Tanita Tikaram
Tanita Tikaram (born 12 August 1969) is a British singer-songwriter. Born in Münster, West Germany, she grew up in Basingstoke, Hampshire and began writing songs while studying for her A-levels. After performing at the Mean Fiddler in London, she signed with WEA and released her debut album, Ancient Heart, in 1988. The album included the international hit singles "Good Tradition" and "Twist in My Sobriety". She was nominated at the Brit Awards 1989 for Best British Female and, for the latter single, Best British Single.
Tikaram followed Ancient Heart with The Sweet Keeper (1990), Everybody's Angel (1991) and the self-produced Eleven Kinds of Loneliness (1992). After Lovers in the City (1995) and the more collaborative The Cappuccino Songs (1998), she took a seven-year break between studio albums. She returned with the piano-led Sentimental in 2005 and later released Can't Go Back (2012), Closer to the People (2016) and LIAR (Love Isn't a Right) (2025).
Known for her low contralto, Tikaram's music has drawn on folk and pop as well as soul, jazz and Americana. Her songwriting is often characterised by impressionistic lyrics, and she has resisted treating her songs as straightforward autobiography. She was one of the vocalists featured in Sonia Boyce's installation Feeling Her Way for the British Pavilion at the 59th Venice Biennale in 2022.
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