Julie Driscoll | Artist
Julie "Jools" Driscoll Tippett is an English singer and actress born 1947 in London. She is best known for iconic 1960's psych-pop hits such as "This Wheel's on Fire", made with Brian Auger & the Trinity, plus her solo work and collaborative work with husband Keith Tippett. Driscoll's very first recording as a Sixteen year old singer was a collaboration with Australian composer/conductor Howard Geller, on the 1963 single "Take Me By The Hand (And Lead Me)." From there she became a member of Long John Baldry's band Steampacket, together with Brian Auger, Rod Stewart and others. That band was short-lived and after its demise she stayed with Auger to be the voice of Brian Auger & The Trinity. The band went on to release a number of superb singles and EP's through the late '60s and several excellent studio albums, such as Streetnoise, from 1969. That year also saw the release of Driscoll's self-titled solo album which is a fine collection of acoustic psych-folk numbers produced by impresario and Marmalade Records founder Giorgio Gomelsky. Driscoll married English progressive rock and jazz musician Keith Tippett in 1970 and worked under the name Julie Tippetts from then on. Since the 1970s, Driscoll has concentrated on experimental vocal music. She took part in Keith Tippett's big band Centipede, and sang in Robert Wyatt's Theatre Royal Drury Lane concert in 1974. 1975 saw the release of her second solo album, the excellent Sunset Glow, in 1975, which adds a touch of Canterbury prog-jazz to her signature psych-folk vocal sound. Tippets continued with various collaborations to the present day. She provided lead vocals on Carla Bley's album Tropical Appetites, and on John Wolf Brennan's Through the Ear of a Raindrop. She also toured with her own band and recorded and performed in the vocal quartet Voice. She reunited with Auger for the 1978 album Encore. In 2009, Tippetts started collaborating with saxophonist and electronic musician Martin Archer, and the duo released six albums between 2009 and 2022. Back in the '60s with her stunning looks and ultra-hip fashions, Julie Driscoll was not only the voice, but one the the most iconic faces of swinging London's psychedelic music scene. Together with her fine body of later work, "Jools" will always be linked with the hit "This Wheel's on Fire", the sound and imagery of which typified the psychedelic era in British rock music of the 60's. Driscoll recorded the song again in the early 1990s with Adrian Edmondson, as the theme to the BBC comedy series Absolutely Fabulous.
Artist Website: wikipedia/Julie_Driscoll
Featured Albums: Julie Driscoll
Related Artists: Julie Tippetts, Keith Tippetts, Brian Auger, Steampacket
Collections: Women of Note
