Sophie Madeleine | |
---|---|
Birth name | Sophie Ball |
Origin | Brighton, England |
Occupation(s) | Singer-songwriter / copywriter |
Instrument(s) | Ukulele, vocals, guitar |
Years active | 2009–2014 |
Labels | Xtra Mile Recordings |
Website |
sophiemadeleine |
Sophie Madeleine (born Sophie Ball) is a 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]
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 Are 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]
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]
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]
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]
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]