UPDATE: Here’s a picture of Kate’s excellent hair (Freya in the foreground, Richard in the background):
[click to enlarge]
My friend and musical collaborator Richard and his missus Kate had me round for dinner the other evening and we got into a conversation about the recent Observer Music Monthly list of “larger-than-life” performers (i.e. fat rockstars). We were trying to decide if the article was itself fattist. Richard pointed out that the musicians concerned (Elvis, Luther Vandross, Tiny of Ultrasound) had nothing in common apart from walk-in fridges full of dairy produce. I replied that no one would object to a top ten of gingers in rock, but then we couldn’t even come up with a top five of those. Perhaps the music industry discriminates even more harshly against redheads than it does against lardbutts. Even with the help of Kate, who is a strawberry blonde Celt, the best we could manage was:
- Mick Hucknall of Simply Red
- Bonnie Raitt
- Carol Decker from T’Pau
- er, one other that I can’t remember now
Any suggestions? If the list gets long enough I might even submit ito Wikipedia as the definitive catalogue of ginger rockers.
I’m sure you were thinking of Noddy Holder…
Josh Homme from Queens of the Stone Age
Anne Magnuson of Bongwater
Isn’t Annie Lennox a ginga?
I thought Annie’s was a wig/dye. Think Jimmy Somerville is one though.
The singer from Stereo MCs, though whether he counts as I can’t even remember his name…
Oh and how could I forget Sonja!
Rob Birch off the Stereo MCs, and of course, Ginger “Catweazle” Baker from Cream.
Josh Homme’s already gone, all I can offer is a borderline ging from the Spin Doctors. the beard’s red, but is the hair? you decide.
http://www.legacyrecordings.com/spindoctors/photo1.html
Shirley Manson.
Kirsty MacColl.
Ginger Baker (or don’t drummers count?)
We’ve already had Ginger Baker, and he was the other one Richard and I thought of. I can’t believe I didn’t think of Kirsty MacColl. And I’ve just remembered Cathy Dennis.
Country music has all the best red-heads, and some of them do indeed rock. Allison Moorer, Reba McEntyre, Willie Nelson, Wynonna, Joy Lynn White, Bobbie Cryner, Kelly Willis, Patty Loveless, Tift Merritt. Kirsty MacColl sits comfortably in with that crowd, too.
Richard D James (aka Aphex Twin), Rupert Parkes (alias Photek), and Andy Barker off 808 State. Not exactly “rockers”…
Buster Bloodvessel? 😉
What about the Irish showband legend Red Hurley?
http://www.irish-showbands.com/images/pop/nevada74x.htm
Axl Rose.
And, the self proclaimed Red Rocker himself, Sammy Hagar.
We rule by the way!