Last updated: 19 November 2008
Amy Wadge's recording career started early. Aged just 14, she was half of the girl group Two Of A Mind, whose cover of The Great Pretender reached the heady heights of number 75.
True success began to come from January 2001, following the release of her debut single Saddest Eyes on the FF Vinyl label. She'd spent most of the previous year on the road, and was by this time making regular TV and radio appearances. Indeed, a highlight of 2001 was an acclaimed live session on the Janice Long show during the Radio 2 Live In Cardiff festival.
I suppose I was a born show-off, but it really is something I didn't have much choice in. I wouldn't know what to do with myself if I couldn't perform or be creative.
Amy Wadge
Releasing a mini-album, The Famous Hour, in March 2002 brought Amy more attention and acclaim. It was produced my long-term Manics collaborator Greg Haver, and again released on FF Vinyl.
Also in 2002, she played alongside Stereophonics, Embrace and Lenny Kravitz at the launch party for Â鶹Éç 6Music. She also played at the Cambridge Folk Festival and Cardiff Mardi Gras, and supported Eric Bibb on his UK and Ireland tour in October 2002. The pairing was so successful that a second tour supporting Bibb took place in February 2003, following Amy's appearance at the Midem music fair in Cannes.
In April 2003 she embarked on her first UK tour with a full band. With Amy on guitar, piano and vocals, former Catatonia member Aled Richards on drums, and Jonathan Thomas on bass and pedal steel, the shows were a great success.
In June she began recording her debut album proper at Monnow Valley Studios in Wales, and also played at the Glastonbury festival. The following month she took to the road once more, supporting Van Morrison at the Larmer Tree Festival, Bob Geldof at Sesiwn Fawr in Dolgellau, and headlining the Caerphilly Castle festival.
A single, Just In Time, was released in October 2003, the same month she was invited by the Welsh Assemble to perform in Sydney for two weeks, to coincide with the Rugby World Cup.
Amy Wadge's debut album, Woj, was released on 16 February by Manhaton Records.
