Personal Faves - Foreign Female Vocalists

This is a list of my favorite foreign female vocalists. Yeah, women can rock too!

Debbie Harry - Debbie Harry is best known as the lead singer of the punk and new wave band, "Blondie," which got its start playing in the legendary CBGB club in New York City where The Ramones also played. She is also considered as a fashion icon. Funny, I actually thought that her name was Blondie. Turns out it was the name of the band.

Karen Carpenter - Not only was she a great singer for the Carpenters, she was a drummer too. Cool. It is unfortunate that she died too soon from anorexia. Her diagnosis of anorexia, however, brought awareness to that disease which people knew little about during the '70s and the early '80s. Sonic Youth wrote a song about her in the album Goo. "Tunic (song for Karen)" was the name of the song.

Bilinda Butcher (who also plays guitars) for My Bloody Valentine (MBV) - The addition of Bilinda Butcher added a new twist to the guitar effects-laden sound of miasma or shoegaze band, My Bloody Valentine. There was now delicate singing to go along guitarist and vocalist Kevin Shield's voice. The result - a perfect mix.

Bilinda Butcher and bassist Deb Googe are not your stereotypical females found in most bands. They are not sex symbols (think Dale Bozzio or Debbie Harry) nor are they girly types (think Bangles or Go-Go's). They are just members of the band. That's it. No big deal about gender there.

It's a shame that I knew about MBV and Bilinda Buthcer only recently. MBV have been around since 1983 and their critically acclaimed album, "Loveless," was released in 1991. I lived through the '90s and I consider myself as an alternative rock fan yet I didn't hear them back then. It's a real shame. I heard Nirvana.

Dale Bozzio - Dale Bozzio is the vocalist of California new wave band, "Missing Persons," and is the former wife of drummer Dale Bozzio (Missing Persons/Korn). She was a former Playboy model and was known for her squeaky voice and taste for outrageous and revealing clothes (she wore them long before Lady Gaga). Her band became popular on MTV in the early ‘80s.

Tracy Tracy - Tracy Tracy is the lead vocalist of the late eighties band, "The Primitives," who were best known for their hit single "Crash." I remember hearing "Crash" on local radio, probably on BM 105 or NU 107 when I was a kid and I liked it.

Nina Persson - Nina Persson is the lead singer of Swedish band, "The Cardigans," which gained popularity in the Philippines due to their song "Lovefool" that was used in the movie Romeo and Juliet(starring Leo DiCaprio and Claire Danes). Honestly, I'm not a fan of that song but Nina Persson looked pretty in the music video so I watch it whenever it was on back then. It was only after I heard their early albums, "Emmerdale" and "Life," which both have a sixties feel, that I came to appreciate their music. I like the song "Rise and Shine" from those albums.

Chrissie Hynde - Chrissie is the leader of the new wave band, "The Pretenders," which sang the song "Middle of the Road". Her tough girl image makes her different from other female singers who front bands.

Jane Wiedlin - Jane Wiedlin was a former member of '80s all-female pop band, The Go-Go's. She sang the song, "Blue Kiss," which gained some airplay in Philippine local radio way back then. She also dated The Colourfield's lead singer, Terry Hall(who sang Thinking of You).

Sonya Madan - Sonya Aurora Madan, who was born in Delhi, India, is the front woman of the Britpop band, "Echobelly". I learned about her from a band mate of mine who is the biggest Morrissey and The Smiths fan (actually, I learned about lots of bands I never heard before and about different genres from him ). Former The Smiths lyricist and lead singer Morrissey is a fan of Echobelly, and has endorsed the band. Sonya's singing style has also been compared to Morrissey's.

Estelle of Brittle Stars - Estelle was the lead singer and keyboardist of the indie pop band, "Brittle Stars," from Gainesville, Florida who had broken up some years ago. She now plays for the band "Elephant Parade". I like her beautiful voice and playing on her Casio keyboard.

Natalie Merchant - Natalie Merchant was the lead singer of the band, "10,000 Maniacs". She and her band have some great songs. "These Are Days", "Like the Weather", and "What's the Matter Here" are my favorites. "What's the Matter Here" has lyrics which deal with, as far as I know, a topic rarely found in pop songs during the '80s – and that is child abuse and domestic violence. It has some parallel with Suzanne Vega's song "Luka".

References: Several sites on the internet and Wikipedia
Photos: from all over the internet