With over 20 years of experience in the music industry, more than 12 albums and singleswhich were followed by headlined tours throughout Europe, America and Japan, and7 international music awards, Sandra Cross is regarded as one of the leading forces ofEngland’s ‘lover’s rock’ era. She has become one of the most successful and respectedsinging talents coming out of the UK.
Born amongst seven boys to Jamaican parents, and raised in London, England,Sandra was introduced to music from the young age of 7 when she was chosen as leadvocalist for the local church choir. Her parents were strict church-goers, so it was inthe Pentecostal church her talent for playing the piano, singing and writing songs wasinitially discovered.
During her early school days instead of attending classes she would spend most of herday in the school’s music room playing the piano and writing songs.
Sandra came of age during the original outbreak of the UK’s lover’ rock movementduring the early eighties. After spells of sneaking out at nights squeezing into the back ofsound system vans, so that she could sing on dub plates in the local dances, her hunger for the music industry seemed to be reeling out of control. In 1979 she entered a schooltalent contest with a composition entitled ‘I Adore You’. She won the contest andaccepted the prize of recording the song under the production of a local record producer.However, at the same time, because of her reluctance to attend classes at school, and herspells of running off late at nights to sing, her parents came to the conclusion that theyhad lost total control of their only daughter and decided to hand her over to the localauthorities. Sandra was fourteen years old when she was placed into a home for truantchildren, and it was whilst she was there ‘I Adore You’ went straight to the No.1 spot inthe UK reggae charts.
Over the following years, 4 more No.1 hits followed, the biggest to dateentitled ‘Country Living’ which spent a whopping 10 weeks at the No.1 spot in the UKand European reggae charts in 1985. Twelve top 10 albums followed as she went on to accumulate popularity and fame in the reggae industry. She became one of the most admired lovers rock singers in the business and earned the title of the BBC listener’s“Britain’s Best Female Reggae Singer” for six consecutive years between 1986 -1991.
Her first exclusive Japanese release, an album entitled ‘Just a Dream’, was producedand released by Pioneer Records executive Koichi Hanafusa in 1997. This was followedby her second Japanese release entitled ‘Dreams Come True’ released in 1999.
After a lengthy ‘rest period’ in Barbados, 2005, introduced another great coalition inSandra’s career when she met Florida based producer Lloyd Campbell of Joe FraserRecords, who actually travelled to Barbados to meet her! She recorded two tracks for his ‘Loving Pauper meets Hypocrite’ various artists project which was released lateron that year. Received with resounding accolades from reggae radio and sound systempersonalities worldwide, she continued the partnership and in 2008 released the smash song ‘Someone Special’, her version to Taurus Riley’s ‘She’s Royal’. Her officialcomeback to the music industry was celebrated worldwide with the 2009 release of thealbum entitled ‘Now’, which is currently causing waves in the international music arena.
On March 27th 2010 another two awards were added to Sandra’s collection. She wasvoted ‘Most Popular Voted Female Reggae Artist’ along with ‘Best Female Music Performance’ at the Hidden Creative Economy Awards held in London.
‘Laptops and Facebook’ is Sandra’s latest album. Produced by West London’sCarlton ‘Dillie’ Mcleod from the Stingray Records stables, and due for release in 2011.Delivering to you an abundance of life experiences relating to all walks of life, Sandrarelates, touches, heals and reasons with if not every part, then at least one segment of your life.
Sandra Cross – Stumbling block
