Having created some of the most evocative British pop of the 1990s, Gabrielle is back in a big way, with a new album and an upcoming tour of UK arenas – and, to mark it all, she’ll be answering your questions.
Born and raised in London, her career burst out of the blocks in 1993, with debut single Dreams – a poignant pop-R&B track that introduced her distinct, resolute singing style – going straight to No 2 in the UK and also becoming a hit in the US. It was the first of 10 UK Top 10 hits, joined by the likes of Give Me a Little More Time, a retro soul song that matched the very best of classic Motown; If You Ever, a none-so-90s breakup duet with East 17 given a spike of real pain by Gabrielle’s heartfelt delivery; and her ballad Out of Reach, which sat at the heart of the Bridget Jones’s Diary soundtrack. She also reached No 1 in 2000 with Rise, with Bob Dylan lending his blessing for her to use a chord sequence from Knockin’ on Heaven’s Door.
After fifth album Always in 2007, she spent more than a decade away from the industry, but has seen her popularity steadily return following her comeback in 2018. After a stint on The Masked Singer, her most recent album Do It Again took her back to the UK Top 5, she was namechecked in a monologue delivered by Michaela Coel for Stormzy’s track Mel Made Me Do It – “Gabrielle once told us, dreams can come true, and that sentence emancipated the minds of our pioneers” – and was picked by Adele to support at her Hyde Park concerts in 2022.
Gabrielle now has huge venues booked in for 2025 including London’s O2 Arena, and new album A Place in Your Heart is coming before that on 10 May. Ahead of its release she’ll be taking on your questions about anything in her life and career – post them in the comments below before 10am GMT on Tuesday 19 March, and we’ll publish her answers later that week.
