Lorraine Bowen

She studied music at the University of Surrey,[1] and then busked around London. She was a member of two bands in the 1980s: See You in Vegas and The Dinner Ladies,[2] as well as performing regularly with Billy Bragg on stage and on record. She has also made many appearances on BBC Radio 4 including John Shuttleworth's show Radio Shuttleworth and the 1999 all-female sketch show Heated Rollers, starring Lynda Bellingham, Gwyneth Strong and Joanna Monro. She has also written for BBC Radio 4's Loose Ends.[1]

In 1990, Billy Bragg encouraged Bowen to start a solo career. She started to perform solo shows under name of The Lorraine Bowen Experience; her act featured three songs, a Casio keyboard and an ironing board. This has led to shows all over the world, including festivals in Winnipeg, Toronto, San Francisco, and in the UK, Glastonbury, Edinburgh, Glasgay, Bestival, The Big Chill, Secret Garden Party and Shambala and many shows in Italy and Spain. Her songs are seen as "quirky", contain humour and are often with a sense of kitsch.[3] Themes often include food, film stars (one of her most popular songs is about Julie Christie), mobile phones, fish fingers and launderettes. Bowen is known for her catchy choruses in songs and encouraging audience participation.[3]

Vital Organs was the name of Bowen's first solo musical comedy tour celebrating her collection of portable Casio electronic organs, omnichord and other eccentric portable organs. First performed at London's Drill Hall, the show toured extensively between 2005 and 2009.

In 2011, Bowen discovered that composer Barbara Moore was alive and living in Bognor Regis while recording an episode of Lorraine Bowen's Stereo Spectacular radio programme. Moore was active in the British music scene for over twenty-five years. After starting as a member of The Ladybirds, went on to work with Elton John, Jimi Hendrix and Tom Jones amongst others, but she is not widely known today. Bowen created 'Lorraine Bowen meets Barbara Moore' to provide a platform to show others how prolific Barbara had been in the 1960s and 1970s. This show presented Barbara Moore and her work to a new audience and featured in the Brighton Fringe festival in 2014.

Lorraine Bowen Comfort Zone show was a 'durational project' of three connected concerts exploring hibernation in connection with Brighton's Pink Fringe and the Nightingale Theatre. Supported by Arts Council of Great Britain, the show ran through the winters of 2011 and 2012, drawing upon a series of experiences provided by Charlotte Glasson, Mick Jackson and others.[4]

Image from Lorraine Bowen's Polyester Fiesta

Lorraine Bowen's Polyester Fiesta show celebrates polyester and has 4 models, a scientist and a wardrobe mistress. Bowen acts as hostess, model and sings down the catwalk. Bowen has been a collector of vintage polyester outfits since visiting jumble sales as a girl and the collection has been featured on BBC1's The One Show[5] and BBC Radio 4's Woman's Hour.[6]

Polyester Fiesta! toured during 2015, been performed at Glasgay,[7] The South Bank Vintage Festival, Brighton Fringe,[8] Colchester Arts Centre [9] and Royal Vauxhall Tavern among others.

Bowen was a contestant on Britain's Got Talent in May 2015 and was sent through to the live semi-finals by David Walliams' golden buzzer after she sang her own song "The Crumble Song." Simon Cowell, Amanda Holden, and Alesha Dixon all buzzed the act,[10] which was about her love of apple crumble.[11] Bowen was voted off the show in the first semi-final after singing a song about space.[12] She came fourth in the votes, which was not enough to get into the final.

This show is a musical cabaret, which features Bowen along with Derek Daniels Boogaloo Stu and the musical accompaniment of Ronnie Hazelnut Jason Peg on piano. Offering a mash-up of a Shakespearean game of musical bingo, classic 1970s tunes and largely fictional showbiz anecdotes.[13]

Lorraine Bowen's Stereo Spectacular[16] is Bowen's radio show consisting of binaural field recordings, interviews and eclectic tracks. Award-winning[16] and featured on Brighton's Radio Reverb, the shows are now available as a podcast.[17]#

Bowen provided the soundtrack for No Deposit, No Return by Dallas Campbell.[18] Her original song "Julie Christie" appeared on the Canadian independent film, Better Than Chocolate soundtrack.[19] Bowen also provides vocals on "There Must Be An Angel"[20] in Sorrentino's 2013 film, The Great Beauty.[21]

Bowen is the author of The Crumble Lady, a collection of short stories for children published by Candy Jar Books in November 2017.

• Greatest Hits Volume One (1995)[23]
• Greatest Hits Volume Two (1998)[24]
• Bossy Nova (2000)[25]
• Songs from the Living Room (2002, Italian)
• Vital Organs (2006)[26]
• Suburban Exotica (2010)[27]
• The Crumble Lady (2016)

• Faffing Around on Facebook (2012)
• Drinking Song (in German) (2012)
• Valentine's Day (in a 21st Century Way) (2013)
• Japanese Crumble Song (Sushi Song) (2013)
• Bears (2015)
• Give My Love to Hull (2015)
• Christmas Crumble (2015)
• Crumble de Noel (2015)
• Reggaeton Crumble Song (2016)

Billy Bragg

• The Internationale (1990)[28]
• Don't Try This At Home (1991)[29]

Dope Smugglaz

• The Word (1998)[30]

Fantastic Plastic Machine

• There Must Be An Angel (Playing with My Heart) (Mix for Mirror Ball) (1998)[31]
• Bossa For Jackie (Dedicated to Mrs Kennedy) (1998)[31]

The Damned

• So, Who's Paranoid? (2008)[32]