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Jessica Lee Morgan

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Jessica Lee Morgan
Background information
Born (1976-06-16) 16 June 1976 (age 48)
OriginReading, Berkshire, England
GenresFolk
Instruments
  • Vocals
  • guitar
Years active2010–present

Jessica Lee Morgan (born 16 June 1976) is a British singer and songwriter.

Early life

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As the daughter of Welsh folksinger Mary Hopkin and American music producer Tony Visconti, Morgan grew up in a musical environment. She learned songs on guitar from her mother and musician friends of the family and was influenced by singer-songwriters such as Joni Mitchell.

Morgan continued to sing in concerts and sessions. One of her earliest sessions was for Hazel O'Connor[1] and later for Elaine Paige as "Jessica Visconti", both produced by her father, Tony Visconti.[citation needed]

At university she played solo original gigs and in covers bands, and also put on gigs for other bands.[2]

Career

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In 2010, Morgan released her debut album, I Am Not.[3][4] The same year, she sang on several tracks on the album You Look Familiar" by her mother Mary Hopkin and her brother Morgan Visconti.[5]

In 2011, Morgan recorded "The Long and Winding Road" for The Beatles Complete On Ukulele.[6] In 2014, she sang on Morgan Visconti's album Ride and performed live at the launch event in May in New York City. Morgan and her brother had previously collaborated on her album I Am Not, which her brother co-produced.[7]

Later in 2014, Morgan took part in the "Dylathon", a 36-hour performance of the works of Dylan Thomas at the Swansea Grand Theatre to celebrate the poet's centenary directed by Michael Bogdanov. She performed her own a cappella musical adaptation of "Love in the Asylum" and two excerpts from "Under Milk Wood" as Polly Garter with the Wales Theatre Company and Ian McKellen.[8]

On Saint David's Day 2015, Morgan represented her mother at Wales at Number One, a concert at the Wales Millennium Centre in Cardiff. She sang "Those Were The Days". The same year, she released her singles "Painting By Numbers"[9] and "When Did It All Begin?"[10]

Her second album, Around The Block, was released on 16 June 2017.[11]

Re:Boot was a reworking of her first album and was released in 2018. In 2020 her fourth album, Forthright, was released in June.[12]

She sang two songs as a guest on the album Decades by David Palfreyman and Nicholas Pegg, and a video for one song, "Hurting, Sinking", was released on 1 December 2017.[13]

She currently performs solo and with her partner in the UK.[14] In 2020, unable to perform live due to restrictions following the coronavirus outbreak, she started live streaming gigs as part of a Time Zone Tour.[15]

In May 2023, Jessica released the album, Two Hearts, alongside her mother, Mary Hopkin.[16]

Other projects

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In 2005, Jessica founded Mary Hopkin Music, a record label, exclusively for the distribution of previously unreleased material by Mary Hopkin. The label has released several albums including "You Look Familiar" and Jessica's cover of "Painting by Numbers".[17]

In 2015 Jessica toured with a show called Very Hopkin, singing Mary Hopkin covers as a tribute to her mother.[18] She has also toured her own material as a support act and performing backing vocals, twelve-string guitar and saxophone with the band Holy Holy, featuring Woody Woodmansey, Tony Visconti and Glenn Gregory.[19]

References

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  1. ^ "Hazel O'Connor - Cover Plus". Discogs. Retrieved 22 October 2018.
  2. ^ "Jessica Lee Morgan". NewSoundWales. Archived from the original on 18 October 2018. Retrieved 22 October 2018.
  3. ^ Owens, David (26 October 2010). "It's a family affair for Jessica Lee Morgan". WalesOnline. Retrieved 22 October 2018.
  4. ^ Gabriel, Clare (29 October 2010). "Sixties singer Mary Hopkin's daughter's debut release". BBC News Wales. Retrieved 22 October 2018.
  5. ^ "Making of the album...You Look Familiar Part Two: Recording". Mary Hopkin.com. Retrieved 22 October 2018.
  6. ^ "The Long And Winding Road – Jessica Lee Morgan". The Beatles Complete On Ukulele. Retrieved 22 October 2018.
  7. ^ "Home". Morgan Visconti. Retrieved 22 October 2018.
  8. ^ Owen, Cathy (26 October 2014). "Jo Brand gets 36-hour Dylathon underway in Swansea". WalesOnline. Retrieved 22 October 2018.
  9. ^ "Jessica Lee Morgan - Painting by Numbers". MaryHopkin.com. 2015. Archived from the original on 28 September 2015. Retrieved 22 October 2018.
  10. ^ "When Did It All Begin". Amazon. Retrieved 22 October 2018.
  11. ^ "Return of Jessica Lee Morgan, Daughter of Mary Hopkin & Tony Visconti". uDiscoverMusic. 16 March 2017. Retrieved 31 December 2017.
  12. ^ "Jessica Lee Morgan, British singer-songwriter". Jessicaleemorgan.com. Retrieved 5 July 2020.
  13. ^ "Decades the Album". DecadesTheAlbum.com. Retrieved 31 December 2017.
  14. ^ "Jessica Lee Morgan's gigs". JessicaLeeMorgan.com. Retrieved 22 October 2018.
  15. ^ Gent, James (20 May 2020). "Jessica Lee Morgan: Time Zone Tour » We Are Cult". Wearecult.rocks. Retrieved 5 July 2020.
  16. ^ "Welsh singer Mary Hopkin set to release new album with daughter". Nation.Cymru. 28 April 2023. Retrieved 29 April 2023.
  17. ^ "Mary Hopkin Music". MaryHopkin.com. Retrieved 22 October 2018.
  18. ^ "Very Hopkin". MaryHopkin.com. Retrieved 22 October 2018.
  19. ^ "Holy Holy announce UK and Dublin tour for June 2015". DavidBowie.com. 30 December 2014. Archived from the original on 1 June 2015. Retrieved 22 October 2018.
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