Bill Sharpe (musician)

Bill Sharpe as Member of Shakatak in Wuppertal, Germany (2014)

Sharpe was educated at Bishop's Stortford College. From there he studied music at Birmingham University where he gained an honours degree.

He worked for the BBC as a studio manager for six years and then, in the early 1980s, was a founding member of the group Shakatak.[1]

In 1985, he teamed with Gary Numan; billed as Sharpe & Numan. The duo scored a British Top 20 hit with the single "Change Your Mind".[2] That same year, Sharpe released his debut solo album, Famous People, which included the duet with Numan. Other vocalists featured on the album include then-frequent Numan backing singer Tessa Niles, who sang the title track.[3] It was released as the second single from the album, but did not chart.

A follow-up Sharpe & Numan single, "New Thing from London Town", was featured on Numan's 1986 album Strange Charm. Two years later, Sharpe & Numan returned with the single "No More Lies", and in early 1989 the duo released a full album together, Automatic. A second single, "I'm on Automatic", was a modest UK Top 40 hit. "Change Your Mind" was also included on that album.[2][4]

In 1999, he recorded his second solo album, State of the Heart in Los Angeles, co-produced by Don Grusin. This featured many artists including Jeffrey Osborne and Gerald Albright.[5] He continued to work with Don Grusin on a joint project called Geography released in 2007. Sharpe's second collaboration with Grusin, Trans Atlantica,[6] was released on 3 September 2012 through the London label, Secret Records, and included their first album Geography as a special 2-CD package.[7] In recent years, he has worked with Jah Wobble on the album Kingdom of Fitzrovia; Roberto Tola on the album Bein' Green and "Fast" Eddie Clarke on his album, Make My Day.

Sharpe continues to tour and record with Shakatak.