Olive

The epitome of the quieter, coffee-table side of singer/songwriter electronica and trip-hop, Olive was formed by producers Tim Kellett and Robin Taylor-Firth (former members of, respectively, Simply Red and Nightmares on Wax) with vocalist Ruth-Ann Boyle. Kellett connected with Boyle while playing keyboards for a live incarnation of the Durutti Column (he manipulated her tape-looped vocals while on-stage), and asked her to join him in a new recording project. With Kellett writing lyrics and the addition of Taylor-Firth, the trio recorded three songs and found plenty of labels ready to bid for their services. RCA Records won out and released "You're Not Alone" in 1995. Though it took almost a year to catch on with British audiences, the single eventually hit number one and sold half-a-million copies. America proved passingly fond of the track as well, making a home near the Top 40 for it. Their second album, Trickle, arrived in 2000 on Maverick Records. ~ John Bush, Rovi