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Annie Haslam
Speaking
with Annie I learned that she took a circuitous route to a music career and
actually began in fashion working for a tailor on Saville Row, the pinnacle of
the British fashion scene, where she had the opportunity to learn from the best
and was privy to hearing The Beatles perform their famous concert on the
rooftop of the Apple building! She loved her job there, learned a lot, and then
along came the recession, and after 9 months of working there, she was out of a
job.
Undaunted, from
Saville Row, she went to another fashion house where they had her create designs
for them for 2 weeks, secretly copied the designs, and then told her that
unfortunately, there was no job for her at their company. Disillusioned after
her experience in the world of fashion, when her parents asked her to join them
on a holiday to visit her brother Keith in Canada, she jumped at the
opportunity.
While in
Toronto, Canada, there was a talent contest at The Brunswick Tavern, which
Annie entered and sang Those Were The
Days with the words written on a large piece of cardboard. The audience
loved her and she won the contest! Coming from a musical family, her father was
an amateur singer and comedian, and brother Michael Haslam was a professional
singer managed by Brian Epstein, the apple did not fall far from the musical
talent tree with Annie, an extremely gifted singer who took voice lessons from
the opera singer Sybil Knight.
Renaissance
When she
returned to the UK after holiday, she started singing with a band, however
after 9 months of singing songs that were opposite of what her voice was, one
of the members of the band told her that her talent was being wasted, and showed
her an advertisement that read: girl
singer wanted for an internationally known group. She called the number listed
in the advertisement the next day, and the band turned out to be Renaissance. On New Year's Eve 1970 she
went off to audition wearing a long tapestry coat, her hair parted in the
middle, and looking very naïve and innocent. She had bought their album and
knew every song on it, so when they asked her sing, Island, she was prepared. Apparently, they loved her because they
called the next day to tell her that they wanted her as their new lead singer
and within three weeks of joining the band, they were touring in Germany. Four
years later they were playing Carnegie Hall in New York City. She is still
amazed looking back at how the band took off.
Whether
performing with the band Renaissance, or as a solo performer beginning in 1988,
she always wants people to leave a concert with more than just the music, she
wants people to take that incredible energy from the band and the audience with
them. When she first started performing as a solo performer, where she was the
captain of the ship, she wanted to have fun, to share laughs with the audience
and the wonderful endorphins that come from laughter, something which she still
loves to do.
She is someone
who despite whatever curves life may throw at her, Annie just keeps rolling on
and when breast cancer hit in 1993, like everything else in her life, she
fought through it, is a cancer survivor, and her experience was the inspiration
for the song, Blessing in Disguise.
Megan's World by Annie Haslam
Living in
historic and cultural Bucks County, Pennsylvania, Annie returned to her love of
art, started painting and has not stopped since, painting with as much passion
as her continued passion for music. Described as
Intuitive Abstract Impressionism, her paintings have evolved into stunningly
vibrant original paintings, commissioned paintings, commissioned pet portraits,
signed giclée prints, painted songs, miniature paintings, and custom painted
musical instruments including guitars, violins, drum heads, and more. It seems
as if she has found a wellspring of energy where creativity flows in many ways.
This Magical Planet - Watermarked by Annie Haslam
In addition
to gallery art shows, Annie Haslam's art is available for purchase on her
website at: https://anniehaslam.com/product-category/annie-haslam-original-art/,
and her miniature paintings are available for purchase at her concerts.
Starting her
career in fashion, it is only fitting that Annie has returned to that art form
as well, where her paintings are printed onto silk and other fabrics that are designed
into her stage clothing. As Luxury Experience will be going to see Renaissance
in concert, I cannot wait to see the new stage outfit that she designed and
will be wearing.
Annie Haslam
Annie is
excited about Renaissance's upcoming 2017
tour that begins on October 26, 2017 at The Ridgefield
Playhouse in Ridgefield, Connecticut where they will be performing with
a chamber orchestra.
At their
performance on October 27, 2017 at the Keswick Theatre in Glenside, Pennsylvania, they
will also be performing with a chamber orchestra that will be filmed for their upcoming DVD. This will be the first
time that Renaissance will be performing and recording with live orchestral
musicians since the 1970s. Annie's paintings will also be a focal point of the Keswick
Theatre performance as they will be projected onto a large screen behind the
band, deftly combining her love of music and her passion for art.
Other tour
dates include: October 28, 2017, The Town Hall with chamber orchestra in New York
City, New York, October 29, The Egg with chamber orchestra in Albany, New York,
November
2, 2017, Rams Head On Stage, Annapolis, Maryland, and November
3, 2017, The Oaks Theater in Oakmont, Pennsylvania.
Annie Haslam with handpainted
Leonardo de Vinci Fender guitar
by Annie Haslam
Renaissance Tour Tickets and Information: www.RenaissanceTouring.com
Annie Haslam
fully defines what it is to be a renaissance woman, a dynamic, giving person
who loves to laugh and is ever evolving like her art, and the music of her
band, Renaissance.
For information on Annie Haslam, please
visit her website: www.AnnieHaslam.com
For information on the band Renaissance and
upcoming tour dates, please visit the website: www.renaissancetouring.com
Follow Annie Haslam on Facebook: www.facebook.com/AnnieHaslamArt
Follow Renaissance on Facebook: www.facebook.com/RenaissanceTouring/
Follow Luxury Experience on Facebook
at www.Facebook.com/LuxuryExperience to see photos and videos.
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at www.twitter.com/LuxuryPair
© October 2017. Luxury Experience. www.LuxuryExperience.com. All rights reserved.
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