Jessica Lee Morgan

Jessica Lee Morgan (born June 16, 1976) is a British singer and songwriter.

Jessica Lee Morgan
Background information
Born (1976-06-16) 16 June 1976
OriginReading, Berkshire
GenresFolk
InstrumentsVocals, Guitars
Years active2010–present
Associated actsTony Visconti, Mary Hopkin

Early life

As the daughter of Welsh folksinger Mary Hopkin and American music producer Tony Visconti, Morgan grew up in a musical environment. She learned songs on guitar from her mother and musician friends of the family and was influenced by singer-songwriters such as Joni Mitchell.

Morgan continued to sing in concerts and sessions. One of her earliest sessions was for Hazel O'Connor[1] and later for Elaine Paige as "Jessica Visconti", both produced by her father, Tony Visconti.

At university she played solo original gigs and in covers bands, and also put on gigs for other bands.[2]

Career

In 2010, Morgan released her debut album, I Am Not.[3][4] The same year, she sang on several tracks on the album You Look Familiar" by her mother Mary Hopkin and her brother Morgan Visconti.[5]

In 2011, Morgan recorded "The Long and Winding Road" for The Beatles Complete On Ukulele.[6] In 2014, she sang on Morgan Visconti's album Ride and performed live at the launch event in May in New York City. Morgan and her brother had previously collaborated on her album I Am Not, which her brother co-produced.[7]

Later in 2014, Morgan took part in the "Dylathon", a 36-hour performance of the works of Dylan Thomas at the Swansea Grand Theatre to celebrate the poet's centenary directed by Michael Bogdanov. She performed her own a cappella musical adaptation of "Love in the Asylum" and two excerpts from "Under Milk Wood" as Polly Garter with the Wales Theatre Company and Ian McKellen.[8]

On Saint David's Day 2015, Morgan represented her mother at Wales at Number One, a concert at the Wales Millennium Centre in Cardiff. She sang "Those Were The Days". The same year, she released her singles "Painting By Numbers"[9] and "When Did It All Begin?"[10]

Her second album, Around The Block, was released on 16 June 2017.[11]

Re:Boot was a reworking of her first album and was released in 2018. In 2020 her fourth album, Forthright, was released in June.[12]

She sang two songs as a guest on the album Decades by David Palfreyman and Nicholas Pegg, and a video for one song, "Hurting, Sinking", was released on 1 December 2017.[13]

She currently performs solo and with her partner in the UK.[14] In 2020, unable to perform live due to restrictions following the coronavirus outbreak, she started live streaming gigs as part of a Time Zone Tour.[15]

Other projects

In 2005, Jessica founded Mary Hopkin Music, a record label, exclusively for the distribution of previously unreleased material by Mary Hopkin. The label has released several albums including "You Look Familiar" and Jessica's cover of "Painting by Numbers".[16]

In 2015 Jessica toured with a show called Very Hopkin, singing Mary Hopkin covers as a tribute to her mother.[17] She has also toured her own material as a support act and performing backing vocals, twelve-string guitar and saxophone with the band Holy Holy, featuring Woody Woodmansey, Tony Visconti and Glenn Gregory.[18]

References
  1. "Hazel O'Connor - Cover Plus". Discogs. Retrieved 22 October 2018.
  2. "Jessica Lee Morgan". NewSoundWales. Retrieved 22 October 2018.
  3. Owens, David (26 October 2010). "It's a family affair for Jessica Lee Morgan". WalesOnline. Retrieved 22 October 2018.
  4. Gabriel, Clare (29 October 2010). "Sixties singer Mary Hopkin's daughter's debut release". BBC News Wales. Retrieved 22 October 2018.
  5. "Making of the album...You Look Familiar Part Two: Recording". Mary Hopkin.com. Retrieved 22 October 2018.
  6. "The Long And Winding Road – Jessica Lee Morgan". The Beatles Complete On Ukulele. Retrieved 22 October 2018.
  7. "Home". Morgan Visconti. Retrieved 22 October 2018.
  8. Owen, Cathy (26 October 2014). "Jo Brand gets 36-hour Dylathon underway in Swansea". WalesOnline. Retrieved 22 October 2018.
  9. "Jessica Lee Morgan - Painting by Numbers". MaryHopkin.com. 2015. Archived from the original on 28 September 2015. Retrieved 22 October 2018.
  10. "When Did It All Begin". Amazon. Retrieved 22 October 2018.
  11. "Return of Jessica Lee Morgan, Daughter of Mary Hopkin & Tony Visconti". uDiscoverMusic. 16 March 2017. Retrieved 31 December 2017.
  12. "Jessica Lee Morgan, British singer-songwriter". Jessicaleemorgan.com. Retrieved 5 July 2020.
  13. "Decades the Album". DecadesTheAlbum.com. Retrieved 31 December 2017.
  14. "Jessica Lee Morgan's gigs". JessicaLeeMorgan.com. Retrieved 22 October 2018.
  15. Gent, James (20 May 2020). "Jessica Lee Morgan: Time Zone Tour » We Are Cult". Wearecult.rocks. Retrieved 5 July 2020.
  16. "Mary Hopkin Music". MaryHopkin.com. Retrieved 22 October 2018.
  17. "Very Hopkin". MaryHopkin.com. Retrieved 22 October 2018.
  18. "Holy Holy announce UK and Dublin tour for June 2015". DavidBowie.com. 30 December 2014. Archived from the original on 1 June 2015. Retrieved 22 October 2018.
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