Kate Nash
Kate Marie Nash (born 6 July 1987) is an English singer-songwriter and actress.
Kate Nash
Kate Marie Nash
- Singer
- musician
- songwriter
- actress
- Vocals
- guitar
- bass
- piano
2005–present
- Moshi Moshi
- Fiction
- Universal
- Geffen
- Have 10p
- Dine Alone
- Girl Gang
- Kill Rock Stars
Nash launched her music career in 2005. Her 2007 single "Foundations" became a hit and brought her to public attention in the UK. Her debut album, Made of Bricks, peaked at No. 1 in the UK and was a moderate international success. Nash subsequently won the award for Best British Female Artist at the 2008 Brit Awards. Her second studio album, My Best Friend Is You, was released in 2010 and reached the top 10 in the UK and Germany. After her departure from a major label, Nash self-released her third studio album, Girl Talk, in 2013, but it failed to match the commercial success of her previous records. Her fourth and most recent studio album, Yesterday Was Forever, was also released independently in 2018, funded by her fans via a Kickstarter campaign.
Aside from music, Nash has appeared in films such as the drama Greetings from Tim Buckley (2012), the comedy Powder Room (2013), and the comedy-drama Syrup (2013). She played Rhonda "Britannica" Richardson in the Netflix comedy-drama series GLOW (2017–2019). She is also a feminist activist who campaigns against gender inequality.
Early life[edit]
Kate Marie Nash[1] was born in the London Borough of Harrow in London on 6 July 1987,[2] the second of three daughters born to an English father and Irish mother. Her father, Steve, is a systems analyst, while her mother, Marie (née Walsh), was a hospice nurse.[3][4] She learned to play the piano at an early age.[5] At 18, she underwent cardiac radiofrequency ablation in order to eliminate tachycardia.[6] The surgery subsequently inspired her song "Death Proof".[7] She attended the BRIT School and originally wanted to study acting, but turned to music after she was rejected from several drama colleges and universities,[4][8] including the Bristol Old Vic Theatre School.[9] Prior to her musical career, she worked in a River Island shop[10] and a Nando's restaurant.[11]
Artistry and style[edit]
Nash's biggest musical influences include Hole,[80] citing their 1994 record Live Through This as her favourite album.[81] She is also influenced by riot grrrl group Bikini Kill, crediting lead vocalist Kathleen Hanna as her idol.[82] Nash is also a fan of Arctic Monkeys. She appeared alongside the band in the documentary Evidently... John Cooper Clarke where she discussed the influence of John Cooper Clarke's poetry upon her lyrics, singling out the song "Foundations" in particular.[83] Kate has also cited M.I.A. as inspiration, claiming she was her favourite artist in 2014.[84][85] Some of her earlier influences include Buzzcocks, Celine Dion, the Spice Girls, Nirvana, Mis-Teeq, the Beatles, Pink, Blink-182, and Sum 41.[63][86]
Beginning in the Girl Talk album era, Kate started to incorporate elements of punk rock and grunge into her work as well as 1990s-inspired visuals, notably in the music videos "She Rules" and "Trash". She is also known for retaining her thick London accent when she sings and makes no attempt to sing in an American accent.[87] Her music was used as part of an exhibition at the British Library which traced the history of Cockney English. The exhibition, which ran from November 2010 to April 2011, used Nash's music to demonstrate today's younger urban mode of Cockney English.[88]
Nash is a natural redhead but dyed her hair black for her role in the film Greetings from Tim Buckley, and subsequently maintained two-tone black and blonde hair to promote the 2013 album Girl Talk. In April 2014, she dyed her hair pink for her performance at Coachella Festival.[89] Between 2015 and 2016, she would dye her hair platinum blond, but she eventually returned to her natural red hair for the role of Rhonda "Britannica" Richardson in the Netflix series GLOW, and for her 2018 album Yesterday Was Forever. She often wears punk-inspired jewelry, such as earrings made of safety pins and razor blades.[90]
Activism[edit]
In September 2009, Nash helped to raise funds for five-year-old Tilly Lockey, who lost her hands due to meningococcal disease. She used an auction on eBay to help donate money to Lockey's parents so that she could afford a pair of prosthetic hands.
During the 2011 England riots, Nash volunteered to collect donations for those made homeless by riots in Tottenham, setting up her own public donation stand and delivering donations to Tottenham Leisure Centre in her car.[91]
Nash is a vocal feminist and campaigns to fight gender inequality in music industry. She supported the Russian feminist band Pussy Riot during their trial by encouraging her fans to make posters and raise awareness of their situation and, alongside other musicians, signed a letter to the Russian president Vladimir Putin demanding the release of the imprisoned band.[92] In 2013, she became the Global Ambassador for the movement Because I Am a Girl and partnered with them for her own campaign, Protect a Girl.[93]
Nash is a supporter of the LGBT community and has a large LGBT following, especially lesbians.[94] She described her 2010 song "I've Got a Secret" as "an anti-homophobic rant".
Personal life[edit]
Nash began dating Ryan Jarman in 2007, frontman of The Cribs, after meeting while they were both guests on an episode of the music television programme Later... with Jools Holland that year.[95] The pair were reported to be planning to get married in early 2009,[95] but Jarman announced in March 2012 that they had broken up, in part due to his struggle with anorexia and other psychological problems.[96]
In 2008, following intensive touring, Nash had what she described as a "proper breakdown", including a relapse of the mild OCD which she had experienced as a child.[4] She has been open about her mental health problems and struggles with anxiety.[97]
Nash became a vegan in 2017, having been a vegetarian since 2009. Her decision was prompted by watching the film Okja.[98]
