Daisy May Keeley Coburn (born 27 October 1993),[1][6] is a British singer and songwriter. She previously performed under the stage name Daisy Dares You, a reference to the character of the same name from the 1990s British television show ZZZap!.[citation needed] After performing under this name between 2009 and 2010 and recording an album which was never released, she was dropped by her record label. As of 2013 she is in a Brighton-based band called Pink Lizards, where she plays guitar and is the lead singer. From 2015 she has been performing and releasing music in her Brighton-based band Clever Thing alongside Rich Fownes (Bad For Lazarus, UNKLE, Eighties Matchbox B-line Disaster, Nine Inch Nails) [7]

Daisy Coburn
Coburn in 2010
Background information
Birth nameDaisy May Keeley Coburn[1]
Also known asDaisy Dares You
Born27 October 1993 (1993-10-27) (age 30)[2][3]
OriginGreat Dunmow, Essex, England[4]
Genres
Occupation(s)Singer-songwriter
Instrument(s)Vocals, guitar, keyboards, piano[4]
Years active2009–2010 (as Daisy Dares You)
2013–present (as Pink Lizards)
2015–present (as Clever Thing)
2018–present (as Daisy Coburn)
LabelsJive, RCA

Early life edit

Coburn was born in Great Dunmow, Essex. Coming from a musical family, with her mother once working as a backing singer for bands Duran Duran and the The,[5] Coburn learned to play the guitar and piano when she was six years old.[3] On Boxing Day 2007, Coburn played a song she had been writing called "Hurt" to family and friends. A friend of her mother's, Matthew Marston, heard the song and invited her to his home studio to record it.[3] Coburn and Marston later wrote together on her debut album, Rush.

After picking up widespread promotional coverage in the media from The Times,[5] the BBC,[2] and The Guardian[4] as a young artist to watch for in 2010, Coburn was signed to a record company. She was managed by Empire,[4] and signed to Jive, a subsidiary of Sony Records.[3] There was reportedly a 'bidding-war' to get Coburn to sign up to a record company.[4][3] She mainly used social networking websites to broadcast her music, such as Myspace[8] where she posted demos and her YouTube channel[9] where the video for her songs "Daisy Dares You" and "Rosie" can be found.

Coburn's first single, "Number One Enemy", featured British rapper Chipmunk[10] and reached the top 20 in the UK. "Rosie" was released as the second single, however, the album Rush was not released for unknown reasons.

Songwriting, genre and influences edit

Before Coburn was signed she would write songs on her own on a guitar.[3] For her debut album she co-wrote several tracks with her mother's friend Matthew Marston.[3] Much of Coburn's music is about her own personal experiences such as boyfriends, sibling rivalry, disloyal schoolfriends and emotional growing pains.[5] Coming from a musical family and reading poetry has helped Coburn in her writing.[3]

Coburn's musical genres vary from teen-pop[2] to pop rock[4] to pop[3] and electropop.[5] Her musical influences also vary, possibly the reason behind her varying genres; Coburn has stated she is influenced by many bands and artists such as Nirvana and Lou Reed.[8][10] She has stated that her writing is influenced by indie singers such as Florence and the Machine and Bat for Lashes but when she writes "it just seems to come out as pop".[3][5] Comparisons have been made between her and British singer-songwriter Lily Allen[5][10] as well as Canadian singer-songwriter Avril Lavigne.[4] Regarding her comparison to Avril Lavigne, Coburn stated "just because I'm female and young they have to put you in a box. Frankly, anyone who says I was influenced by Avril Lavigne can get stuffed".[3]

Rush edit

Rush is the intended debut studio album by Daisy Dares You, and was scheduled to be released in June 2010, with the single "Rosie" released in May 2010.[11] The album was never released.

No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Number One Enemy"Daisy Coburn, Matthew Marston, Chipmunk3:48
2."Rosie"Daisy Coburn, Matthew Marston, Rob Wells3:23
3."Who Will Buy" 2:36
4."Rush"Coburn, Marston, Shahid Khan, Jodi Marr 
5."Idiot"Coburn, Marston 
6."Clowns"Coburn 
7."Talk About The Weather"Coburn, Marston3:55
8."Lost"Coburn Marston 
9."Next Few Minutes"Coburn, Marston3:45
10."Caught Up"Coburn, Marston, Anders Kallmark 
11."Stuck & Still"Coburn, Marston, Wells3:25
12."Hunter"Coburn, Marston, Wells 

Discography edit

Extended plays edit

Title Details
iTunes Festival: London 2010
(as Daisy Dares You)
  • Released: 27 July 2010
  • Label: Jive
No Love[12]
  • Released: 11 December 2020
  • Label: Austerity
Cut the Demon
  • Unreleased
  • Label: Austerity

Singles edit

As lead artist edit

Year Single Peak chart position Album
UK
DEN
2010 "Number One Enemy" (featuring Chipmunk)
(as Daisy Dares You)
13[13] 28 Rush
(unreleased)
"Rosie"
(as Daisy Dares You)
2020 "Fire" No Love EP
2021 "My Paradise" Cut the Demon EP
(unreleased)
"Ultrasound"

As featured artist edit

Year Title Album
2020 "Beautiful Scum"
(Primitive Ignorant featuring Daisy Coburn)
Sikh Punk

Music videos edit

Year Title Director
2009 "Daisy Dares You" Elisha Smith-Leverock[14]
2010 "Number One Enemy" (featuring Chipmunk) Rebel Alliance[15]
"Rosie" Frank Borin[16]

References edit

  1. ^ a b "BMI – Repertoire Search: Songwriter/Composer: COBURN DAISY MAY KEELEY". BMI. Archived from the original on 18 January 2013. Retrieved 30 May 2010.
  2. ^ a b c d "BBC Sound of 2010: Daisy Dares You". BBC. 7 December 2009. Retrieved 15 January 2010.
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l "Artist information: Daisy Dares You". Sony Records. Archived from the original on 19 September 2016. Retrieved 15 January 2010.
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h Lester, Paul (10 March 2009). "Series: New band of the day – No 502. Daisy Dares You". The Guardian. Retrieved 15 January 2010.
  5. ^ a b c d e f g Cairns, Dain (3 January 2010). "The top ten music acts to look out for in 2010". The Times. Retrieved 15 January 2010.
  6. ^ "BBC profile: Daisy Coburn went to the school Helena romanes school and sixth form (HRS)". BBC. Retrieved 15 January 2010.
  7. ^ Waldron, Clarissa (12 November 2014). "New noise: Pink Lizards". Wonderland]. Retrieved 2 April 2015.
  8. ^ a b "Daisy Dares You Myspace". MySpace. Retrieved 15 January 2010.
  9. ^ "Daisy Dares You YouTube Channel". Retrieved 15 January 2010 – via YouTube.
  10. ^ a b c "VIP track: Daisy Dares You". 4Music. Archived from the original on 19 January 2010. Retrieved 10 January 2010.
  11. ^ Balls, David (4 March 2010). "Exclusive: Daisy Dares You announces album details". Digital Spy. Retrieved 22 May 2011.
  12. ^ "No Love – EP by Daisy Coburn". iTunes. Retrieved 13 December 2020.
  13. ^ "The Official Charts Company – Daisy Dares You Ft Chipmunk – Number One Enemy". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 14 March 2010.
  14. ^ "Daisy Dares You's Daisy Dares You by Elisha Smith-Leverock". 29 July 2009. Archived from the original on 12 April 2012. Retrieved 19 October 2010.
  15. ^ "Daisy Dare's You's Number One Enemy (featuring Chipmunk) by Rebel Alliance". 2 February 2010. Archived from the original on 23 June 2010. Retrieved 19 October 2010.
  16. ^ "Daisy Dares You's Rosie by Frank Borin". 1 June 2010. Archived from the original on 26 June 2010. Retrieved 19 October 2010.