Amelia Fletcher

Amelia Fletcher
Born	1 January 1966 (1966-01-01)
Genres	Twee pop
Occupations	Singer, songwriter, guitarist, economist
Years active	1986–present
Labels	Sarah, K, Wiiija, Elefant, Fortuna Pop!, Matinée
Associated acts	Talulah Gosh, Heavenly, The Pooh Sticks, Marine Research, Tender Trap

Amelia Fletcher (born 1 January 1966) is a British singer, songwriter, guitarist, and economist. She has been the frontwoman of an evolving series of pop groups from the 1980s to the present. Her bands included Talulah Gosh, Heavenly and Marine Research, and she is currently fronting Tender Trap.

She also sang backing vocals for The Wedding Present early in their career and on the Hefner album We Love the City. She toured with, was guest vocalist for, The Pooh Sticks on their albums Orgasm, Million Seller and The Great White Wonder, and in 1988 released a single under her own name, "Can You Keep a Secret?" She has also appeared as a guest vocalist for The 6ths on the song Looking For Love (In the Hall Of Mirrors), on both Bugbear recordings, a single by The Hit Parade, "Why do you have to go out with him when you could go out with me?" single by The Brilliant Corners, and the 2000 album Trend by Oxford band The Relationships. Since 2002 she has been keyboardist for Sportique. Amelia Fletcher was also an early promoter of Scottish act Bis who Heavenly performed alongside and whose lead singer, Manda Rin, repeatedly cited Amelia as one of her inspirations/influences.

Fletcher's many bands helped to define the evolving twee pop movement. Though their sound ranged from lo-fi to power pop with forays into electronica, Fletcher's wry lyrics and simple, girlish vocal style gave these bands a unified tone and formed the basis of a small but devoted cult following.

In addition to her music, Fletcher is the Chief Economist and Senior Director of Mergers for the UK's Office of Fair Trading. In 1993, she completed a D.Phil. in economics at the University of Oxford titled 'Theories of Self-Regulation'. In 2001, she was appointed chief economist at the Office of Fair Trading and in 2008 took on the additional role of head of mergers. Fletcher has two children with her partner Rob Pursey, also a member of Heavenly, Talulah Gosh, Marine Research, and Tender Trap. She is the daughter of Jean and Winston Fletcher.

External links

• http://www.pennyblackmusic.co.uk/MagSitePages/Article.aspx?id=3956 - Interview, part 1
• http://www.pennyblackmusic.co.uk/MagSitePages/Article.aspx?id=3982 - Interview, part 2
• http://www.pennyblackmusic.co.uk/MagSitePages/Article.aspx?id=3999 - Interview, part 3