent withdrawal from public performances, exhaustively cataloguing all those neuroses from which she suffers every time she tours?! but it never lacks for either charm or wit. She really is a treasure.
And bonus, it ends with one hell of a playlist to keep you rather poor and iTunes rather wealthy........
April 26, 2015
Tracey Thorn doesn't do nostalgia gigs; she doesn't attend them, or play them. I kind of agree with her, it's always a bit of a let down when you realise that your idols age too! I did make an exception a couple of years ago though, and went to see The Who - I didn't regret it.
Naked at the Albert Hall is the perfect way to do nostalgia, I loved every page of it and it took me back to my younger days. Reminders of those Elvis Costello songs that I loved so much, X Ray Spex and Siouxsie; two of my heroines, and now that I'm middle-aged I can actually admit to how much I loved Karen Carpenter's voice.
Tracey Thorn's first book Bedsit Disco Queen told her own story. Naked at the Albert Hall explains more about singing as an actual process. I wasn't sure that I was interested in lungs and throats and how they work, but she writes with such passion, and uses such wonderful phrases, and I was hooked.
There is an honesty about Tracey Thorn that is refreshing. So many pop stars appear false and gaudy, not Thorn, she really is quite upfront about what she sees as her own flaws. I like that, it makes me want to read more, and it made this book so much more enjoyable.
Tracey Thorn is wise and witty, and this shines through in her writing. She is a naturally talented writer, of songs and of books. A must read for fans.
Naked at the Albert Hall is the perfect way to do nostalgia, I loved every page of it and it took me back to my younger days. Reminders of those Elvis Costello songs that I loved so much, X Ray Spex and Siouxsie; two of my heroines, and now that I'm middle-aged I can actually admit to how much I loved Karen Carpenter's voice.
Tracey Thorn's first book Bedsit Disco Queen told her own story. Naked at the Albert Hall explains more about singing as an actual process. I wasn't sure that I was interested in lungs and throats and how they work, but she writes with such passion, and uses such wonderful phrases, and I was hooked.
There is an honesty about Tracey Thorn that is refreshing. So many pop stars appear false and gaudy, not Thorn, she really is quite upfront about what she sees as her own flaws. I like that, it makes me want to read more, and it made this book so much more enjoyable.
Tracey Thorn is wise and witty, and this shines through in her writing. She is a naturally talented writer, of songs and of books. A must read for fans.
May 24, 2022
An intelligent follow-up to 'Bedsit Disco Queen' (easily one of my favourite music memoirs) that isn't really a sequel but is still looking at the singer's craft; what causes us to sing, what emotions it brings up, how singing on stage before thousands differs from singing in your kitchen. It's a true labour of love for the author, who by her own admission is maybe not best placed to discuss the public performative nature of singing given she has not sang on stage for 15 years (and counting), but this is still a very thoughtful appreciation for the craft of singing, however you choose to do it.
June 28, 2015
Fascinating study of all aspects of singing. Tracey writes so well and chattily, using her own experiences and those of other singers,
She covers singing with children, in church, in choirs, in the recording studio and in live performance. Having struggled with performing, she talks about other singers like Dusty Springfield, Scott Walker and Linda Thompson who have also had problems. Good to read about the tension that exists when you love singing but are naturally introverted, like Karen Carpenter and Tracey herself .
She covers singing with children, in church, in choirs, in the recording studio and in live performance. Having struggled with performing, she talks about other singers like Dusty Springfield, Scott Walker and Linda Thompson who have also had problems. Good to read about the tension that exists when you love singing but are naturally introverted, like Karen Carpenter and Tracey herself .
February 7, 2019
This is a quite self-made book about western views on singing. Or, rather, Thorn's views on singing. The fact that she has been a fairly famous singer for a bunch of years does play a part in this, as does her interviews with other famous persons, e.g. Kristin Hersh and Romy Madley Croft.
Where Thorn excels, is in her personal mini-monographs that are often encased within single paragraphs, as here, about experience and influence:
A lot of the book is about popular, western ways of singing, mainly in a crowd-fronting way, but also about the need for singing, to begin with.
I loved to read about Dusty Springfield, not only because Thorn found her through my favourite song of Springfield (perhaps bar "Magic Garden"):
Some of the interviews in this book are truly interesting. I love Kristin Hersh's comment here:
Some of Thorn's personal memories are also interesting, funny, and illuminating, slight as they may at first mean:
All in all, a funny, probably helpful book to the everyday singer, but I couldn't help but feel that I wish that more stones had been turned while researching this book; it is very western and poppy, but if that's what I'd had in mind to begin with, it'd have been better.
Where Thorn excels, is in her personal mini-monographs that are often encased within single paragraphs, as here, about experience and influence:
It’s also true that we can be negatively influenced by people, or strain to avoid taking on too strongly the imprint of another, for fear of drifting into mere imitation and unoriginality. Bob Dylan talks in his book, Chronicles, about how intimidated he could be in the early days by hearing others who seemed more authentic than him, and how inadequate that could make him feel. He’d been learning and playing all of Woody Guthrie’s songs, and feeling pretty good about himself as a singer of these songs, when he suddenly heard the recordings of Ramblin’ Jack Elliott, who’d been singing the same songs for years. Dylan describes being devastated by this – ‘I felt like I’d been cast into sudden hell’. Far from being inspired by the sound of someone doing what he was trying to do, he felt paralysed, and realised that in fact he would have to run a million miles from the very person it seemed he could learn the most from. All he could do was try to ignore Elliott – ‘It would be hard not to be influenced by the guy I just heard. I’d have to block it out of my mind… tell myself I hadn’t heard him and he didn’t exist.’ In other words, influence can sometimes be terrifying – not inspiring at all, but crippling.
A lot of the book is about popular, western ways of singing, mainly in a crowd-fronting way, but also about the need for singing, to begin with.
I loved to read about Dusty Springfield, not only because Thorn found her through my favourite song of Springfield (perhaps bar "Magic Garden"):
Who is your favourite singer? It’s a question I’m often asked, not surprisingly, and my answer is usually the same: Dusty Springfield.
[...] I do know the first time I heard her. Elvis Costello was presenting a radio show, playing a selection of his favourite records, and as was usually the case with anything like that on the radio, I was taping it onto cassette. This was 1980, or maybe 1981. He had already introduced us to another of her signature tunes, ‘I Just Don’t Know What to Do with Myself’, when he performed it on the Live Stiffs Live album in 1978, and that had been a revelation, opening my eyes to the possibility of liking Bacharach and David as well as punk; a difficult but heady idea, and one I would have to come back to later. Now on this radio show he played ‘I Don’t Want to Hear it Any More’ from Dusty in Memphis, and for the first time I truly heard that voice – that smoky, husky, breathy, vulnerable, bruised, resigned, deliberate, sensual voice.
Some of the interviews in this book are truly interesting. I love Kristin Hersh's comment here:
KRISTIN: I have one rule in the studio: ‘no singing’, meaning ‘no faking’. Which probably pertains to guitar parts as well: no chops, no imitating, no telling the song what to do. A real vocal is a textural expression. Maybe the kind you croon to your baby, maybe the kind you yell when you drop something on your foot, but it must be determined by the song or it will never resonate with the listener. And if it’s embarrassing? So much the better!
Some of Thorn's personal memories are also interesting, funny, and illuminating, slight as they may at first mean:
I was in the loo at a nightclub once, years ago, when I was recognised as I washed my hands. It can’t have been that long after ‘Missing’ was a hit as the request made of me was not for an autograph, or even a photo, but for me to sing a few lines of the song to prove that I was really that Tracey Thorn.
And because I’d presumably had a few drinks – I must have done or I would have run a mile in the opposite direction – I agreed, and standing there at the sink I took a deep breath and sang, ‘I step off the train, I’m walking down your street again, and past your door, but you don’t live there any more.’
The girls stared and squealed at me, and grabbed each other, and the thing they said, which I took as the ultimate compliment, was: ‘YOU SOUND JUST LIKE YOU!’
I knew what they meant, of course I did. That my voice really was my voice, the authentic sound that came out of my mouth, not some product of studio trickery and fakery. There’s a naivety to this response, really, the idea that someone’s voice can be manufactured for them in the studio – which is simply not as true as people think – and an old-fashioned regard for the virtues of vocal authenticity. But there’s an important point to be made here, a timeless truth, which is that however much vocals can be manipulated, or fixed, or homogenised, finding your own voice – your unique, personal sound – is still the key ingredient in becoming a singer.
All in all, a funny, probably helpful book to the everyday singer, but I couldn't help but feel that I wish that more stones had been turned while researching this book; it is very western and poppy, but if that's what I'd had in mind to begin with, it'd have been better.
February 29, 2016
Tracey Thorn's second book looks at singing--both by her, and by others. She talks about her favorite songs and singers, and also talks about why she hasn't actually sung in public since 2000. Definitely a must read for her fans; not sure if it would interest anyone else...
August 27, 2021
Why do we love to sing? Even if we are bollocks at it? Why do we so idolize and mythologize those who sing beautifully? Thorn presents an almost scholarly, sometimes historical, look at these questions in an exploration of the psychology and physiology of singing and the singer, using examples from Jenny Linn to Johnny Rotten, Sinatra to Sade. (Since 1986, when I first heard her smokey alto coming from a Memorex cassette copy of EBTG’s third album, Tracey Thorn has been one of my favorite singers.) Thorn references numerous poems and novels that have singers as their central theme. This is not some soapy, I’m a famous person, gloop of a book, rather, in a light, conversational style, Thorn honestly discusses her lifelong stage anxiety, fame and her search to find her natural voice.
May 5, 2024
Un libro que no quería terminar por la cantidad de datos y testimonios acerca del funcionamiento de la voz que contiene este libro. Aunque es principalmente acerca de Tracey y su viaje personal en el canto, creo que sirve para cualquiera que quiera usar está herramienta de expresión.
March 30, 2019
Where Tracey Thorn's first book did house her ambivalent feelings towards her gifts as a singer and as a somewhat reluctant popstar, she has channeled those feelings completely into her excellent second book, which takes on the nature of singing itself as well as our relationship with singers, why we sing, how we sing, what connects us to the act and process of singing, the psychology of singing as well as the art...and surprisingly, sometimes the artifice.
Leaping from memoir, Thorn works from her own somewhat reluctant and undeniably conflicted feelings and experiences as a professional singer and then explores the differences between singing in the more controlled environment of the recording studio to the vastly uncontrollable environment of the stage.
She muses about the differences in how she sings compared with her own singing heroes like Patti Smith and contains one-on-one interviews with Green Gartside of Scritti Politti, Romy Madley Croft of The xx and Alison Moyet. She further explores the nature of singing in literature and mythology and brings us up to the minute by musing over the validity and fervor surrounding singing competition television shows, plus even more meticulously researched observations regarding the very form of musicality we all engage in at some point of our lives, from either singing "Happy Birthday" to singing hymns during church services, or performing karaoke.
While this book might sound like it exists as a form of a collegiate dissertation (albeit the very best one you would be graced to ever read), in Tracey Thorn's literary hands, it is again a work of supreme warmth and intimacy fueled by a superior intelligence, charm, curiosity and biting wit, which appears in anecdotes sprinkled throughout the book. I especially enjoyed her take on the sorts of new age music played during a hypnosis session she skeptically attended as well as another incident when baffled fans approached her in a public Women's Room and asked her to sing a few bars of her Everything But The Girl smash hit "Missing" to prove if it was "really her." And it is through stories like those that supply the full narrative with its overall drive and personality so as to not allow the book to simply exist as a dry, academic dirge.
Completely engaging, informative, educational and entertaining, Tracey Thorn enraptured me with her prose and again, I just roared through it.
Leaping from memoir, Thorn works from her own somewhat reluctant and undeniably conflicted feelings and experiences as a professional singer and then explores the differences between singing in the more controlled environment of the recording studio to the vastly uncontrollable environment of the stage.
She muses about the differences in how she sings compared with her own singing heroes like Patti Smith and contains one-on-one interviews with Green Gartside of Scritti Politti, Romy Madley Croft of The xx and Alison Moyet. She further explores the nature of singing in literature and mythology and brings us up to the minute by musing over the validity and fervor surrounding singing competition television shows, plus even more meticulously researched observations regarding the very form of musicality we all engage in at some point of our lives, from either singing "Happy Birthday" to singing hymns during church services, or performing karaoke.
While this book might sound like it exists as a form of a collegiate dissertation (albeit the very best one you would be graced to ever read), in Tracey Thorn's literary hands, it is again a work of supreme warmth and intimacy fueled by a superior intelligence, charm, curiosity and biting wit, which appears in anecdotes sprinkled throughout the book. I especially enjoyed her take on the sorts of new age music played during a hypnosis session she skeptically attended as well as another incident when baffled fans approached her in a public Women's Room and asked her to sing a few bars of her Everything But The Girl smash hit "Missing" to prove if it was "really her." And it is through stories like those that supply the full narrative with its overall drive and personality so as to not allow the book to simply exist as a dry, academic dirge.
Completely engaging, informative, educational and entertaining, Tracey Thorn enraptured me with her prose and again, I just roared through it.
September 12, 2015
I love me some Tracey Thorn, no matter how she comes into my life. I've said it before and I'll say it again and again - I'm CERTAIN that we'd be great friend. I've known this since I purchased my first EBTG album back in the early 80s and memorized every lyric to every song so I could sing along with her, just the way I used to do with Karen Carpenter in 1973 in my room with the door closed belting out "We've Only Just Begun" into a hairbrush or a clenched fist holding an imaginary microphone.
Naked at the Albert Hall is not a continuation of BDQ. It is not a story with a linear plot. It is not an in-depth personal confession of all her secrets. This book is about what it means to be a singer, how audiences and fans perceive singers, how singers navigate this strange profession with their singing voice and how a singer perceives the messages they send with their singing. Tracey is a self professed introvert (I am too, by the way), a shy person who realized she had a voice for singing and wanted to sing but she wasn't comfortable with how singers are expected to be extroverts. Tracey explains how she navigates this delicate balance of keeping one foot in the shadows in order to just sing and how her person isn't defined by the fact that she sings.
She does a great job of explaining the her profession, interviews interesting peers (Alison Moyet!) and kind of leads the reader through a history of how singers came to be what they are today. She watches The X-Factor, doesn't really have a problem with Auto-Tune and maintains a wry sense of humor and objectivity when she's Tweeting.
I think she's just great and has an important point of view.
Naked at the Albert Hall is not a continuation of BDQ. It is not a story with a linear plot. It is not an in-depth personal confession of all her secrets. This book is about what it means to be a singer, how audiences and fans perceive singers, how singers navigate this strange profession with their singing voice and how a singer perceives the messages they send with their singing. Tracey is a self professed introvert (I am too, by the way), a shy person who realized she had a voice for singing and wanted to sing but she wasn't comfortable with how singers are expected to be extroverts. Tracey explains how she navigates this delicate balance of keeping one foot in the shadows in order to just sing and how her person isn't defined by the fact that she sings.
She does a great job of explaining the her profession, interviews interesting peers (Alison Moyet!) and kind of leads the reader through a history of how singers came to be what they are today. She watches The X-Factor, doesn't really have a problem with Auto-Tune and maintains a wry sense of humor and objectivity when she's Tweeting.
I think she's just great and has an important point of view.
July 11, 2018
I first came across Tracey Thorn, via EBTG, in 2001. Ironically, this was the year after she stopped singing in public. One of the things that makes this such a fascinating book is that it is by someone whose describes herself as a singer, who has indeed worldwide fame as a singer, yet who hasn't sung in public for over 15 years. The book is part a general exploration of singing and what it means to be a singer, and part a window into a process of self-discovery (or, least, a window into the experience of a particular singer).
Through a series of short chapter, Thorn examines a whole series of different aspects of singing, many of which came as a complete surprise to me, as a non-singer. Particularly memorable were her reflections on how the perception of a beautiful singing voice as being a gift can have the effect of devaluing the singer, her account of Rufus Wainwright being put off during a live performance by an unfortunate choice of trousers, and how her own children suggested that she seemed to have more in common with Romy Madley Croft of The xx than she did with them!
Not only are Thorn's chapters insightful, they are also beautifully written, varying in style from personal musings, through interviews with other singers, quotes from works of fiction and analysis, to narration of key incidents. In this, the reader should not be surprised - apart from being a highly-successful singer, Thorn also gained a First in English Literature and subsequently an MA. These are the thoughts of a highly literate and concise thinker. An easy read, yet full of insights. Greatly recommended.
Through a series of short chapter, Thorn examines a whole series of different aspects of singing, many of which came as a complete surprise to me, as a non-singer. Particularly memorable were her reflections on how the perception of a beautiful singing voice as being a gift can have the effect of devaluing the singer, her account of Rufus Wainwright being put off during a live performance by an unfortunate choice of trousers, and how her own children suggested that she seemed to have more in common with Romy Madley Croft of The xx than she did with them!
Not only are Thorn's chapters insightful, they are also beautifully written, varying in style from personal musings, through interviews with other singers, quotes from works of fiction and analysis, to narration of key incidents. In this, the reader should not be surprised - apart from being a highly-successful singer, Thorn also gained a First in English Literature and subsequently an MA. These are the thoughts of a highly literate and concise thinker. An easy read, yet full of insights. Greatly recommended.
July 21, 2016
Tracey Thorne is a great singer, but don't take her word for it because she won't tell you. I bought this book without looking at what it was about. I enjoyed her Autobiography Bedsit Disco Queen so much I was in a mood to read anything the author wrote and did not think to see what the book was about. Naked at the Albert Hall turns out to be effectively an extended essay on singing and singers. Her self deprecating and insightful style is a joy to read, the opinions and thoughts mostly analogous of my own even if I did not realise I held those views until I saw them on the page.
In one early chapter she questions if you like music more if you feel a liking for the singer (or the other way round) I would go so far as to say my enjoyment of Everything But The Girl has been expanded by my liking of the Author. You are left feeling that you are dealing with a human being who happens to be fairly famous and very talented, but always one of us. In many ways I feel I know more about Tracey Thorne than I did reading her Autobiography. Sometimes it is striking how revealing and open she is, on one hand you feel she is a private and reserved person but then she openly talks about her deepest traits and weaknesses.
A lovely easy read, but also at times thought provoking.
4 stars? I need to reserve the 5th for the follow up to Bedsit Disco Queen.
In one early chapter she questions if you like music more if you feel a liking for the singer (or the other way round) I would go so far as to say my enjoyment of Everything But The Girl has been expanded by my liking of the Author. You are left feeling that you are dealing with a human being who happens to be fairly famous and very talented, but always one of us. In many ways I feel I know more about Tracey Thorne than I did reading her Autobiography. Sometimes it is striking how revealing and open she is, on one hand you feel she is a private and reserved person but then she openly talks about her deepest traits and weaknesses.
A lovely easy read, but also at times thought provoking.
4 stars? I need to reserve the 5th for the follow up to Bedsit Disco Queen.
February 5, 2016
I really liked the concept of this book. I read a lot of musician memoirs and have hardly ever read much about the actual act of singing. Guitarists will write about their instruments and playing them but rarely will a vocalist write specifically about the act of singing. Off hand, I can only think of Rod Stewart writing about his fear of cocaine hurting his throat and about Pete Townsend writing of his singing voice in comparison to Roger Daltrey. There is just not a lot out there about singing - that I am aware of, at least.
This is not an academic tome. Tracey's chatty style works in her favor for this book. I felt like I listening to someone speak about singing, rather than reading a study of it. There is no grand theme in this book and it doesn't really "go" anywhere but that's ok. I still enjoyed it and felt like I learned things.
This is not an academic tome. Tracey's chatty style works in her favor for this book. I felt like I listening to someone speak about singing, rather than reading a study of it. There is no grand theme in this book and it doesn't really "go" anywhere but that's ok. I still enjoyed it and felt like I learned things.
April 25, 2016
I was a huge fan of Bedsit Disco Queen, so seeing this, it was a no brainier to pick it up. I was suitably rewarded.
I'm no singer, but frankly Tracey (I feel I can call her Tracey) makes an excellent case for everyone just letting themselves go, give rein to your voice and enjoy music.
The book takes a meander through Tracey's own experiences, influences and preferences. She doesn't shy away from the issues with have curbed her ability to perform. This is a honest and open appraisal of the beauty of singing, how it can affect people and enrich lives.
There's a fantastic playlist at the end of the book too. Highly recommended!
I'm no singer, but frankly Tracey (I feel I can call her Tracey) makes an excellent case for everyone just letting themselves go, give rein to your voice and enjoy music.
The book takes a meander through Tracey's own experiences, influences and preferences. She doesn't shy away from the issues with have curbed her ability to perform. This is a honest and open appraisal of the beauty of singing, how it can affect people and enrich lives.
There's a fantastic playlist at the end of the book too. Highly recommended!
March 10, 2017
This is just great - good to hear a great singer reflecting so honestly about singing but she has really researched it - novels about singing and all sorts so I learned lots. Where the book becomes really interesting is in the illusion audiences that the singer is empathising with them. Not necessarily. More likely the audience are projecting into the singer the feelings they want to have themselves. insightful and thought provoking this I would recommend as a must read if you are a musican and a good read even if you aren't.
January 26, 2019
Well. I always adored her voice, for me one of the very best of the modern era. And she writes wonderfully as well. Very perceptive and references to lots of modern day artists. She is far more immersed in the punk and post-punk years than me (much of that left me cold, though I tried, as you more or less had to if you were 12 in 1976) but so intelligent in her discussions of what it's all about. A great read on a very interesting subject, particularly of the sheer vulnerability that goes with singing.
February 19, 2019
An unusual, insider's look at a life in singing. Fascinating series of essays on singing, the voice, and performance, with an emphasis on the "pop" part of music. She discusses the relationship between a singer and their voice, the feeling that a voice can be separate to someone's self-identity, and the dichotomy between a love of singing and a loathing of performing. And finally, I love it that she gave me permission to start singing again, off-key and all.
I'll definitely read Tracey Thorne again.
I'll definitely read Tracey Thorne again.
February 2, 2016
This is an awesome book about the art and craft of singing written in a low key, spare, unpretentious style by someone who's not only a proponent but also a fan of great singing.
Tracey Thorn provides some really interesting perspectives on things like stagefright, autotune, and microphones; and there are wonderful chapters on some of my favourite singers: Dusty Springfield, Scott Walker, Karen Carpenter and Sandy Denny. I can't carry a tune but I just loved this book.
Tracey Thorn provides some really interesting perspectives on things like stagefright, autotune, and microphones; and there are wonderful chapters on some of my favourite singers: Dusty Springfield, Scott Walker, Karen Carpenter and Sandy Denny. I can't carry a tune but I just loved this book.
January 29, 2018
I am not much of a singer—at least not in public—but I loved this book. With personal reflection, interviews with musicians, and historical research, this book explores singing as communication, expression, and identity. Tracey Thorn is the best!
July 23, 2018
This was a really joyful read - to my mind she covers every aspect of singing and singers with insight and humour, from amateurs to professionals, punk, karaoke, Adele, endorphins, microphones, and even The X Factor.
Read
January 23, 2023Wanted to like this but didn't. Probably a niche market so not very accessible to the casual reader who doesnt know much about the music she is talking about. Could have been good as an audio book. Didn't finish it.
September 6, 2017
A good book for singers and other musicians. Ms. thorn examines singing, her approaches to it, and how other vocalists approach it. Not for the casual fan of hers or EBTG.
August 6, 2018
Absolutely gripped by this meandering look at what makes a singer sing - entertaining and informative! Now off to listen to some of the songs included in Tracey's playlist at the end!
January 23, 2022
I’ve loved music for a long time, I learnt the trumpet and piano at school and was in various musical groups. But I was never a confident singer, well in public anyway. I’m happy to belt out tunes when I’m alone but when someone is listening, I’m not so assured in my abilities, despite “being able to hold a tune” (the hubby’s words not mine). So to be able to find out more piqued my interest when I read the blurb to Naked At The Albert Hall.
The book is a mixture of Thorn’s personal anecdotes, her thoughts on other performers and interview with others in the music industry across a winding ranging of vocal related topics. The discussion around various voices across the years is fascinating. Thorn’s description of Guy Garvey’s singing is perfect – nothing bad can happen while Guy is singing. I adore that man’s voice and yes, it is like a big comforting hug.
It was interesting to read about different performers’ anxieties. For me, I hate being in the spotlight whether it was doing a solo trumpet piece in front of a handful of people for my GCSE music or a training session at work where I know what I’m talking about, I still get nervous. But to hear people like Tracey Thorn or Alison Moyet talking about the anxieties they experience is kind of comforting in a weird kind of way.
Throughout Thorn references a number of books both reference and fictional which have been added to my wish list – not what I expected!! And she’s added to my playlist. So many artists or tracks I’ve not heard of. But then at the end, there’s a reading list and a track list including both those referenced in the book and additional extras. I need to explore both these more to expand my literacy and musical repertoire !
This is a really fascinating read about singing and singers. Having listened to Thorn talk passionately about subjects that mean a lot to her, I could hear her voice resonating as I read. If you’re expecting a memoir, think again. This is part memoir, part opinion and part interview all of which melds together into one musical read.
The book is a mixture of Thorn’s personal anecdotes, her thoughts on other performers and interview with others in the music industry across a winding ranging of vocal related topics. The discussion around various voices across the years is fascinating. Thorn’s description of Guy Garvey’s singing is perfect – nothing bad can happen while Guy is singing. I adore that man’s voice and yes, it is like a big comforting hug.
It was interesting to read about different performers’ anxieties. For me, I hate being in the spotlight whether it was doing a solo trumpet piece in front of a handful of people for my GCSE music or a training session at work where I know what I’m talking about, I still get nervous. But to hear people like Tracey Thorn or Alison Moyet talking about the anxieties they experience is kind of comforting in a weird kind of way.
Throughout Thorn references a number of books both reference and fictional which have been added to my wish list – not what I expected!! And she’s added to my playlist. So many artists or tracks I’ve not heard of. But then at the end, there’s a reading list and a track list including both those referenced in the book and additional extras. I need to explore both these more to expand my literacy and musical repertoire !
This is a really fascinating read about singing and singers. Having listened to Thorn talk passionately about subjects that mean a lot to her, I could hear her voice resonating as I read. If you’re expecting a memoir, think again. This is part memoir, part opinion and part interview all of which melds together into one musical read.
July 5, 2017
I read the first Tracey Thorn book, Bedsit Disco Queen, after seeing its title mentioned in a newspaper article and thinking it sounded like an apt description of my life from 2011 - 2014. It turned out that wasn't the case, but I enjoyed it nonetheless.
This one didn't disappoint either. It's sort of a collection of short informal essays on Thorn's thoughts on singing, singers, performance and the music industry. While I cannot call myself a "singer" in any professional capacity, I think of myself as being a singer trapped in the body (and vocal range) of someone who isn't that good at singing. I express myself regularly by singing sad songs in my car on the way to work each morning and I genuinely give some thought to how I am producing these sounds and screams. For me, then, this book was genuinely interesting and I like Thorn's writing style which is witty and cool, as I expect she probably is in real life. I read this on holiday in Spain sat on a balcony in my mum's sun hat with my massive Marshall headphones on looking like someone who had been let outside for the day as I listened to each of the singers/songs she discussed. This made for an almost interactive experience which, despite being pretty traditional when it comes to the actual act of reading, I really enjoyed.
My only disappointment was that Thorn did not discuss Lana Del Rey at all - someone who I think might have made an interesting case study for many of Thorn's points about performance and personality.
This one didn't disappoint either. It's sort of a collection of short informal essays on Thorn's thoughts on singing, singers, performance and the music industry. While I cannot call myself a "singer" in any professional capacity, I think of myself as being a singer trapped in the body (and vocal range) of someone who isn't that good at singing. I express myself regularly by singing sad songs in my car on the way to work each morning and I genuinely give some thought to how I am producing these sounds and screams. For me, then, this book was genuinely interesting and I like Thorn's writing style which is witty and cool, as I expect she probably is in real life. I read this on holiday in Spain sat on a balcony in my mum's sun hat with my massive Marshall headphones on looking like someone who had been let outside for the day as I listened to each of the singers/songs she discussed. This made for an almost interactive experience which, despite being pretty traditional when it comes to the actual act of reading, I really enjoyed.
My only disappointment was that Thorn did not discuss Lana Del Rey at all - someone who I think might have made an interesting case study for many of Thorn's points about performance and personality.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 64 reviews