Imogen Heap

Singer-songwriter Imogen Heap could hardly have enjoyed a more prestigious live debut - performing four songs, backed by friends Acacia, between sets by the Who and Eric Clapton at the 1996 Prince's Trust Concert in London's Hyde Park. She grew up playing music from an early age, and by the time of her eleventh birthday had begun to write her own songs. A graduate of the Brit School in Croydon, as well as being a talented writer Heap is also adept at a number of musical instruments, including cello, clarinet, piano, harpsichord and percussion. Her first demo tapes began to circulate in February 1996, and within months she had been signed to Almo Records by Jerry Moss, business partner of Herb Alpert. Her first reviews predictably compared her to Alanis Morissette, though in truth the majority of her early songs had more in common with 60s folk artists such as Joan Baez and Joan Armatrading. With her career guided by former Nik Kershaw manager Micky Modern and Mark Wood, Heap signed to Almo despite competition from Sting's manager and Miles Copeland of IRS Records. She released the limited edition "Getting Scared" single in November 1997, followed by "Shine" the following March. The title of her debut album was a anagram of her name.