Elkie Brooks
Elkie Brooks is a British singer, formerly a vocalist with Vinegar Joe, and later a solo artist.
A professonal singer since she was 15, Elkie Brooks' debut, a cover of Etta James' 'Something's Got A Hold On Me' was released on Decca in 1964. She spent most of the 60s on Britain's Jazz scene, then met husband Pete Gage and joined short-lived Fusioneers Dada before forming Vinegar Joe with Gage and Robert Palmer. After three albums, they split up in 1974, and Brooks and Palmer both went solo. After a spell as backing vocalist with American Southern Boogie band Wet Willy, she returned to England. Her well-received but commercially unsuccessful Rich Man's Woman (1975) was a final flop before a run of 15 UK hit albums in 20 years, starting with Two Days Away (1977) and the hits 'Pearl's A Singer', 'Sunshine After The Rain' and 'Lilac Wine'. </p>
Then turning her attention to increasingly MOR collections, 'Shooting Star' (1978), 'Live And Learn' (1979), 'Pearls' (1981), the covers based 'Pearls II' (1982), 'Minutes' (1984), and 'Screen Gems' (1985) were all creditable successes, but a UK chart renaissance came with No More The Fool (1987). After that, Brooks has remained a popular live artist and returned to her roots with Nothin' But The Blues (1994).
In March 2003 she starred in the ITV music talent show Reborn in the USA, alongside musicians such as Sonia, Tony Hadley and Gina G.
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Categories: Vocalists