Holly Golightly

Holly Golightly joined the Billy Childish auxiliary group Thee Headcoatees in 1991 when her boyfriend, Bruce Brand (the Headcoatees' drummer), invited her to a gig and she ended up singing. She spent four years with Thee Headcoatees before releasing her debut record, The Good Things, in 1995. Whereas the Headcoatees sound was a blend of girl group sounds and three-chord garage-rock with all the original songs coming from the pen of Billy Childish, Golightly's solo sound is more a blend of pre-rock electric blues, folk rock, and less frantic rock & roll. Apart from the wide range of covers of such artists as Willie Dixon, Ike Turner, Lee Hazelwood, Wreckless Eric, and Bill Withers, Golightly also writes all her own material. Since her debut in 1995, Golightly has been very prolific, releasing eight records and numerous singles for a variety of labels. Golightly's sound has remained remarkably consistent throughout, but each record has a quality that sets it apart from the others. One notable record was 1999's In Blood made with friend and mentor Billy Childish, on which the two sound like a scuffed-up British version of Nancy Sinatra and Lee Hazelwood. Another is 2001's Desperate Little Town, which marked a bit of a stylistic diversion as it is a very relaxed and mostly acoustic record. Golightly made a cameo appearance on the White Stripes' acclaimed 2003 album Elephant, dueting with fan Jack White on "It's True That We Love One Another". The song helped boost the public profile of Golightly's next album, Truly She Is None Other, and her subsequent American tour was documented with a low-fi live album, Down Gina's at 3.