Sandi Thom facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Sandi Thom
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Thom in 2008
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| Background information | |
| Birth name | Alexandria Thom |
| Born | 11 August 1981 Banff, Aberdeenshire, Scotland |
| Genres | Pop, folk, R&B, rock, blues, acoustic |
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| Years active | 2004–present |
| Labels | Viking Legacy, Sony BMG, RCA, Guardian Angels |
Alexandria Thom (born on August 11, 1981), known as Sandi Thom, is a singer and songwriter from Scotland. She became very famous in 2006 with her first song, "I Wish I Was a Punk Rocker (With Flowers in My Hair)". This song was the best-selling single in Australia that year. It was also the fifth best-selling song in the United Kingdom in 2006.
Her first album, Smile... It Confuses People (released in 2006), was also very successful. It reached number one in Scotland, the United Kingdom, and Ireland. The album sold over a million copies worldwide. It earned Platinum status in the UK, Gold in Australia and New Zealand, and Silver in France. The second song from the album, "What If I'm Right", also did well.
In May 2008, she released "The Devil's Beat". This was the first song from her second album, The Pink & the Lily, which came out a week later. This album did not become as popular as her first one. A second song from this album, "Saturday Night", did not appear on any music charts.
Her later albums, Merchants and Thieves (2010) and Flesh and Blood (2012), had some success in the UK. Merchants and Thieves reached number three on the UK Jazz & Blues Albums Charts. Sandi Thom became a mother to her son, Logan, in 2016.
Contents
Early Life and Beginnings
Sandi Thom was born in Banff, Scotland. Before becoming famous, she spent three years playing piano and singing in a band called The Residents. This band was from Gourdon in Aberdeenshire.
Sandi Thom was the youngest student ever accepted into the famous Liverpool Institute for Performing Arts (LIPA). In 2003, she graduated from LIPA with a degree in Performing Arts. She has also helped with charity efforts for Oxfam in Malawi and other parts of East Africa.
Music Career Highlights
Starting Her Career (2004–2007)
In 2004, Sandi Thom moved to London to work on her songwriting. She signed a music publishing deal in 2005. Later, she signed a record deal with Viking Legacy.
A unique part of her early career was her "21 Nights from Tooting" tour. This involved 21 performances from the basement of her flat in Tooting, London, from February 24 to March 16. These shows were recorded and streamed online. Tickets were sold, but the small venue could only hold about six people.
News about her online performances spread in early 2006. This publicity led to interest from major record labels. RCA Records UK signed her, and her single "I Wish I Was a Punk Rocker" was re-released on May 22, 2006.
The song quickly became very popular. It debuted at number one on the UK Singles Chart. Sandi Thom performed on Top of the Pops, a major TV show. In June, the song reached number one in the UK. It was also nominated for Best British Single at the Brit Awards. In the Republic of Ireland, it also hit number one. In Australia, it stayed at number one for ten weeks, becoming the highest-selling single of 2006 there.
Her first album, Smile... It Confuses People, was released in the UK in the same month. It debuted at number one on the UK Albums Chart. The album sold over one million copies around the world. The next song from the album, "What If I'm Right", reached lower spots on the charts. However, "Lonely Girl", the third song, did not enter any charts.
Later Albums and Tours (2007–2012)
In May 2008, Sandi Thom released her second album, The Pink & the Lily. The first song from it was "The Devil's Beat". The album and single were played often on BBC Radio 2. In the UK, the album reached number 25 for one week.
Sandi Thom later shared that she felt her second album was made too quickly. She felt pressured to finish it while touring. She was disappointed with it and felt it was released too soon.
On New Year's Eve 2008, Sandi Thom performed at the Hogmanay celebrations in Aberdeen. She then flew to Edinburgh to perform on the BBC Hogmanay show. In January 2009, she performed at the Library of Congress with Sir Sean Connery.
In February 2009, Sandi Thom announced she would make her third album as an independent artist. This was after RCA Records ended their contract with her.
A collection of her songs, The Best of Sandi Thom, was released in July 2009. This album was put out by Sony BMG without her permission. Sandi Thom dedicated her 2009 tour to the Homecoming Scotland campaign. She released two EPs during this tour: a "Live EP" and the "Caledonia EP." These EPs were only sold at her concerts.
New Music and Challenges (2012–2019)
Sandi Thom's third album, Merchants and Thieves, was released independently in May 2010. The first song was "This Ol' World," featuring guitarist Joe Bonamassa. She released this album on her own label, Guardian Angels. The music on this album moved more towards blues and roots styles.
Merchants and Thieves was nominated for Best Album at the British Blues Awards in 2011. It was also nominated for Best Jazz/Blues Recording of the Year at the Scottish Music Awards. Sandi Thom was nominated for Artist of the Year, and her label, Guardian Angel Recordings, was nominated for Record Label of the Year.
Her fourth album, Flesh and Blood, came out in September 2012. It was recorded in Nashville and featured The Black Crowes guitarist Rich Robinson as a guest producer. Other musicians included Audley Freed and Rolling Stones saxophonist Bobby Keys.
Sandi Thom then released her first live concert DVD, which included a guest performance from Joe Bonamassa. Her fifth album, The Covers Collection, was released in November 2013. This album was an acoustic collection of songs she listened to as a teenager, including music by Nirvana, Guns N' Roses, Pearl Jam, Heart, and Fleetwood Mac. She played all the instruments on this album and produced it herself, but it did not appear on music charts.
In 2015, Sandi Thom gained attention after posting a video online. In the video, she expressed frustration that her song "Earthquake" was not being played on some major radio stations. Despite her comments, "Earthquake" was played on many regional BBC stations and BBC Radio Scotland.
Concert Tours and Performances
Early Tours and Festivals
Before her "21 Nights from Tooting" shows, Sandi Thom was already touring the UK in 2005. She performed at the Free at the Dee festival in Aberdeen in September 2005. She also supported The Proclaimers on their UK tour in December 2005 and toured with Nizlopi.
In 2008, The Who's Pete Townshend invited Sandi Thom to perform for the Teenage Cancer Trust at the Royal Albert Hall in London. She performed two more times at the Royal Albert Hall. One of these was at the Sunflower Jam, where she played alongside Queen's Brian May and Led Zeppelin's John Paul Jones (musician).
Sandi Thom has performed in many unusual places. She played at the opening of the World Skiing Championships in Sweden, with the stage at the top of a mountain. She also performed at the top of the BT tower in London. For a Children in Need charity auction, she played a private concert in someone's living room for £17,000.
She played on the Main Stage at T in the Park in 2006. She also headlined the acoustic tent at the 2006 V Festival. In early 2007, she spent six weeks in France, performing free concerts in many cities. These shows were called the Ricard Live Tour and drew crowds of about 35,000 people each night.
Sandi Thom has performed at many music festivals, including Glastonbury, Guilfest, and Redbourne. In Scotland, she played at the Wizard festival and the Belladrum Heart festival. Further away, she performed at the Oxegen music festival and the World Fleadh in Ireland, and the Fuji Rock Festival in Japan. In 2008, she supported George Michael on his stadium tour in Denmark.
Recent Performances
Sandi Thom appeared at the SXSW festival in Texas in March 2009. In April, she had a sold-out show at the Nantwich Jazz Festival. She was also invited to play at Switzerland's Avo Session Basel, supporting Snow Patrol. After this, she supported Joe Bonamassa on his UK and Irish tours.
Thom performed at the Stirling Castle Hogmanay celebrations in 2009. She toured the UK in April and May 2010 to share new songs from her album Merchants and Thieves. She also appeared at UK festivals like The Tiree festival in Scotland and The Great British Rhythm & Blues Festival in England. A second Merchants and Thieves tour took place in September and October.
In 2012, Sandi Thom returned to Australia for a series of concerts with blues singer Chris Wilson. She also performed an exclusive show at London's Gibson showroom. She made several guest appearances with Joe Bonamassa, including at the Usher Hall in Edinburgh. In 2013, Thom performed concerts around the world, including Australia, the UK, Holland, and Scandinavia. She changed her live show to perform solo, playing 12-string guitar, stomp box, singing, and playing harmonica at the same time.
In April 2014, Sandi Thom performed as a guest at the Royal Albert Hall. She also played a series of concerts in the US, including in Chicago, Nashville, and Los Angeles. She organized and promoted all these shows herself. In late 2014, she toured Australia for six weeks and performed in New Zealand for the first time. She played at the Narooma Blues Festival in Australia in 2014, followed by a four-week tour of the UK.
In August 2018, Sandi Thom announced she would have a regular Friday night performance at the Privee Jazz Lounge Bar at the Domain Hotel Bahrain.
New Music (2019–Present)
Sandi Thom released the album Ghosts in 2019. In December 2023, she released "Silence," which was the first song from her EP, Warpaint.
Discography
- Smile... It Confuses People (2006)
- The Pink & the Lily (2008)
- Merchants and Thieves (2010)
- Flesh and Blood (2012)
- The Covers Collection (2013)
- Ghosts (2019)
Awards and Nominations
In 2007, her song "I Wish I Was a Punk Rocker (With Flowers in My Hair)" was nominated for the Brit Award for Song of the Year. Her third album, Merchant and Thieves, was nominated for Best Jazz/Blues Recording of the Year at the Scottish Music Awards in 2011. Sandi Thom was also nominated for Artist of the Year, and her label, "Guardian Angel Recordings," was nominated for Record Label of the Year.
