Tasmin Archer
Tasmin Archer (born 3 August 1963) is an English pop singer from Bradford. Her first album, Great Expectations, spawned the hit "Sleeping Satellite," which reached number one in the United Kingdom[1] and Ireland.[2] She won the Brit Award for British Breakthrough Act in 1993 and went on to release other albums.
Tasmin Archer | |
---|---|
Birth name | Tasmin Archer |
Born | 3 August 1963 |
Origin | Bradford, Yorkshire, England |
Genres | Pop, rock |
Years active | 1992–present |
Labels | EMI, Quiverdisc |
Website | TasminArcher.com |
Early life
Archer was born in Bradford, Yorkshire. She attended Grange Upper School and, after graduating, first worked as a sewing machine operator. She attended Bradford College in 1980 to study typing, and then became a clerk at Leeds Magistrates' Court.[3][4]
Archer joined a group called Dignity as a backing vocalist, and played with different bands around the Bradford area. She helped out at a recording studio in Bradford called Flexible Response Studios, and subsequently began working with musicians John Hughes and John Beck as "The Archers." During this time, Archer developed skills in the music business.[5]
Musical career
Great Expectations
Archer signed to EMI in 1990, and released her first single, "Sleeping Satellite" in September 1992, which went to number one on the UK Singles Chart.[1][6] The single also enjoyed success in the US, where it peaked at number 32 on the Billboard Hot 100.[7] The album Great Expectations followed in October 1992. It reached number eight on the UK Albums Chart,[1] and achieved gold disc status by December for sales of more than 100,000 copies.[8] Further singles from the album followed, and although they were Top 40 hits in the UK, they did not achieve the same level of success as her début.
Archer donated the royalties from her second single "In Your Care" to Childline. The song was about child abuse.[3] In 1993 Archer won a BRIT Award for the Best British Breakthrough Act. However, she later joked that she kept her award in the back of her kitchen cupboard, and claimed that she used it for cracking nuts and tenderising steak.[5]
Bloom
After disappearing from the limelight, Archer reappeared in 1996 with her second album Bloom. However, the single "One More Good Night with the Boys" failed to reach the UK Top 40, and the album peaked at number 95.[1] In late 1997, disagreements with EMI left Archer somewhat disillusioned and feeling like she had been treated as a commodity. She decided to take a short break from the industry.[9] This break was to last a total of two years.
After the break, Archer felt the time was right to start writing again, but now she was hindered by writer's block. Although this did not prevent her from being initially creative, she found it difficult to finish anything musically.[10]
On
After working through the block and starting in 2002, Archer and Hughes worked on a new album. Initially this was going to be titled Non-Linear, but later became On. Several demo versions of the songs from this album were available for free from the messagetothemagnet website, which was created for the purpose. People were encouraged to send feedback on the material.
On was released on 25 September 2006 on Archer's own label, Quiverdisc. It was preceded on 20 September by a download-only single, "Every Time I Want It (Effect Is Monotony)", a radio edit of the album track "Effect Is Monotony."
Other work
In a 2006 interview, Archer said she and John Hughes were pursuing opportunities to write for film and TV soundtracks.[10] Subsequently, the partners provided work for EastEnders and other shows.
Personal life
Archer is in a long-term relationship with musician John Hughes. In 1999, she bought a Sunderland A.F.C. season-ticket, after attending a match with Hughes.[11]
Discography
Studio albums
Year | Album | Peak positions | Certifications | ||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
UK [1] |
AUS [12] |
AUT [13] |
GER [14] |
NZ [15] |
SWE [16] |
SWI [17] |
US [18] | ||||
1992 | Great Expectations | 8 | 56 | 26 | 34 | 31 | 38 | 26 | 115 | ||
1994 | Shipbuilding (North America only) | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
1996 | Bloom | 95 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
2006 | On | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
"—" denotes releases that did not chart or were not released. |
Compilation albums
- Premium Gold Collection (2000)
- Singer/Songwriter (2004)
- The Best Of (2009)
- Sweet Little Truths - The EMI Recordings 1992-1996 (2020) - 3-CD set containing remastered, expanded versions of Great Expectations and Bloom plus B-sides, remixes and live versions.
Singles
Year | Single | Peak positions | Certifications | Album | |||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
UK [1] |
AUS [12] |
AUT [13] |
BEL (FLA) [19] |
FRA [20] |
GER [21] |
IRE [2] |
NL [22] |
NZ [15] |
SWE [16] |
SWI [23] |
US [7] | ||||
1992 | "Sleeping Satellite" | 1 | 14 | 11 | 12 | 6 | 12 | 1 | 8 | 12 | 4 | 5 | 32 |
|
Great Expectations |
1993 | "In Your Care" | 16 | 145 | — | — | — | — | — | — | 37 | — | — | — | ||
"Lords of the New Church" | 26 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 40 | — | — | — | |||
"Somebody's Daughter" (GER only) | — | — | — | — | — | 57 | — | — | — | — | — | — | |||
"Arienne" | 30 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |||
1994 | "Shipbuilding" EP | 40 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | Shipbuilding | |
1996 | "One More Good Night with the Boys" | 45 | 189 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | Bloom | |
"Sweet Little Truth" | 176 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |||
2006 | "Every Time I Want It (Effect Is Monotony)" (digital download) | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | On | |
"—" denotes releases that did not chart or were not released. |
References
- UK chart peaks:
- Top 100 peaks: "Official Charts > Tasmin Archer". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 1 November 2019.
- Top 200 peaks from November 1994 to December 2010: "Chart Log UK 1994–2010 > A – Azzido Da Bass". Dipl.-Bibl.(FH) Tobias Zywietz. Retrieved 28 November 2015.
- "The Irish Charts – All there is to know > Search results for 'Tasmin Archer' (from irishcharts.ie)". Fireball Media, via Imgur.com. Retrieved 28 November 2015.
- "Tasmin Archer". Retrieved 7 November 2015.
- "Zayn Malik to Tasmin Archer – Bradford and the Brit Awards". Bradford Telegraph and Argus. Retrieved 9 April 2020.
- "Tasmin Archer". Retrieved 7 November 2015.
- Roberts, David (2006). British Hit Singles & Albums (19th ed.). London: Guinness World Records Limited. p. 27. ISBN 1-904994-10-5.
- "Billboard > Tasmin Archer > Chart History > The Hot 100". Billboard. Retrieved 1 November 2019.
- "Screen shot of search results for 'Tasmin Archer' from (from bpi.co.uk)". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved 28 November 2015.
- Lister, Derek A J (2004). Bradford's Own. Sutton Publishing. ISBN 0-7509-3826-9.
- "Tasmin Archer interview". 5 December 2006. Retrieved 7 November 2015.
- Freeman, Sarah (20 September 2006). "High expectations for singer Tasmin's return". The Yorkshire Post. Retrieved 23 August 2012.
I needed to do something creative which had an end result. If you have writer's block, obsessing about it is the worst thing you can do and I knew that whatever else happened I had to get on with things. My partner John is a massive Sunderland fan; I went with him to a game and, that was it, I was hooked. Turning to football didn't cure the writer's block, but it helped. In the end there was no Eureka moment, it just gradually lifted. Suddenly I was able to finish all those half-written songs.
- Australian (ARIA) chart peaks:
- Top 50 peaks: "australian-charts.com > Tasmin Archer in Australian Charts". Hung Medien. Retrieved 28 November 2015.
- Top 100 peaks: Ryan, Gavin (2011). Australia's Music Charts 1988–2010 (pdf ed.). Mt. Martha, VIC, Australia: Moonlight Publishing. p. 17.
- "In Your Care" and Bloom: "Response from ARIA re: chart inquiry, received 15 July 2015". Imgur.com. Archived from the original on 16 July 2015. Retrieved 28 November 2015.
- "Lords of the New Church" and "One More Good Night with the Boys": "Response from ARIA re: chart inquiry, received 17 June 2014". Imgur.com. Archived from the original on 29 November 2014. Retrieved 28 November 2015.
- "austriancharts.at > Tasmin Archer in der Österreichischen Hitparade" (in German). Hung Medien. Retrieved 1 November 2019.
- "Offizielle Deutsche Charts > Tasmin Archer - Great Expectations (album)" (in German). GfK Entertainment. Retrieved 28 November 2015.
- "charts.nz > Tasmin Archer in New Zealand Charts". Hung Medien. Retrieved 1 November 2019.
- "swedishcharts.com > Tasmin Archer in Swedish Charts". Hung Medien. Retrieved 1 November 2019.
- "hitparade.ch > Suchen nach: Tasmin Archer (Alben" (in German). Hung Medien. Retrieved 1 November 2019.
- "Billboard > Tasmin Archer > Chart History > Billboard 200". Billboard. Retrieved 1 November 2019.
- "Ultratop > Tasmin Archer in Ultratop Vlaanderen" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 1 November 2019.
- "lescharts.com > Tasmin Archer dans les Charts Français" (in French). Hung Medien. Retrieved 1 November 2019.
- German singles chart peaks:
- "Sleeping Satellite": "Offizielle Deutsche Charts > Tasmin Archer – Sleeping Satellite (single)" (in German). GfK Entertainment. Retrieved 8 September 2016.
- "Somebody's Daughter": "Offizielle Deutsche Charts > Tasmin Archer – Somebody's Daughter (single)" (in German). GfK Entertainment. Retrieved 8 September 2016.
- "dutchcharts.nl > Tasmin Archer in Dutch Charts" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 1 November 2019.
- "hitparade.ch > Suchen nach: Tasmin Archer (Songs)" (in German). Hung Medien. Retrieved 1 November 2019.