Neneh Cherry

  • Stockholm, Sweden
    hometown
  • Pop
    genre
  • 1987
    started
  • Bio
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About Neneh Cherry


The stepdaughter of jazz trailblazer Don Cherry, vocalist Neneh Cherry forged her own groundbreaking blend of pop, dance, and hip-hop, presaging the emergence of both alternative rap and trip-hop. She was born Neneh Mariann Karlssson on March 10, 1964, in Stockholm, Sweden, the daughter of West African percussionist Amadu Jah and artist Moki Cherry. Raised by her mother and her trumpeter stepfather in both Stockholm and New York City, Cherry dropped out of school at age 14, and in 1980 she relocated to London to sing with the punk group the Cherries.

Following brief flings with the Slits and the Nails, she joined the experimental funk outfit Rip Rig + Panic, and appeared on the group's albums God (1981), I Am Cold (1982), and Attitude (1983). When the band broke up, Cherry remained with one of the spinoff groups, Float Up CP, and led them through one album, 1986's Kill Me in the Morning. The band proved short-lived, however, and Cherry began rapping in a London club, where she earned the attention of a talent scout who signed her to a solo contract. Her first single, "Stop the War," railed against the invasion of the Falkland Islands.

After attracting some notice singing backup on the The's "Slow Train to Dawn" single, she became romantically and professionally involved with composer and musician Cameron McVey, who, under the alias Booga Bear, wrote much of the material that would comprise Cherry's 1989 debut LP, Raw Like Sushi. One song McVey did not write was "Buffalo Stance," the album's breakthrough single; originally tossed off as a B-side by the mid-'80s pop group Morgan McVey, Cherry's cover was an international smash that neatly summarized the album's eclectic fusion of pop smarts and hip-hop energy.

A pair of hits -- the eerie "Manchild" and "Kisses on the Wind" -- followed, but shortly after the record's release Cherry was sidelined with Lyme disease, and apart from a cover of Cole Porter's "I've Got You Under My Skin" for the 1990 Red Hot + Blue benefit album, she remained silent until 1992's Homebrew. A more subdued collection than Raw Like Sushi, it featured cameos from Gang Starr and R.E.M.'s Michael Stipe, as well as writing and production assistance from Geoff Barrow, who layered the track "Somedays" with the same distinct trip-hop glaze he later perfected as half of the duo Portishead. While the album was not as commercially successful as its predecessor, Cherry returned to the charts in 1994 duetting with Youssou N'Dour on the global hit "Seven Seconds."

After another lengthy layoff spent raising her children, she resurfaced with the atmospheric Man in 1996. A remix version of the album, simply titled Remixes, would follow in 1998; then family life became a priority once again, with some guest appearances (including the 1998 single "Walk into this Room" with Live's Edward Kowalczyk and a guest spot on Peter Gabriel's 2000 album OVO) and work with her husband Burt Ford band's Cirkus carrying her into the new millennium. She returned in 2012 with The Cherry Thing, an album in which she fronted the Thing, the experimental Scandinavian jazz trio whose founding mission was to play her stepfather's music. ~ Jason Ankeny, Rovi

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Music

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  • Buffalo Stance
    neneh-cherry
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    Buffalo Stance
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    • Buffalo Stance
      http://listen.vo.llnwd.net/g1/3/5/4/4/3/988834453.mp3
    • Manchild
      http://listen.vo.llnwd.net/g1/5/6/4/4/3/988834465.mp3
    • Kisses On The Wind
      http://listen.vo.llnwd.net/g1/8/5/5/4/3/988834558.mp3
    • Cashback
      http://listen.vo.llnwd.net/g2/9/9/0/3/1/919413099.mp3
    • Dream Baby Dream
      http://listen.vo.llnwd.net/g2/1/4/1/3/1/919413141.mp3
    • The Next Generation
      http://listen.vo.llnwd.net/g1/6/7/5/4/3/988834576.mp3

Photos

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  • Before her brother Eagle-Eye became a star, Neneh Cherry hit with "Buffalo Stance" and "Kisses On The Wind."
    Neneh Cherry
    Before her brother Eagle-Eye became a star, Neneh Cherry hit with "Buffalo Stance" and "Kisses On The Wind."
  • Virgin
    Neneh Cherry
    Virgin
    Eddie Monsoon

News

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  • Neneh Cherry
    Doc Martens Adds Neneh Cherry Redo to 50th Birthday Bash
    prefixmag.com
    The party continues as inimitable boot brand Doc Martens celebrates its50th anniversaryby releasing a remake of Neneh Cherry's 1988 hit "Buffalo Stanc...
    Read More
  • Neneh Cherry
    Neneh Cherry & The Thing Cover Madvillain, The Stooges On New Albu | Prefix
    www.prefixmag.com
    Tweet Gorillaz and Teddybears collaborator Neneh Cherry, who you might know for her '80s dance hit "Buffalo Stance," has revealed quite the interestin...
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  • Neneh Cherry
    Neneh Cherry & The Thing Collaborate On Debut LP And Stream Track | Prefix
    www.prefixmag.com
    Tweet Polymorphous Swedish singer Neneh Cherry has teamed up with fellow Scandinavians The Thing for a debut LP suitably named The Cherry Thing. Cherr...
    Read More
  • Neneh Cherry
    Neneh Cherry: 'Accordion' (Madvillain Cover) | Prefix
    www.prefixmag.com
    Tweet MF DOOM and Madlib's "Accordion" has been covered elsewhere, and by bigger names, but none have sounded quite as sexy as Neneh Cherry's version,...
    Read More
  • Neneh Cherry
    Stream Neneh Cherry & The Thing The Cherry Thing
    stereogum.com
    Singer/late '80s icon Neneh Cherry has enjoyed a bit of a renaissance thanks to her recent collaboration with Scandinavian jazz ensemble the Thing, an...
    Read More
  • Neneh Cherry
    Neneh Cherry & The Thing - "Dream Baby Dream (Four Tet Remix)" Video (Stereogum Premiere)
    stereogum.com
    In April, Neneh Cherry, a late-'80s avatar of cool whose old records have held up remarkably well, released "Dream Baby Dream," a gorgeous cover of th...
    Read More
  • Neneh Cherry
    Album Of The Week: Neneh Cherry & The Thing The Cherry Thing
    stereogum.com
    thing about that album a week ago, and I don't have a lot left to say about it, at least not yet. So instead, let's take this chance to look at anothe...
    Read More
  • Neneh Cherry
    Neneh Cherry & The Thing - "Accordion (Jim O'Rourke Remix)"
    stereogum.com
    A few months ago, we awarded Album Of The Week to The Cherry Thing, the volcanic covers collection from O.G. sassed-out polyglot-pop queen Neneh Cherr...
    Read More
  • Neneh Cherry
    Listen: Neneh Cherry and Afrika Baby Bam Share Four Tet-Produced "Nina"
    pitchfork.com
    Neneh Cherry and Afrika Baby Bam: "Nina" (prod. by Four Tet) (via SoundCloud) Today, Swedish pop star Neneh Cherry shared a new track called "Nina". I...
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  • Neneh Cherry
    Neneh Cherry & Afrika Baby Bam - "Nina" (Prod. By Four Tet)
    stereogum.com
    About 14 years ago, on opposite sides of the Atlantic, both Neneh Cherry and the Jungle Broters were doing way-out art-student things with rap music. ...
    Read More

Tour Dates

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  • Jun 28 Friday
    Brussels, Belgium Tour&Taxi
    Buy Ticket
  • Jun 30 Sunday
    Basel, Switzerland Grand Casino
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Discography

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  • Panik: Mixed by Neneh Cherry and Sylvie Marks (2007)
    Neneh Cherry
    Panik: Mixed by Neneh Cherry and Sylvie Marks (2007)
    Wagram Electronica
  • Man (1996)
    Neneh Cherry
    Man (1996)
    Virgin
  • Homebrew (1992)
    Neneh Cherry
    Homebrew (1992)
    Virgin
  • Raw Like Sushi (1989)
    Neneh Cherry
    Raw Like Sushi (1989)
    Circa
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