Corinne Drewery (born 21 September 1959) is an English singer-songwriter and fashion designer, best known for being the lead vocalist of the band Swing Out Sister.
Early life
Drewery was born in
Nottingham. She later moved to the
Lincolnshire village of
Authorpe and went to South Reston Primary School, then
Louth Academy and King Edward VI Grammar School in nearby Louth, then Lincoln College.
[Campbell, Mary (Associated Press) (15 November 1987) Swing Out Sister makes smooth home run debut, The Gadsden Times, retrieved 28 October 2010] She grew up on the classic pop standards, as her father played in a band that was regular support of big
celebrity such as Tom Jones and
Sandie Shaw. She was strongly influenced by
Northern soul, visiting performances at the Winter Gardens in
Cleethorpes, and referred to Northern soul tracks during an extensive interview on BBC Radio Nottingham. Her mother, Elaine Drewery, a former singer, is the founder of
Hedgehog Care in
Authorpe.
[ Authorpe Hedgehog Care. Retrieved 23 November 2017] Her brother Anton was also a singer and musician whose debut studio album,
With a Little Help, was released posthumously in August 2022, six months after his untimely death.
Music
In 1976, after leaving school, Drewery moved to London to study fashion at the Central Saint Martins College of Art and Design
[(1 June 2010) Swing it like you mean it!: Lead singer of Swing Out Sister Corinne Drewery shares her musical journey of over two decades, Bangkok Post, retrieved 28 October 2010 ] and eventually became a fashion designer. But she also sang for short periods with bands such as Working Week.
She first met Andy Connell and Martin Jackson in 1984 and together they formed Swing Out Sister. In 1986–87 the group achieved success on both sides of the Atlantic with "Breakout", the band's signature song.
Drewery is not only the band's lyricist, but its composer together with her musical partner, Connell.
In 1986, she provided additional vocals on the track "Bootsy" by Connell's former band A Certain Ratio. The song was released exclusively as a single in Australia and featured on their fifth studio album Force.
In 2022, Drewery sang with Ryan Bland of Ache on the 24-7 Spyz track "Angels & Demons."
External links
