Tracie Young finally made it as a solo performer after being a protege of Paul Weller for several years. Born in '65 in Derby, she was discovered by Weller when she answered an ad. he placed in 'Smash Hits' magazine for a vocalist to accompany the band The Questions - she was only 17 at the time.!
Her vocal skills so impressed him that he got her to do backing for The Jam's final song 'Beat Surrender' in the November of '82, as well as keeping her on as a vocalist in his new band The Style Council.
She had her first solo hit in March 1983 with 'The House That Jack Built', followed in July by the ghastly 'Give It Some Emotion'. Her first solo album 'Far From The Hurting Kind' was released the following year. She continued to work with The Style Council, although her solo career suffered a setback when her record company, Respond, went into liquidation in '86. Although she went on to record a second album 'No Smoke Without Fire' with Polydor, this remains unreleased to this day.
Since the late '90s she has been working as a radio presenter at Southend Radio, Chelmsford Radio and Connect FM, although did do a one-off gig in 2009 at The Shepherd's Bush Empire. Two years earlier, she auctioned off her BPI silver disc for 'Speak Like A Child' with The Style Council to raise money for Little Havens Children's Hospice. In July 2011 she was busted for drink driving whilst rushing to the aid of her 14-year old son, who was caught inside a police cordon of an armed siege, and received a 14-month driving ban.
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Do You Remember Tracie Young?
Do You Remember Tracie Young?