>AMANDA GHOST_MP3 STORE>AMANDA GHOST, AT THE TIME OF WRITING, OCTOBER 2007Some people are born to be songwriters or producers, others excel at talent-spotting; there are people who can get up on a stage and those who can run their own label. Not many individuals, however, tick every one of those boxes. Amanda Ghost however is truly one such….
Amanda is a talent whose cv needs updating on a weekly basis, depending on who’s just called to write a song with her, who she’s been in the studio with or which new project she’s currently involved in. Perhaps "Renaissance woman" is a suitable epithet.
So, this biography really is "at the time of writing" and the reader should check back for frequent updates.
Projects on the go, close to fruition and in the pipeline at the moment, include:= The just-released single "Tattoo" by American Idol winner Jordin Sparks, which Amanda co-wrote in New York with the Danish hit machine, Stargate, and her long-time songwriting partner and friend, Ian Dench.
= The main title theme for the major new US network television series "Journeyman", with plans for Amanda herself to release a single based on the theme, again co-written and co-produced with The Rural.
= The release in 2008 of her first solo album on her own Plan A Records.
Those projects will bring yet more lustre to a resumé which includes co-writing distinctions on the global mega-hits "Beautiful Liar" and "You're Beautiful".They may also put more pressure on a mantelpiece which already holds two Ivor Novello Awards. Amanda also has two Grammy songwriting nominations. Ironical then that until relatively recently some considered songwriting her Achilles heel.
"When I was signed to Warners as an artist," she says, "the biggest complaint I had from the Chairman was "Amanda Ghost is a fabulous singer, but she can't write hits." She's quietly contented that history has proved him wrong….
Next year Amanda will release her solo album on her own Plan A label, and enjoys acting as her own A+R executive as she’s every bit as enthusiastic about the work she does behind the cameras and just off the stage.
Especially with her current protégé Hugo, an exciting singer, songwriter and band leader who's descended from the Thai royal family. Part-based in London and soon to release his first English album, co-written and co-produced with Amanda and Ian Dench, Hugo is a multi-media superstar in Thailand.
There has been a strong awareness of Amanda Ghost as an emerging creative force since the dawn of the century. Born in North London of Indian and Spanish parentage, she debuted in 2000 with the Warner Brothers album "Ghost Stories." The songs were strong, the reviews were great, but the label was unable to convert them into significant success, although the album, virtually unpromoted, sold a very respectable 200,000 units in the US.
Amanda was brought to the label by one of the last of the great A&R men, Andrew Wickham and proved to be his last signing. His first, some 33 years before, had been Joni Mitchell, a close friend of Amanda and the subject of an acclaimed two-part series which Amanda presented for BBC Radio 2 in March 2007, based on a long, intimate conversation between them recorded at Mitchell's house in Los Angeles.
After a period of stasis with Warner Brothers, she further underlined her determination and versatility by singing on Dark Globe's dancefloor smash "Break My World" in 2004. Marooned in Los Angeles and neglected by her record label, Amanda re-focused on song-writing. "Something wouldn't let me quit,"she remembers, possibly the warm reception in some quarters for the personal compositions on her debut album, notably "Glory Girl" and "Cellophane."
That sharpened focus led to the household hit "You're Beautiful"; she had long been a friend and supporter of James Blunt since the beginning of his career and they co-wrote the song at her rented house in Los Angeles.
Then came Beyoncé & Shakira and another word-wide hit – "Beautiful Liar" which propelled Amanda to her current position as one of the most in-demand songwriters and producers in the US and UK.
With her songs now in demand for superstars from Britney to Whitney, Amanda Ghost is revelling in her own versatility. Even her own description of her style — "country-folk-pop with a little bit of electronica" — reveals an artist who has a ravenous appetite for music.
"I want to do something that leaves a mark on the world," she says, adding with a smile, "If I wanted to make money, I’d be a music lawyer.
"I want to be known as a musician. That covers me as a singer, a writer and a record producer. And I’d also like to be known as a musical entrepreneur, because I find and develop acts, which is such a buzz for me."
