Sophie Madeleine

Sophie Madeleine (born Sophie Ball) is an award-winning ukulele player from Brighton.[1] She released three solo albums; her third album, Silent Cynic, was released on 1 November 2013 after a crowdfunding campaign on PledgeMusic.[2][3]

Sophie Madeleine
Birth nameSophie Ball
OriginBrighton, England
Occupation(s)Singer-songwriter / copywriter
InstrumentsUkulele, vocals, guitar
Years active2009–2014
LabelsXtra Mile Recordings
Associated actsRocky and Balls, Hannah-Rei
Websitesophiemadeleine.com

Career

Madeleine graduated from Bath Spa University with a BA in Commercial Music and a master's degree in Songwriting.[4] While at Bath Spa, she was in the finals of the Musicians Benevolent Fund Songwriting Awards 2005[5] and she was in the band Oriole.[6]

She produced her first album as a final year project at Bath Spa.[4] She wrote her first ukulele song, Take Your Love With Me, for her then-boyfriend who had bought her that first ukulele. She also plays tenor guitar.[4] A song from her first album, You're My Favourite, was released as a charity single to raise money for Macmillan Cancer Support in memory of her father Ben, with a video featuring people from around the world who filmed themselves playing the song.[7][8]

Also while in Bath, she met Hannah Rockcliffe (Hannah-Rei) with whom she formed the comedy-song duo Rocky and Balls,[9] posting videos together on YouTube and recording one album in 2011.[10] Her second album was self-produced at home, and then mixed by Danton Supple. It was released in 2012, and initially sent out personally by Madeleine in a limited run.[11]

Her third solo album was recorded in a studio in Brooklyn, the first to be entirely studio-based, which she described as "one of the most stressful experiences of my life".[4] She published The Official Sophie Madeleine Ukulele Tab Book in 2013.[12]

She became a copywriter at a Brighton-based advertising company in late 2014.[13]

In 2015 she announced her retirement from music.[14]

Performances

She supported Gruff Rhys, the lead singer of Super Furry Animals, on tour.[15] In 2010, she performed at FestiFeel! along with Newton Faulkner and Babyhead to raise awareness of breast cancer[16] and she performed at The Great Escape Festival's launch.[17]

Reception

Madeleine's success on YouTube has led to her being called an "internet sensation".[7] Her music is covered by other artists so often that Finger magazine has crowned her "Queen of the Ukulele".[18] She has over four million views on her YouTube channel.[19]

Frank Turner is a fan of Madeleine's and has played her single "Oil and Gold" on his Steve Lamacq's BBC Radio 2 show.[20] Brighton Source wrote that Madeleine's second album, The Rhythm You Started, is "a ray of sunshine every time we press play".[21] The magazine Computer Music ran a full-page feature on Madeleine in its 2010 "How To Make It in Music" February special.[22]

Internationally

On 8 July 2010 "Take Your Love With Me (The Ukulele Song)" reached number 4 on iTunes' New Zealand Singer-Songwriter Music Chart.[23] In 2012, Madeleine was interviewed on a Portuguese television documentary about ukuleles called Apanhei-te cavaquinho, for RTP2, where she also performed her song "Take Your Love With Me (The Ukulele Song)".[24] Madeleine appeared on MTV Brasil in a short feature dedicated to her career.[25]

Soundtracks

Her songs have been used on the soundtracks of several TV advertisements, notably on adverts for Postbank (You Make Me Happy),[26] Pets at Home (You Make Me Happy),[27] Macy's (Take Your Love With Me)[28] and A1 Telekom Austria (One Fine Day).[29] Her music has also been used on the soundtrack for the BBC programme The Great British Home Movie Roadshow in a segment featuring Spike Milligan.[30]

Discography

Albums
  • Love. Life. Ukulele (Xtra Mile Recordings, 2009)[31]
  • We Like Cake And Beards And Stuff – Rocky and Balls (self-released, May 2011)[32]
  • The Rhythm You Started (Xtra Mile Recordings, 2011)[33]
  • Silent Cynic (2013)[3]

References
  1. Ukulele Video of the Year: Sophie Madeleine, Jocelyn Mackenzie & Emily Hope Price – Bei Mir Bist Du Schön. Retrieved 3 March 2013.
  2. Jennifer Bowen and Allison Scott, "Your week in music: Stream the new Sara Bareilles album before you can buy it" FOX6 News. Retrieved 17 May 2014.
  3. "New album for 2013!", Pledge Music, 8 October 2013. Retrieved 17 May 2014.
  4. Rigby, Nic (22 March 2014). "Interview: Sophie Madeleine". Songwriting. Retrieved 2 June 2015.
  5. "Bath Spa Student in Line for Songwriting Award". Bath Spa University. 27 October 2005. Retrieved 2 June 2015.
  6. "Somerset Sounds – Oriole". BBC News. 3 May 2005. Retrieved 2 June 2015.
  7. BBM, 'Single Review: Sophie Madeleine Ball – Spooky' Archived 10 April 2013 at Archive.today. Retrieved 6 March 2013.
  8. "Sophie Madeline – You are my Favourite". Uketoob. 20 June 2010. Retrieved 2 June 2015.
  9. "10 Qs with Rocky and Balls (EXCLUSIVE)". Build-a-Beard. 22 March 2010. Retrieved 2 June 2015.
  10. Grant, Hamish (21 March 2011). "Rocky and Balls pay a visit to Toronto". BlogTo. Retrieved 2 June 2015.
  11. Costello, Carly (31 July 2012). "Sophie Madeleine to Release 'The Rhythm You Started' on Sept. 11". Artist Direct. Retrieved 2 June 2015.
  12. Frauenfelder (10 June 2013). "The Official Sophie Madeleine Ukulele Tab Book". BoingBoingfirst=Mark. Retrieved 2 June 2015.
  13. Ball, Sophie (3 December 2014). "Why songwriters write good copy". Lark. Retrieved 2 June 2015.
  14. "Sophie's retirement FAQs".
  15. Sophie Madeleine's Xtra Mile Artist Details. Retrieved 3 March 2013.
  16. Virtual Festivals, 'Newton Faulker, Babyhead to headline FestiFeel!' Archived 17 May 2014 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 6 March 2013.
  17. "The Great Escape Pre-Party", XYZ magazine, May 2010. Retrieved 17 May 2014.
  18. Sophie Madeleine interview, Finger magazine, no date. Retrieved 17 May 2014.
  19. "Sophie Madeleine". YouTube. Retrieved 2 June 2015.
  20. BBC Radio 2 – Steve Lamacq – 04/06/2011. Retrieved 3 March 2013.
  21. James Kendall, "Sophie Madeleine Interview", Brighton Source, no date. Retrieved 17 May 2014.
  22. Computer Music, "How To Make It in Music", (Future plc, February 2010)
  23. Sophie Madeleine's Chart History Archived 12 September 2017 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 5 March 2013.
  24. "4th part of the documentary 'Apanhei-te cavaquinho' – YouTube video" (Madeleine appears between 52.32 – 54.37). Retrieved 5 March 2013.
  25. Sophie Madaleine on MTV Brasil. Retrieved 5 March 2013.
  26. February Postbank Advert. Retrieved 4 March 2013.
  27. Pets at Home Advert. Retrieved 4 March 2013.
  28. Macys Tahiti Advert. Retrieved 4 March 2013.
  29. A1 TeleKom Advert. Retrieved 17 March 2014
  30. The Great British Home Movie Roadshow – August 2010. Retrieved 4 March 2013.
  31. Love. Life. Ukulele, iTunes. Retrieved 5 March 2013.
  32. "We Like Cake And Beards And Stuff". Rocky and Balls. Bandcamp. 17 May 2011. Retrieved 2 June 2015.
  33. The Rhythm You Started, iTunes. Retrieved 5 March 2013.
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