Adrian Thaws redirects here. For the album by Tricky girls taking down their pants MixMag, 1996). At 17, he
himself, see Adrian Thaws (album). For the American spent some time in prison after he purchased forged 50
record producer, see Tricky Stewart.
notes from a friend, who later informed the police. Tricky
stated in an interview afterward: Prison was really good.
I'm never going back.[13]
[1]
Adrian Nicholas Matthews Thaws (born 27 January
1968), better known by his stage name Tricky, is an
English record producer, vocalist, director, actor, and
musician.[2] He began his career as an early collabora- 2 Career
tor of Massive Attack before embarking on a solo career
with his debut album, Maxinquaye, in 1995. The release
2.1 Beginnings; The Wild Bunch, Massive
won Tricky popular acclaim and marked the beginning of
Attack
a lengthy collaborative partnership with vocalist Martina
Topley-Bird. He released four more studio albums before
the end of the decade, including Pre-Millennium Tension In the mid-1980s, Tricky met DJ Milo and spent time
and the pseudonymous Nearly God, both in 1996. He has with a sound system called the Wild Bunch, which by
gone on to release six studio albums since 2000, most re- 1987 evolved into Massive Attack. He received the nickname Tricky Kid and at age eighteen became a member
cently the self-titled Adrian Thaws (2014).
of the Fresh 4, a rap group built from the Wild Bunch. He
Often considered a pioneer of the trip hop style that rose also rapped on Massive Attacks acclaimed debut album
to prominence in the UK during the 1990s, Tricky is Blue Lines (1991).
noted for his dark, layered musical style that draws on disparate cultural inuences and genres, including hip hop, In 1991, before the release of Massive Attacks album
alternative rock and ragga.[3] He has collaborated with a Blue Lines, he met Martina Topley-Bird in Bristol. Some
wide range of artists over the course of his career, includ- time later she came to his house, and mentioned to Tricky
ing Terry Hall, Bjrk, Gravediggaz, Grace Jones, Massive and Mark Stewart that she could sing. Martina was
only fteen years old, but her honey-coated vox imAttack and PJ Harvey.[4]
pressed them and they recorded a song called Aftermath (though The Face '95 mentions that the rst song
they recorded together was called Shoebox). Tricky
showed Aftermath to Massive Attack, but they were
1 Early life
not interested. So in 1993 he decided to press a few hundred vinyl copies of the song. He cut it directly o the
Tricky was born in the Knowle West neighbourhood of
tape, so that the song is basically just bassline and hiss.
Bristol, to a Jamaican father and a mixed-race Anglo(NME 1994). Finally, a white label got him a contract
Guyanese mother. His mother, Maxine Quaye, comwith Island Records and he started to record his rst solo
mitted suicide when Tricky was four due to epilepsy
album.
complications.[5][6] His father, Roy Thaws, who left the
family before Tricky was born, operated the Studio He also rapped on former Wild Bunch member Neneh
17 sound system (formerly known as Tarzan the High Cherry's song Sassy o her 1992 album Homebrew.
Priest) with his brother Rupert and father Hector.[7]
Bristol musician Bunny Marrett claimed in 2012, It became the most popular sound system in Bristol at the 2.2 Solo breakthrough
time.[8][9]
Tricky experienced a dicult childhood in Knowle Tricky left Massive Attack to release his debut album
West,[10] a white ghetto in Southern Bristol.[11] He be- Maxinquaye. The album was successful and Tricky confame, something he was
came involved in crime at an early age,[10] and joined a sequently attained international
[14]
The Maxinquaye album
notably
uncomfortable
with.
gang that was involved in car theft, burglary, ghts and
review
by
Rolling
Stone
magazine
read: Tricky devoured
[12]
promiscuity. Tricky spent his youth in the care of his
everything
from
American
hip-hop
and soul to reggae and
grandmother, who often let him watch old horror lms
the
more
melancholic
strains
of
'80s
British rock.[15]
instead of going to school. At the age of 15, he began to
write lyrics (I like to rock, I like to dance, I like pretty Authors David Hesmondhalgh and Caspar Melville wrote
1
CAREER
soundtrack.
in the US. The rst single from the album was Council
Estate and features the artist as the sole vocalist: Its
the rst single I've ever done with just me on vocals. I
couldn't whisper that song. I had to come out of myself and do a loud, screaming vocal. I wanted to be a
proper frontman on that one.[24] In an interview with The
Skinny in July 2008, Tricky mentioned that Knowle West
Boy was the rst album for which he decided to enlist
a co-producer. Ex-Suede guitarist Bernard Butler was
Trickys initial selection, but, less than enamoured with
the album by
In 1996, Neneh Cherry and Bjrk appeared as guests on Butlers technical prowess, Tricky nished
[25]
totally
re-recording
all
of
the
material.
his second album Nearly God. The opening number was a
cover of the Siouxsie and the Banshees pre-trip-hop song On 8 December 2009, Trickys 1995 debut album
"Tattoo" [17] that had previously inspired Tricky when he Maxinquaye was reissued with a bonus 13-track CD feaforged his style.[18]
turing B-sides, outtakes and seven previously unreleased
mixes
of songs such as Overcome, Hell is Round the
In 2001 Tricky appeared on the Thirteen Ghosts soundCorner
and Black Steel.[26]
track with the song Excess which (briey) features
Alanis Morissette during two of the choruses. In 2002
that song also appeared on the Queen of the Damned
In December 2009, the media reported that Massive Attack met Tricky in Paris and asked him to work on a
3
Tricky produced rapper Omnis album IamOmni (produced by Tricky) (released under the moniker IamOmni)
that was available from 30 August 2011 as a free download on Omnis ocial site.
In April 2012, Tricky performed Maxinquaye with
Martina Topley-Bird at several concerts around the UK
including, for the rst time in several years in his home
town of Bristol. The concerts featured regular interruptions orchestrated by Tricky, where he brought his
youngest brother, Marlon Thaws to rap on stage alongside
other local rappers as well as encouraging the audience to
come up on stage.
On 26 June 2012, Tricky appeared on stage during Beyonc's headline slot on the pyramid stage at
Glastonbury for the track "Baby Boy". Partly the result of
technical diculties with his microphone, he later stated
he was mortied by his own performance, saying, I've
never been so embarrassed. My body just froze.[30]
In February 2013, Tricky announced the release of a new
album, False Idols. The album is the follow up from his
2010 Mixed Race and featured Peter Silberman, Fi Rong
and Nneka. Tricky released this statement about the album:
6 COLLABORATING ARTISTS
5 Discography
5.1 Studio albums
5.2 Singles and EPs
5.2.1 19932000
5.2.2 2001present
6 Collaborating artists
Afrika Islam
Agoria
Damon Albarn[60]
Ambersunshower
Beyonc
Bjrk
Personal life
Pete Briquette
Bernard Butler
Bristeil[61]
CASisDEAD
Celia C
Rob Cavallo
Neneh Cherry
Gabriella Cilmi
Tricky was in a brief relationship with Icelandic singersongwriter Bjrk in the 1990s. When asked in mid-2013
about the time the pair spent together, Tricky stated: I
wasn't good for Bjork. I wasn't healthy for her. I feel she
was really good to me, she gave me a lot of love and she
really was a good person to me. I think she cared about
me, right?"[40]
Chuck D
Elvis Costello
Cath Coey
Greg Cohen
Lisa Coleman
DMX
Pete Doherty
Carmen Ejogo
Flo
5
John Frusciante
Ralphi Rosario
Nelly Furtado
Mark Saunders
Garbage
Jane Scarpantoni
Bobby Gillespie
milie Simon
Alison Goldfrapp
Sub Sub
Gravediggaz
Sunshine
Terry Hall
Terranova
PJ Harvey
Mark Thwaite
Chesney Hawkes
Tool
Hawkman
Martina Topley-Bird
UB40
Scott Ian
Whale
IAMOMNI
Keisha White
Inner Circle
Zeb
INXS
Grace Jones
Kool Keith
7 See also
List of people whose parent committed suicide
Josh Klinghoer
Ed Kowalczyk of Live
Cyndi Lauper
Live
Mad Dog
Massive Attack
Wendy Melvoin
Alanis Morissette
Mos Def
Alison Moyet
DJ Muggs
Paul Oakenfold
Alice Oey
Sean Combs
The Notorious B.I.G.
Yoko Ono
Tim Pierce
Red Hot Chili Peppers
Marc Ribot
8 References
[1] Dave Simpson. Tricky: 'I don't believe that death exists
| Music. The Guardian. Retrieved 2016-04-10.
[2] Tricky Interview | The End. Endclub.com. Retrieved 3
April 2012.
[3] Erlewine, Stephen Thomas.
Tricky - Juxtapose.
Allmusic. Retrieved 13 December 2015.
[4] Stephen Thomas Erlewine. Tricky | Biography & History. AllMusic. Retrieved 2016-04-10.
[5] Interview with Tricky The Guardian guardian.co.uk.
Theguardian.com. Retrieved 18 October 2014.
[6] Tricky - Maxinquaye (album review )". Sputnikmusic.
2013-09-12. Retrieved 2016-04-10.
[7] Tim Adams (19 September 2010). Tricky: 'I can still be
really dark in my mind'". The Guardian. Retrieved 24
June 2013.
[8] Alex Cater (January 2012). BUNNY MARRETT.
Bristol Archive Records. Bristol Archive Records. Retrieved 27 August 2013.
[9] Tricky [biography]". Moon-palace.de. Retrieved 24 August 2014.
[10] Strong, Martin Charles (2006). The Essential Rock
Canongate U.S. p.
1118.
ISBN
Discography.
1841958603.
REFERENCES
Home-
[39] Tricky announces new album, video & 2010 tour dates.
Brooklynvegan.com. 23 September 2010. Retrieved 24
April 2014.
[40] Tom Mann (12 June 2013). Tricky on Massive Attack,
Bjork, Obama and false idols. FasterLouder. FasterLouder Pty Ltd. Retrieved 4 August 2013.
[41] Tricky [biography]". Moon-palace.de. 10 October 1999.
Retrieved 24 August 2014.
[42] Killian Fox (11 July 2010). Martina Topley Bird: 'I
played Boggle till 4am the other night. Is that rock'n'roll
enough for you?'". The Guardian. Retrieved 24 June
2013.
[43] Interview: Tricky. The Stool Pigeon. 20 June 2008.
Retrieved 24 August 2014.
[44] Skilled Mechanics. Tricky. Retrieved 9 September
2016.
[45] Australian (ARIA) peaks:
Theo-
External links
Tricky at the Internet Movie Database
10
10
10.1
10.2
Images
10.3
Content license