Andy Connell

Andy Connell is one half of the popular pop music duo Swing Out Sister. He plays keyboards, piano and other instruments, and is the main composer and arranger of the band's music.

He was born in Manchester in 1961 and began playing the piano at an early age. He struggled through the 8 grades of classical piano playing, before finally "abandoning Bach for Bacharach".

In the early '80s he joined the respected Mancunian new-wave band A Certain Ratio. A few years later he teamed up with drummer Martin Jackson, and they released an inventive electronic album called "UK Electro" in 1984.

Swing Out Sister began in earnest in 1985, when Connell and Jackson teamed up with Corinne Drewery.

Apart from his work with Swing Out Sister, Andy Connell has produced and arranged music for other artists, and recently he wrote the musical score for a short film called "The Knickerman", directed by Sonia Phillips.

Andy Connell will not be on concert tour with the rest of Swing Out Sister leading some to believe he may split with Corinne Drewery and SOS.