Everything but the Girl

For other uses, see Everything but the Girl (disambiguation).
Everything but the Girl
Tracey Thorn and Ben Watt in 2022
Tracey Thorn and Ben Watt in 2022
Background information
Also known asEBTG
OriginHull, East Riding of Yorkshire, England
Genres
Years active
  • 1982–2000
  • 2021–present
Labels
MembersTracey Thorn
Ben Watt
Websitewww.ebtg.com

Everything but the Girl are an English musical duo formed in Kingston upon Hull in 1982, consisting of lead singer, songwriter, composer and occasional guitarist Tracey Thorn and guitarist, keyboardist, songwriter, composer, producer and singer Ben Watt. The group's early works have been categorized as sophisti-pop with jazz influences[3][4] before undergoing an electronic music turn following the worldwide success of the 1994 hit single "Missing", remixed by Todd Terry.[5]

The duo have achieved four top 10 and 12 top 40 singles in the UK[6] and received eight gold and two platinum album BPI certifications in the UK[7] as well as one gold album RIAA certification in the US.[8] Their cover of "I Don't Want to Talk About It" reached No. 3 on the UK Singles Chart in 1988, a feat later matched by "Missing", which charted high in several countries and reached No. 2 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 in 1995 and spent over seven months on the UK Singles Chart for the "Missing" remix, which led to a Brit Award nomination for Best British Single.

Their ninth album, Walking Wounded (1996), entered the UK albums chart at No. 4, and spawned the top-10 singles "Walking Wounded" and "Wrong.” The band went inactive in 2000, with Thorn declaring she would no longer perform live.[9] Thorn and Watt, who did not publicise their romantic relationship while active,[10] married in 2009,[11] both released solo albums and said it was unlikely Everything but the Girl would be active again.[12]

However, in November 2022, Thorn and Watt announced an album had been recorded for release in the second quarter of 2023. Fuse, the band's first new material in 24 years, was released on 21 April 2023. It charted at No. 3 on the Official UK Album Chart, making it the highest charting album of their career. In a 5-star review, The Guardian said: "Still staking out pop's frontier after 40 years. It is audibly made by people with a deep love for and understanding of the music they're inspired by … a comeback worth waiting for."

  1. ^ "Pop/Rock » Punk/New Wave » Sophisti-Pop". AllMusic. All Media Network. Retrieved 28 April 2016.
  2. ^ a b c d e f Cite error: The named reference AMG was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  3. ^ Graves, Wren (2 November 2022). "Everything But the Girl announce first new album in over 20 years". Consequence. Retrieved 11 January 2023.
  4. ^ Geffen, Sasha (13 October 2022). "The 30 Best House Tracks of the '90s". Pitchfork. Retrieved 11 January 2023.
  5. ^ "This week's big vinyl releases to buy and pre-order". NME. Archived from the original on 21 May 2020. Retrieved 11 January 2023.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  6. ^ "Everything but the Girl". Official Charts. 20 August 1983. Retrieved 20 November 2016.
  7. ^ "BPI Certified Awards". BPI. Archived from the original on 17 September 2016. Retrieved 20 November 2016.
  8. ^ "RIAA Gold Platinum". RIAA. Retrieved 20 November 2016.
  9. ^ Lewis, Tim (27 January 2019). "Tracey Thorn: 'Not everything you do is cool'". The Guardian. Retrieved 19 August 2020.
  10. ^ "Being Everything but the Girl". Salon.com. 28 September 1999. Retrieved 14 September 2015.
  11. ^ "Everything but the Girl Makes It Official". 8 September 2009. Retrieved 3 January 2022.
  12. ^ "Everything but the Girl: 'You feel like you're listening to a different person'". The Guardian. 16 June 2012. Retrieved 19 August 2020.