Charlie Dore

Born: Pinner, Middlesex, England.

Dore is a respected UK songwriter who originally trained as an actress, and is best known for her 1979 hit "Pilot Of The Airwaves", which reached number 11 on the US charts. Her 1977 country influenced band Prairie Oyster included Pick Withers on drums, who was also playing with the early Dire Straits, at that time playing the same UK pub circuit. The band evolved through various personnel changes into Charlie Dore's Back Pocket (guitarist Julian Littman having since become a long-time songwriting collaborator). When the band broke up, Dore started a solo career. Where To Now was recorded partly in Nashville, and produced by the Shadows' Bruce Welch and songwriter Alan Tarney, with session musicians such as Sonny Curtis. The first single "Fear Of Flying" failed to make a commercial impact, although it was a major "turntable hit", but "Pilot" charted on both sides of the Atlantic and received extensive airplay. She signed to Chrysalis Records in 1981 and released Listen, but unable to capitalize on her early success, focused her varied talents on songwriting and acting.

As well as repertory work with Michael Bogdanov, she co-starred with Jonathan Pryce in Richard Eyre's award-winning film The Ploughman's Lunch, and appeared in several television series, including Hard Cases (playing in a band with former Cockney Rebel drummer Stuart Elliot) and South Of The Border. She was also a founder-member of the London-based comedy improvisation team Dogs On Holiday, who have been resident at their own Hurricane Club since 1990. Her songwriting credits include many album tracks and a number of highly successful singles. "Strut" was a worldwide hit for Sheena Easton, reaching number 4 in the US, where it also won an ASCAP award. She wrote a range of material for Barbara Dickson, and in 1992 scored a UK number 1 with Jimmy Nail's "Ain't No Doubt", which she co-wrote. "Refuse To Dance", taken from Celine Dion's hugely successful The Colour Of My Love, was released as a single in 1995. Following a return to the recording studio, working with Julian Littman, Danny Schogger (co-writer of "Ain't No Doubt" and "Refuse To Dance"), Ricky Fataar and Paul Carrack on a collection of new material, Dore released Things Change in 1995, an album co-produced by Littman. Dore's ability, enthusiasm and commitment have helped many others to commercial success while she remains something of a hidden talent.

Discography:

2004 Sleep All Day and Other Stories
1981 Listen
1979 Where to Now