...Tara Blaise
Wilde women: Q: What have Naimee Coleman, Miriam Ingram and Tara Blaise got in common? A: They've all been members of The Wilde Oscars, the popular Dublin band led by Les Keye. Ingram now sings with Sean Millar, while Coleman went on to have a moderately successful solo career. Tara Blaise was known by her real name of Tara Egan-Langley back then; the Wicklow woman is now launching her solo career in a blaze of publicity. She has a high- powered mentor in Corrs manager John Hughes. With Hughes at the helm, Tara is hoping to tap into the world market for good-looking Irish singers with a pop sensibility and a Celtic edge. If Hughes's gamble pays off, Andrea Corr may well be having a few sleepless nights.
Cradle rock: Tara grew up among the rolling hills of Co Wicklow, the daughter of an architect and a speech and drama teacher. As a child, Tara role-played pop star moves with her siblings, forming pretend bands and using tennis rackets for guitars. She studied the real thing at the Royal Irish Academy of Music, and formed her first band, Les Legumes, before joining Les Keye's harem of backing singers. In 1997, two Kilkenny lads asked her to join their band, KayDee, after their original singer quit. The band had already enjoyed massive radio play for their debut single, Cradle, and were about to release their debut album. Soon, the name of Tara Egan-Langley was tripping easily off everyone's tongues. Alas, success failed to come KayDee's way, and the band called it a day a year later, leaving Tara to ponder her next move.
Spokes man: It was game on again when a mutual friend introduced Tara to Hughes. Hughes was recording his own new age/Celtic-flavoured album, Wild Ocean, and was in search of a singer with the right mix of Celtic mystery and pop glamour. Tara wrote and sang the lyrics for two songs on the album, Dancing with the Wind and Come Away. Hughes was impressed by her style that he offered her a solo deal with his own Spokes label. Since he'd already helped The Corrs shift a few million records, Tara figured she could do worse. Hughes immediately packed her off to LA to record her debut album, Dancing on Tables Barefoot, with producer Olle Romo, who had already worked on albums by Bryan Adams, Shania Twain and The Corrs.
Blaise of publicity: Last December, Tara launched herself in London with a Monday morning performance for bleary- eyed radio programmers and playlisters. The guerilla tactics paid off; in April, Tara's single, Fool for Love, was playlisted on BBC Radio 2. Terry Wogan and Jonathan Ross gave it the thumbs-up and pundits compared her to Kate Bush and Joni Mitchell. Her second single, Paperback Cliché, came out in May. She performed at the Isle of Wight festival and will be seen at Oxegen in July and the V festivals in Chelmsford and Staffordshire in August.
