About Me
TO START OFF, THIS IS NOT ALEX OR ANYONE AFFILIATED WITH ALEX PARKS...I'M JUST A FAN!
Alexandra Rebecca Parks (born 26 July 1984, in Mount Hawke, Cornwall) is an English singer-songwriter. She is best known for winning Fame Academy in 2003, her subsequent singles, and the albums Introduction and Honesty.
Alex is currently in Australia and been writing some new material.
Parks started songwriting at the age of fifteen. At college she studied theatrical and performing arts, and at the same time performed regularly as lead singer in a local band, One Trick Pony. During this period she was introduced to indie, folk and rock music, and began songwriting and playing guitar. The band eventually broke up, but Parks continued to write songs.
On Parks' behalf, her father submitted an impromptu application to the BBC's Fame Academy in 2003. Parks won the contest, and was given the opportunity to showcase her self-penned song Maybe That's What It Takes to a public audience. The song was released on 17 November 2003 and peaked at number 3 in the UK singles chart the following week. Her debut album Introduction was subsequently released and sold over 500,000 copies.
The BBC said of Alex... "If contemporary pop has a way of filtering out unique, unconventional singers, leaving a glut of highly driven but not particularly engaging types at the forefront, Alex Parks is a much needed, brilliantly against the grain anomaly".
After the release of her second single Cry in February 2004, Parks withdrew from the limelight for eighteen months while working on her second album Honesty with co-writers/producers Greg Wells, John Reynolds, Peter-John Vettese and Judie Tzuke. Honesty and its lead single Looking For Water were released in October 2005. Fans were infuriated when Polydor chose to release the track as an internet-download only, cancelling the CD release shortly before it was due to go on sale.
The title track Honesty was subsequently released in January 2006 and charted at number 56. The album had peaked earlier at number 24 in the UK album chart. The album met with mixed reviews, although fans, and some neutral observers, blamed poor distribution and a lack of record label support for the disappointing sales.
Alex toured the UK to support the album, with gigs in venues in Edinburgh, Manchester, Birmingham and Cornwall, ending with up a finale gig in London's Shepherds Bush Empire on February 10th 2006.
On February 8th 2006, Alex announced that she had parted company with her record label Polydor. Both Parks and Polydor were unhappy with their relationship. Parks is known to have received offers from independent labels, but is currently taking a break to consider her options.
Alex said in a message to her fans:
"I'm proud of my first proper album and I'm so glad that you guys have reacted to it so well. All I want to do now is to develop my writing and recording and hope that every record I make will be better than the last. I'm going to take a break to work out the next step: there are a few offers but I really want to get it right this time! I promise that you will be the first to know my new plans." In November 2006, her management team confirmed that Parks remains committed to a career in music.
In December 2006, Parks received a Special Award for 2006 from the independent music site Shakenstir. The editor commented that "Alex Parks remains the most individual talent to come out of any of the TV talent shows" and also that "Parks ended her contract with Polydor with the finest live performance (...) I have ever seen from a young performer. Clown school taught her well."
CHILDREN IN NEED BENEFIT 2005
