Amanda Ghost | |
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Born | Amanda Louisa Gosein 10 July 1974 Enfield, North London, England |
Other names | Amanda Cameron |
Occupations |
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Years active | 1997–present |
Musical career | |
Genres | |
Labels |
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Website | www |
Amanda Louisa Gosein-Cameron (born 10 July 1974), known professionally as Amanda Ghost, is a British music executive, songwriter, singer, and former president who got fired from Epic Records (2009–10).[1]
Career
[edit]Born in North London to a Gibraltarian mother and an Indo-Trinidadian father, Ghost was encouraged at an early age to play guitar. In 1997, she contributed a version of Gary Numan's "Absolution" to the tribute album Random; unlike the other tracks on the album, it was a song Numan had not released, and came out months before his own version. Her first recording contract was with Warner Bros. Records in Los Angeles, for whom she recorded her first album, Ghost Stories. Ghost's second album was released in autumn 2006 on her own record label, Plan A Records, and was preceded by a limited edition EP, Blood on the Line.
Ghost co-wrote "Beautiful Liar" for Beyoncé and Shakira, and Jordin Sparks' first single "Tattoo". She also co-wrote four songs for Beyoncé's third album, I Am… Sasha Fierce: "Disappear", "Satellites", "Ave Maria" and "Once in a Lifetime". She co-wrote and sang backing vocals on "Colours", which was on the Prodigy's 2009 album, Invaders Must Die. She also collaborated with John Legend on the lyrics for the track "Getting Nowhere" by Magnetic Man.
On 3 February 2009, Ghost was named the new president of Epic Records. She replaced Charlie Walk, who left at the end of 2008 to start his own company.
Ghost co-wrote, with Scott McFarnon and Ian Dench, "Red", a top-5 hit for Daniel Merriweather in the UK in May 2009, and "For the Glory" and "Vanity Kills" by Ian Brown, which she co-wrote with Ian and Dave McCracken. She also co-wrote and produced the Shakira multi-platinum-selling single "Gypsy", from the album She Wolf.
Ghost left her position as president of Epic Records in 2010[2] and that same year established Outsiders, a joint venture with The Universal Music Group. In 2011, she was executive producer for the Scissor Sisters album Magic Hour, and co-wrote the hit single "Only The Horses", co-produced by Calvin Harris. She co-wrote two songs for the Florence and the Machine album Ceremonials, and has more recently collaborated with John Legend, Sub Focus and ASAP Rocky.
Ghost is a three-time Ivor Novello Award winner, a Golden Globe nominee, and has been nominated for three Grammy Awards. [citation needed] One of the latter was as co-producer of two tracks on Beyoncé's album, I Am... Sasha Fierce, which was nominated as Album of the Year, and the other for "Once in a Lifetime", which she co-wrote with Scott McFarnon, Ian Dench, Jody Street, James Dring and Beyoncé. The song was the title track from Beyoncé's film, Cadillac Records and was nominated for the Best Song Written for a Motion Picture Award.
Discography
[edit]Singles
[edit]- "Idol" (2000) - UK number 63
- "Glory Girl" (2000)
- "Filthy Mind" (2000) - only released in the U.S./Australia
- "Break My World" (2004) - UK number 52 †
- "Feed" (2004) †
- "Girls Like You" - digital only release (2005)
- "Monster" - digital only release (2005)
- "Blood on the Line" EP (2006)
- "Time Machine" (featuring Boy George) (January 2007)
† Credited to Dark Globe featuring Amanda Ghost
[3]
Albums
[edit]- Ghost Stories (2000)
- Blood on the Line - The Download Collection (2008)
Songwriting credits
[edit]Title | Year | Artist(s) | Album | Written with |
---|---|---|---|---|
"You're Beautiful" | 2004 | James Blunt | Back to Bedlam | James Blunt, Sacha Skarbek |
"Billy" | James Blunt, Sacha Skarbek | |||
"Beautiful Liar" (with Shakira) |
2006 | Beyoncé | B'Day | Beyoncé, Stargate, Ian Dench |
"Flashback" | All Saints | Studio 1 | Natalie Appleton, Liam Howlett, Ian Dench | |
"Tattoo" | 2007 | Jordin Sparks | Jordin Sparks | Stargate, Ian Dench |
"Freeze" | Jordin Sparks, Stargate, Ian Dench | |||
"Virginia Is for Lovers" | Jordin Sparks, Stargate, Ian Dench | |||
"Disappear" | 2008 | Beyoncé | I Am... Sasha Fierce | Beyoncé, Hugo, Dave McCracken, Ian Dench |
"Ave Maria" | Beyoncé, Ian Dench, Makeba Riddick, Stargate | |||
"Satellites" | Beyoncé, Dave McCracken, Ian Dench | |||
"Once In a Lifetime" | Cadillac Records: Music from the Motion Picture | Beyoncé, Ian Dench, Scott McFarnon, James Dring, Jody Street | ||
"Red" | 2009 | Daniel Merriweather | Love & War | Ian Dench, Scott McFarnon |
"Gypsy" | Shakira | She Wolf | Shakira, Ian Dench, Carl Sturken and Evan Rogers | |
"Give It Up to Me" (featuring Lil Wayne) |
Shakira, Lil Wayne, Timbaland, J-Roc | |||
"Fresh Out the Oven" (featuring Pitbull) |
Jennifer Lopez | Non-album single | Jennifer Lopez, Pitbull, Pharrell Williams | |
"Getting Nowhere" (featuring John Legend) |
2010 | Magnetic Man | Magnetic Man | John Legend, Skream, Benga, Artwork |
"Untouchable" | 2011 | Ben Saunders | You Thought You Knew Me By Now | Daniel Merriweather |
"Bedroom Hymns" | Florence and the Machine | Ceremonials | Florence Welch | |
"Old Tyme Religion" | Hugo | Old Tyme Religion | Hugo, Ian Dench, Johnny Flynn | |
"Born" | Hugo, Ian Dench, Dave McCracken | |||
"Mekong River Delta" | Hugo, Ian Dench, Dave McCracken | |||
"Sweetest Cure" | Hugo, Ian Dench, Peter Ibsen | |||
"Different Lives" | Hugo, Dave McCracken | |||
"Wake Alone" | Hugo, Darren Lewis, Ian Dench, Tunde Babalola | |||
"Sunburn" | 2012 | K.Flay | Eyes Shut | K.Flay, Dave McCracken |
"Only the Horses" | Scissor Sisters | Magic Hour | Jake Shears, Babydaddy, Boys Noize | |
"Wasted" | 2013 | Tony Lucca | With the Whole World Watching | Tony Lucca, Eric Rosse, Ian Dench, Scott McFarnon |
"I Come Apart" (featuring Florence Welch) |
ASAP Rocky | Long. Live. ASAP | ASAP Rocky, Florence Welch, Emile Haynie, John Legend | |
"Endorphins" (featuring Alex Clare) |
Sub Focus | Torus | Sub Focus, Ian Dench, Takura | |
"Tidal Wave" (featuring Alpines) |
Sub Focus, Alpines | |||
"Astronaut" | Joel Compass | Astronaut | Joel Compass, Ian Dench, Styalz Fuego, The Aston Shuffle | |
"The Conversation" | Texas | The Conversation | Sharleen Spiteri, Johnny McElhone, Karen Overton, Ian Dench | |
"Break the Wall" | 2014 | Laura Welsh | Laura Welsh | Laura Welsh, Babydaddy |
"Undiscovered" | 2015 | Fifty Shades of Grey | Laura Welsh, Emile Haynie, Dev Hynes | |
"Soft Control" | Soft Control | Laura Welsh, Liam Howe | ||
"God Keeps" | Laura Welsh, Emile Haynie, Babydaddy | |||
"Cold Front" | Laura Welsh, Robin Hannibal | |||
"Breathe Me In" | Laura Welsh, Robin Hannibal | |||
"Hollow Drum" | Laura Welsh, Ian Dench | |||
"Jackson" | Elle King | Love Stuff | Elle King, Dave McCracken, Felipe Aparicio | |
"Whole" | 2016 | Lion Babe | Begin | Lion Babe, Joel Compass |
"Impossible" | Lion Babe, Linden Jay, Lewis Jankel, Fred Cox | |||
"Forever" | 2017 | Jamie Cullum | The Halcyon (Original Music from the Television Series) | Jamie Cullum, Ian Dench, Joel Compass |
"Invincible" | Jamie Cullum, Ian Dench, Joel Compass | |||
"Fires and Flames" | 2018 | Tinashe | Joyride | Tinashe, Kate Stewart, Joel Compass |
"The One" | Jorja Smith | Lost & Found | Jorja Smith, Joel Compass, Ed Thomas, Kito | |
"Measure of a Man" (featuring Central Cee) |
2021 | FKA Twigs | The King's Man | FKA Twigs, Dominic Lewis, Matthew Margeson, Jamie Hartman, Jane Goldman, John Hill, Matthew Vaughn |
"Papi Bones" (featuring Shygirl) |
2022 | Caprisongs | FKA Twigs, Shygirl, El Guincho, Fakeguido, Jonny Coffer |
References
[edit]- ^ Halperin, Shirley (17 November 2010). "Sony Music Exec Admits He Made 'Radical Decision' in Hiring Amanda Ghost". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 1 August 2024.
- ^ Halperin, Shirley (18 November 2010). "Who Destroyed Epic Records?". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 31 October 2023.
- ^ Roberts, David (2006). British Hit Singles & Albums (19th ed.). London: Guinness World Records Limited. p. 226. ISBN 1-904994-10-5.
External links
[edit]- Amanda Ghost's MySpace
- Amanda Ghost discography at MusicBrainz