Noosha Fox (born Susan Traynor, 8 December 1944) is an Australian singer. She is known as the lead singer of the band Fox, who had three UK chart hits in 1975 and 1976. She also had a number 31 hit as a solo performer with "Georgina Bailey".
Noosha Fox | |
|---|---|
| Birth name | Susan Traynor |
| Born | 8 December 1944 Australia |
| Genres | Pop |
| Occupation(s) | Singer |
| Years active | Late 1960s–current |
Career edit
Susan Traynor was born in Australia in 1944.[1] She began her music career as a singer in Sydney-based folk rock band Wooden Horse, who moved to England in 1970 and released two LPs.[2] After the band split up, she provided background vocals on American singer and songwriter Kenny Young's 1973 solo album, Last Stage For Silverworld.[3]
She then joined Fox, the band formed by Young and Northern Irish singer-songwriter Herbie Armstrong. She adopted the stage name Noosha, a corruption of an anagram of her first name (nussa),[4][5] and in performances wore dresses and accessories in 1920s and 1930s style.[6] With Fox, Noosha achieved three top 20 hits on the UK Singles Chart: "Only You Can" and "Imagine Me, Imagine You" in 1975 and "S-S-S-Single Bed" in 1976. She left after their third album, Blue Hotel, to launch a solo career. Her first single, "Georgina Bailey", written and produced by Young, briefly entered the Top 40 in the UK Singles Chart, reaching number 31 in 1977.[7]
In 1979, Noosha Fox tried to restart her solo career with a single, "The Heat Is On", written by Florrie Palmer and Tony Ashton, on Chrysalis Records. A later version of the song, by ABBA's Agnetha Fältskog, was a European hit four years later.[7] In 1980, Fox provided guest vocals for the songs "Perfect Strangers" and "Havana Moon" on Tim Renwick's self-titled debut album.[8]
Fox recorded several singles in the early 1980s for the Earlobe label but none were successful, and she withdrew from the music industry.[1] Although she did not write her own songs, her performance style has been credited with influencing Kate Bush and Alison Goldfrapp.[5] It was reported in 2007 on BBC Radio 4's The Music Group that Fox was recording a solo album of electropop[9] but it was not released.
On 1 August 2022, renowned music producer Shel Talmy released a 5-track downloadable EP of original songs by Noosha which had been recorded in 1978.[citation needed]
Personal life edit
Fox has been married since 1973 to physician and academic Michael Goldacre,[10] with whom she has four children, one of whom is Ben Goldacre, a physician and academic best known for his "Bad Science" weekly column.[11] Ben Goldacre announced that Fox was his mother after seeing her perform "S-S-S-Single Bed" on a BBC4 repeat of Top of the Pops, and stated that she was working on new material.[12]
Discography edit
| Year | Title | Format | Label | Catalogue ref | Chart position |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1977 | "Georgina Bailey" / "Pretty Boy" | 7" single | GTO | GT 106 | No. 91 AUS,[13] No. 31 UK |
| 1979 | "The Heat Is On" / "Some Enchanted Evening" | 7" single | CHRYSALIS | CHS 2337 | |
| 1979 | "Skin Tight" / "Miss You" | 7" single | CHRYSALIS | CHS 2383 | |
| 1981 | "More Than Molecules" / "Odd Peculiar Strange" | 7" single | EARLOBE | ELB S 101 | |
| 1981 | "Hot As Sun" / "The Cheapest Night" | 7" single | EARLOBE | ELB S 105 |
- Source:[7]
References edit
- ^ a b Jörg Amtage und Matthias Müller präsentieren Alle Hits aus Deutschlands Charts 1954-2003. Pro Business. 2003. p. 223.
- ^ "Wooden Horse II". Forced Exposure. Retrieved 24 April 2020.
- ^ "Last Stage For Silverworld". AllMusic. Retrieved 23 April 2020.
- ^ Wilson, Dave. Rock Formations: Categorical Answers to how Band Names Were Formed. Cidermill Books. p. 147.
- ^ a b "Before Goldfrapp, before Kate Bush, there was Noosha Fox". Dangerousminds.net. 4 May 2012. Retrieved 23 April 2020.
- ^ John Connors, "Fantastic Noosha Fox", This Way Up, 2019. Retrieved 21 May 2020
- ^ a b c Roberts, David (2006). British Hit Singles & Albums (19th ed.). London: Guinness World Records Limited. p. 211. ISBN 1-904994-10-5.
- ^ "Tim Renwick - Tim Renwick | Credits". AllMusic. Retrieved 25 April 2020.
- ^ "Series 1, Episode 5". The Music Group. 10 October 2007. BBC Radio 4.
- ^ Ian Fairlie (2009). "Book Reviews: Bad Science, by Ben Goldacre". Medicine, Conflict and Survival. 25 (3): 255–257. doi:10.1080/13623690902943552. S2CID 220378364.
- ^ Goldacre, Ben (24 February 2015). "What eight years of writing the Bad Science column have taught me". The Guardian.
- ^ Petridis, Alexis (29 May 2011). "Alexis Petridis on pop's worst year". The Guardian. London.
- ^ Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992 (illustrated ed.). St Ives, N.S.W.: Australian Chart Book. p. 117. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.