Charlie's new album,'Cheapskate Lullabyes' is released on June 13th '11. Her seventh album and first set of originals since 2006, is an eclectic collection of genre-defying musical styles which she describes as 'borrowed from folk, country, Django Reinhardt and the Beatles'. Lyrically, the subject matter ranges from infidelity ('His Wife') to debt ('Cheapskate Lullabye'), via drink ('A Man Walks Into A Bar'),death ('Australia') desire ('Liontamer'), therapy ('Fifty Pound Father') and difficult step-children ('Milk Teeth').
Co-produced & written with long-time collaborator and school friend Julian Littman, the album features her live band, The Hula Valley Orchestra. Named after her first band, a group Charlie assembled in '76 to help her pad out her 3 hour stint in a Westbourne Grove pancake house, the 4 piece current line up are all multi-instrumental and despite the name don't feature Hawaiian music or come from a valley. The band will be appearing at festivals throughout summer '11 including Glastonbury, Cropredy, Summertyne and Ireby.
Although best known as one of the UK's most respected singer-songwriters, Charlie enjoys a multi-faceted career that includes acting in film, TV & radio, comedy-improvisation, and composition for film and TV. May '11 sees the airing of 'Sybil Law', her first radio comedy series, written for BBC Radio Scotland and starring Una Maclean.
Her enduring radio classic, 'Pilot of the Airwaves' was the first of many successful songs that lead the way for an impressively diverse list of artists to record her material, including Tina Turner, George Harrison,Lisa Stansfield,Paul Carrack,Ricky Ross,Sheena Easton(US No 4),Celine Dion, UB40 and Jimmy Nail, for whom she wrote "Ain't No Doubt", a UK No 1.
She has made five albums of her own songs, the last two of which, 'Sleep All Day' and 'Cuckoo Hill', saw a return to her acoustic folk-country roots and won her excellent reviews as well as the International Acoustic Music Awards Grand Prize for her song "Looking For My Own Lone Ranger".
Charlie has also made one album of covers, the 2009 album, 'The Hula Valley Songbook', a collection of American hillbilly, swing and popular favourites of the 1930's .
She starred opposite Jonathon Pryce in the award-winning film "The Ploughman's Lunch", worked in theatre, including regional, fringe and West End and co-founded and performed at comedy-impro venue The Hurricane Club, working alongside many comedy icons, including Robin Williams.Charlie also appears fleetingly as the irritating Betty Potter in her 'Sybil Law' radio series.
Although her solo albums favour her more eclectic, acoustic side Charlie continues to court diversity with collaborations, notably with Souled Out, who remixed her single "Time Goes By" to produce a European club hit (Italy No 6, Israel No 1), British underground dance dons, Slacker, ("Space County") and Pete"Boxta"Martin, whose forthcoming album "Slide" features her as guest vocalist.
Live dates Summer 2011
May 27 - Ireby Festival
June 14 - Wargrave Festival
June 15 - The Slaughtered Lamb
June 25th - Glastonbury Festival
June 26 - Dentdale Festival
July 25th - Summertyne Americana FestivalAugust 12 - Cropredy Festival
'File under treasure' – Charlie Gillett, Observer Music Magazine
'A clever songwriter with a dream of a voice that glides from folk and country to jazzy cabaret' – The Telegraph
'She sounds like Albion's lost McGarrigle sister' – Uncut
'The surety of Dore's singing helps highlight the elegance and candour of her songs'
The Observer
'.what a great performer she is. with Dore as a confident and accomplished front-woman.their performance was truly exceptional'. - Jeremy Miles, Bournemouth Echo
'playful and clever… a wonderful kind of bittersweet pastoral Englishness' – Americana UK
'Charlie Dore takes artistry to a whole new level' – Maverick
