Carleen Anderson

Carleen Anderson grew up between Jamaica and London, singing in church before finding her way into the British funk scene. She joined the Brand New Heavies in the early 1980s, where her voice first caught wider attention. In 1988, she went solo with the album 'True Colors,' which included the song 'Eighteen With a Bullet.' That track became her most recognizable piece, a ballad about young love that found an audience beyond the UK.

Her music often dealt with social themes and personal struggle, which sometimes put her at odds with industry expectations. She kept recording through the 1990s and 2000s, putting out albums like 'Second Nature' and 'Sweet Relief' with a steady group of musicians including bassist Pino Palladino and guitarist John Parricelli. Anderson's voice, with its gospel-trained clarity and soul inflection, remained the constant through those shifts.