Sam Brown

Great things have been predicted for British vocalist and keyboardist Sam Brown. Her debut album, Stop!, released in 1987, reached the Top Four on the British music charts, sold more than two-and-a-half million copies, and included two hit singles, "Stop" and "This Feeling." Brown, however, has failed to match the album's success with her subsequent releases April Moon, 43 Minutes, The Kissing Game, and Box. The daughter of classical vocalist Vicki Brown, Brown began her musical career at the age of 12 when she sang background vocals on the Small Faces' album 78 in the Shade. By the age of 20, she had sung with Steve Marriott, Sade, Spandau Ballet, and Barclay James Harvest. Brown sang harmony on the Pink Floyd album The Division Bell, and joined the band on their world tour in 1994. Following her return to England in April 1995, she performed with the Jools Holland Big Band. She subsequently performed with Holland's R&B Orchestra in the summer of 1996. Despite the success of her debut album, Brown's problems began with her second album, April Moon, which yielded no singles. Her mother's death in 1991 left an emotional void that was only filled when she recorded the deeply personal 43 Minutes, the following year. When A&M refused to release the album, Brown sued the label for rights to the tapes. Victorious after a long legal battle, she released the album in the United Kingdom on her own label Pod Music. In July 1996, Brown played organ on a track for the multi-artist album Reaching Out, with proceeds going to the Nordiff-Robbins Music Therapy Center. The following November, she embarked on her first solo tour with her father, Joe Brown, and the Subway Soopa Stringz. ~ Craig Harris, Rovi