Why Dawn Zee on Crystal and not Gillian?
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Originally posted by afr0puff Why did they get someone outside the band to sing the backing vocals and not Gillian?
The kettle was boiling when they got to that part.....
We still don't know if she's the one on Someone Like You... good sense would say yes as nobody else than New Order is credited for that song...
I would think the answer to that question is obvious. I would think she can belkt it out a lot better than Gillian. Sorry Gillian. It seems to be a trend that of a lot of English groups having black female back singers as of late.
Originally posted by Jason Nooteboom I would think the answer to that question is obvious. I would think she can belkt it out a lot better than Gillian. Sorry Gillian. It seems to be a trend that of a lot of English groups having black female back singers as of late.
So did Electronic start the trend by using Denise Johnston on the first album?:D
How about the fact that the band and management realised that Dawn would be able to tour and Gillian wouldn't. I imagine Gillian just said, 'Well, I can't be there on stage each time, so you may as well record it with someone who CAN be there.'
Don't think it's anything to do with Gillian being unable... c'mon, it's not, is it?
Is it? 
Originally posted by SPone > Originally posted by Jason Nooteboom> I would think the answer to that question is obvious. I would think she can belkt it out a lot better than Gillian. Sorry Gillian. It seems to be a trend that of a lot of English groups having black female back singers as of late.
So did Electronic start the trend by using Denise Johnston on the first album?:D think this trend goes back well into the 80s with English pop music, kinda cliched really and stale IMO
honestly... could you really imagine Gillian belting out loud vocals on stage???? 
come on, she is too shy and doesnt have that type of voice.
Get Ready would have been better without the backing vocals... Barney has done tooooo many drugs IMO
Originally posted by Chris Nash How about the fact that the band and management realised that Dawn would be able to tour and Gillian wouldn't. I imagine Gillian just said, 'Well, I can't be there on stage each time, so you may as well record it with someone who CAN be there.'Don't think it's anything to do with Gillian being unable... c'mon, it's not, is it? Is it?
Well put Christophe, never thought of it like that
Originally posted by Spotnick We still don't know if she's the one on Someone Like You... good sense would say yes as nobody else than New Order is credited for that song...
It IS her voice on Someone Like You. It is clearly identifiable.
Originally posted by Chris Nash How about the fact that the band and management realised that Dawn would be able to tour and Gillian wouldn't.
But did Dawn tour with them? She wasn't there in Paris, neither at the Olympia in 2001 nor at the Zenith in 2002, and her voice was taped. She was there for the shooting of 511, but wasn't this an exception?
Originally posted by Ben > Originally posted by Chris Nash> How about the fact that the band and management realised that Dawn would be able to tour and Gillian wouldn't.
But did Dawn tour with them? She wasn't there in Paris, neither at the Olympia in 2001 nor at the Zenith in 2002, and her voice was taped. She was there for the shooting of 511, but wasn't this an exception?
She was at the Apollo in Manchester and Brixton Academy, so I'd say she was also in Glasgow. I don't think I was that bevvied up.
Originally posted by ShugZV© She was at the Apollo in Manchester and Brixton Academy, so I'd say she was also in Glasgow. I don't think I was that bevvied up.
Yeah, I think she was at all the UK dates. I thought she was in Paris too, at the Olympia, but I maybe wrong. Certainly didn't make it any of the other foreign sorties.
Gillian was actually in the US and some of the Australian dates ... just don't think she's quite got the lungs to belt out that opening woah-woo-oo of Crystal.
Fer a horrible minute or two I was questioning whether I actually did see Dawn at the gigs! Dunno what the fuss is anyway - I don't mind her on New Order records.
I definitely didn't see her in Paris, although I was sober on both occasions. It was kind of a shock to see that they were using taped backing vocals 
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Dawn Zee was indeed at the two 2001 Glasgow Barrowlands shows. On the first night I managed to spend most of it backstage as I was filming RAM's performance and she seemed nice enough although I only said a very quick hi (She didn't have a clue who I was obviously!). I am in two minds about the her inclusion on Get Ready though, sometimes I hear the backing vox and think it's quite good, other times I think it sounds very cheesy. Putting backing vox aside, if I were Barney I would have found a substitute for "It's like Honey/You can buy it with money" Crystal line, cringeworthy even by his standards.
Gillian is an ok singer, not spectacular I would say but every effort on the Other Two records is pretty good by "pop" standards and she is always on key. Her voice tends to fade to nothing on the high notes (like Dido) and I agree with earlier posters that she may be too shy or lack the sheer lung capactiy to replace Dawn in the backing department. After all, O2 never toured and Gillian recorded her vocals safely in an isolated studio, just her and Steve, not a few thousand punters.
Keyboard department? Well that's another story 
Ally.
I think it's inevitable with NOs interest in music trends that they'd tie up with a female vocalist like DZ; with a big soulful voice. On 'Get Ready' I think it enhances the track - on 'Someone like you' it just sounds like some 'two a penny' bedroom DJ twiddlers who need somebody to provide a hook to their twiddlings; fair enough as a 12" single under a pseudonym but very little to do with what I think of as New Order; and not really worthy of a place on the album. I just hope they're a little more focussed on the next one...no I suppose not, and I'll take the crap for the sake of the cream.
Originally posted by pumped full of drugs
Exactly. Gillian reminds me very uncannily of that girl who sang with Dubstar (name escapes me) - that very English sounding voice you get. I mean it's no mystery why the Other Two recruited Melanie Williams (used to sing with Sub Sub) specifically for the purpose of "belting out" loud backing vocals on their last album... She even sounds like the Bodyform ad woman on that song "You Can Fly" 
If Melanie is the diva then Gillian has to be the dormouse. :D
Personally I can't stand the generic female backing vocals that NO/Electronic use. It was okay in the early 90s because it was somewhat fashionable, but at this point it is so played out that it just dates the band. If they are doing backing vocals, it really should be someone from the band. At least Gillian has a distinctive voice (far more interesting than range in my book).
Gillian is a decent singer, and it's criminal the band (aka Barney), hasn't utilized her more. She obviously doesn't have a Dawn Zee/Melanie Williams voice, but who cares? Those sorts of backing vocals are cheesy cheesy cheesy.
By adding some Gillian backing vocals into the mix instead of overpowering (i.e. Subculture 12"), I feel a lot more of the songs the band released would feel more "complete". I'm not advocating her to be incorporated on every song the band has done, but she deserved much more than Doubts Even Here and Avalanche.
Originally posted by His Holiness, The Pope That was Gillian on the Subculture 12" mix?
So methink.
Oops, I can see how that could be misinterpreted..
I meant that if she could sing OPPOSITE the way the background singers in the SUbculture 12" did, it would be all the better.
