Sandi Thom facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Sandi Thom
|
|
|---|---|
.jpeg)
Sandi Thom at the Ealing Blues Festival, 2011
|
|
| Background information | |
| Birth name | Alexandria Thom |
| Born | 11 August 1981 Banff, Aberdeenshire, Scotland |
| Origin | Banff, Scotland |
| Genres | Pop, folk, R&B, rock, blues, acoustic |
| Occupation(s) |
|
| Instruments |
|
| Years active | 2004–present |
| Labels | Viking Legacy, Sony BMG, RCA, Guardian Angels |
Alexandria Thom (born on August 11, 1981) is a singer and songwriter from Scotland. She is also a talented musician who plays many instruments. Sandi Thom became famous in 2006 when her first song, "I Wish I Was a Punk Rocker (With Flowers in My Hair)", became number one in the UK, Australia, and Ireland.
This song was the best-selling single in Australia in 2006. It stayed at the top of the music charts there for ten weeks! Sandi Thom has released six studio albums. These include Smile... It Confuses People (2006) and Ghosts (2019).
Contents
About Sandi Thom's Early Life
Sandi Thom was born in a town called Banff in Scotland. She went to Robert Gordon's College in Aberdeen. Before becoming famous, she played piano and sang in a band called The Residents for three years.
Sandi Thom was the youngest student ever accepted into the famous Liverpool Institute of Performing Arts (LIPA). This is a special school for people who want to work in music and theater. She graduated from LIPA in 2003 with a degree in Performing Arts. Sandi Thom has also helped with charity work for Oxfam in Africa.
Sandi Thom's Music Career
Starting Out: Smile... It Confuses People (2004–2007)
In 2004, Sandi Thom moved to London to write songs. She worked with other writers to create new music. In 2005, she signed a deal with a music company. Her first song, "I Wish I Was a Punk Rocker (With Flowers in My Hair)", was released in late 2005.
Sandi Thom became well-known for her "21 Nights from Tooting" tour. This was a series of 21 concerts she performed from the basement of her flat in Tooting, London. She recorded these shows and shared them online. People could buy tickets, even though only a few people could fit in the room! News about her unique tour spread quickly.
The attention from her online concerts led to a big record deal. Her song "I Wish I Was a Punk Rocker" was re-released in May 2006 by RCA Records. It quickly went to number one on the UK Singles Chart. Sandi Thom performed on Top of the Pops, a popular TV music show. The song also reached number one in Ireland and Australia.
Her first album, Smile... It Confuses People, was released in the UK that same month. It also went to number one on the UK Albums Chart. This album sold over one million copies around the world!
New Music: The Pink & the Lily and Merchants and Thieves (2007–2012)
In May 2008, Sandi Thom released her second album, The Pink & the Lily. The first song from this album was "The Devil's Beat". The album was played a lot on BBC Radio 2. It reached number 25 on the UK music chart.
In 2009, Sandi Thom decided to make her third album as an independent artist. This meant she would release it herself, without a big record label. She said that RCA, her previous label, had dropped her without telling her.
A collection of her songs, The Best of Sandi Thom, was released in July 2009. This album was put together from her first two albums and other songs.
Later Albums: Flesh and Blood and Earthquake (2012–2019)
Sandi Thom's third studio album, Merchants and Thieves, came out in May 2010. She released it on her own record label, Guardian Angels. This album showed a change in her music style, moving more towards blues music. Her song "House of the Rising Sun" was also released as a special track.
Merchants and Thieves was nominated for awards like Best Album at the British Blues Awards in 2011. Sandi Thom was also nominated for Artist of the Year.
Her fourth album, Flesh and Blood, was released in September 2012. It was recorded in Nashville, USA. Famous musicians like Rich Robinson from The Black Crowes helped produce it. Sandi Thom then released her first live concert DVD.
In 2013, she released her fifth album, The Covers Collection. This album featured acoustic versions of songs she loved as a teenager. These included songs by bands like Nirvana and Guns N' Roses. Sandi Thom played all the instruments on this album herself.
In 2015, Sandi Thom spoke out about her song "Earthquake" not being played on some radio stations. She later clarified her comments. Despite this, her song was played on many regional BBC stations.
In 2018, Sandi Thom shared that it was hard to make money from releasing albums. She decided to release a new song every week in a simple digital form.
Recent Work: Ghosts (2019–Present)
Sandi Thom released her album Ghosts in 2019. In December 2023, she released "Silence". This song is the first single from her new EP, Warpaint.
Sandi Thom's Concert Tours
Tours Across the UK
Before her "21 Nights from Tooting" shows, Sandi Thom was already touring in the UK in 2005. She performed at big festivals and charity events. She also supported other bands like The Proclaimers on their tours.
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 there two more times for other charity events.
Sandi Thom has played concerts in many unusual places. She performed at the top of a mountain for the World Skiing Championships in Sweden. She also played 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!
She has performed at major music festivals like Glastonbury and V Festival. In 2007, she spent six weeks touring France, playing free concerts to large crowds. She has also performed at festivals in Ireland and Japan. In 2008, she supported George Michael on his stadium tour in Denmark.
New Year's Eve Celebrations
On New Year's Eve 2008, Sandi Thom was the main performer at the Hogmanay celebrations in Aberdeen, Scotland. She then flew by jet to Edinburgh to perform on the BBC Hogmanay show. This allowed her to play at both big events that night.
She also performed at a special dinner celebrating the poet Robert Burns's 250th birthday. This event was held in Alloway, where Burns was born.
Homecoming Scotland 2009 Tour
Sandi Thom dedicated her 2009 tour to the Homecoming Scotland campaign. This campaign encouraged people to visit Scotland. Local artists opened for her shows. She even sang a duet with Scotland's First Minister, Alex Salmond, at one concert in Banff.
During this tour, Sandi Thom released two EPs (mini-albums). These EPs included live recordings and cover songs.
More Touring Around the World
Sandi Thom performed at the SXSW festival in Texas in March 2009. She also supported blues guitarist Joe Bonamassa on his UK and Irish tours.
She performed at the Stirling Castle Hogmanay celebrations in 2009. In 2010, she toured the UK to share new songs from her album Merchants and Thieves. She also played at festivals like The Great British Rhythm & Blues Festival.
In 2012, Sandi Thom returned to Australia for a series of concerts. She also played an exclusive show at London's Gibson showroom. She performed with Joe Bonamassa again at the Usher Hall in Edinburgh.
In 2013, Sandi Thom toured all over the world, including Australia, the UK, Holland, and Scandinavia. She changed her live show to perform solo, playing guitar, harmonica, and singing all at once.
Royal Albert Hall and International Shows
In April 2014, Sandi Thom performed again at the Royal Albert Hall. She also played a series of concerts in the United States, including cities like Chicago, Nashville, and Los Angeles. She planned and promoted all these shows herself.
Later in 2014, Sandi Thom toured Australia and New Zealand. She performed at the Narooma Blues Festival in Australia. In August 2018, she announced that she would have a regular Friday night performance at a jazz lounge in Bahrain.
Sandi Thom's Music Albums
Studio albums
- Smile... It Confuses People (2006)
- The Pink & the Lily (2008)
- Merchants and Thieves (2010)
- Flesh and Blood (2012)
- The Covers Collection (2013)
- Ghosts (2019)
Compilation albums
- The Best of Sandi Thom (2009)
Images for kids
-
Sandi Thom performing in 2008
-
Sandi Thom performing live during her Merchants and Thieves tour in 2011
