Tanita Tikaram suddenly became famous in the late 80s. It was then that she recorded her debut album “Ancient Heart”, which included the song “Twist in my sobriety”. The song, still played on radio stations all over the world, was known to almost everyone in the 90s. Tanita Tikaram’s melodic, velvety and low voice became a permanent part of the most important sounds of that time. And although it may seem that after “Twist in my sobriety” Tikaram never recorded anything, it is not true at all.
What is Tanita Tikaram doing today?
“Ancient Heart” from 1988 was the singer’s first, but by no means last album. Tanita Tikaram was only 19 years old at the time and had a fantastic start to her career. “Twist in my sobriety” conquered the whole world, thanks to which not only the first album, but also the next one sold like hot cakes. “Ancient Heart” reached the ears of four million listeners – and these are only those who legally purchased the album. In the times when copying onto cassettes was a common method, it is difficult to really estimate how many people loved Tanita Tikaram. In Europe, her popularity at that time is also reflected in the place of “Ancient Heart” on national charts – in Germany, Austria, Norway and Switzerland the album hit the number one position, in many others it was in the top five most frequently listened to. It was covered with several platinum and gold, which predicted an excellent future career for Tikaram.
Unfortunately, it turned out differently. “Twist in my sobriety” did not kill the singer’s creativity, but none of her songs ever repeated this worldwide success. The next album reached third place on the charts, but the next ones sold only worse. The record company, faced with the lack of interest in Tikaram’s music, put her on the sidelines. Ten years after “Twist in my sobriety”, her brother, an actor, Ramon, appeared in the British comedy soap opera “This Life” was already better known than her. At that time, Tanita Tikaram studied and lived in Italy and the USA, still occasionally involved in music. In 1998, she changed the record company and recorded “The Cappuccino Songs”, an album that she herself said was made by force and did not contain many songs that she liked. After “coffee songs” she disappeared completely for a few years.
She returned with new music only in 2005, and after 2012 she went on tour in Europe. After 2016 she also visited Poland. In her few interviews she seems to have no grudge against the fact that although she was created as a world star, she became a master of one song.
They didn’t have anything to write about me then, so they wrote that “Tanita is very serious”. That’s not so bad, is it? And I’m not very lively. I’ve always had a low voice, now I’ve learned to accept it, who I am in music – she said in an interview with “The Guardian” 20 years ago, just before her return with a new album, “Sentimental”.
It’s just one of the songs I recorded. Although it’s also my song that everyone remembers best and the song that made me where I am today. It’s thanks to it that everything I did later became possible. You just have to accept such things – she added in an interview with Gazeta.pl in 2005.
She’s still performing – less than a month ago, she was at Glastonbury, and at the end of July, she’ll be supporting another artist in Germany. She released her last album in 2019, and she may not have said her last musical word yet.
Source: Gazeta
Bruce is a talented author and journalist with a passion for entertainment . He currently works as a writer at the 247 News Agency, where he has established himself as a respected voice in the industry.
