Rumer is a British singer-songwriter. Her 2010 platinum-selling debut album, Seasons Of My Soul reached No.3 in the UK charts, earning her a MOJO Award for Best Breakthrough Act. In 2011 she was nominated for two Brit Awards.
She has played at Glastonbury; supported Jools Holland on his UK tour and appeared on his show Later with Jools Holland; performed with British jazz singer Jamie Cullum for the Royal Variety Performance; appeared as Sir Elton John’s special guest at his BBC Electric Proms concert, and performed at the White House for the Obamas. Her 5th album, Nashville Tears released in August 2020. Rumer goes on a UK tour in May 2022.
Heavily influenced by Burt Bacharach and blessed with effortless, velvety smooth vocals, Anglo-Pakistani singer/songwriter Rumer harks back to the early-'70s easy listening sounds of Karen Carpenter and Carole King. Born in 1979 to British parents living in Islamabad, Rumer (real name Sarah Joyce) was the youngest of seven children and spent her early years living in an ex-pat community.
In an interview with Asian Voice, Rumer spoke about her roots, her work and being a woman in arts during a pandemic.
Born in Pakistan, her father worked for the Tarbela Dam which took decades to be built. Rumer’s mother was a linguist who practised all religions but Rumer was raised as a Catholic.
“I'm half Pakistani, but I don't have a great deal of the influence of Pakistani parents,” Rumer told Asian Voice. She grew up in Pakistan until age four, and then she came to England.
Music is in her blood. “I come from a big family of musicians and my family lived in different areas of Pakistan and South Africa, and they travelled their whole life as a family. We were quite old fashioned in that we didn't really have a television so everybody would play an instrument and it was very cool. We came from a very musical family. I have seven brothers and sisters and everybody played music,” Rumer said.
She continues to honour the relationship between her parents and the extended family by financially supporting her half brother and his children back in Pakistan.
Over the years, she decided to make the most of it and hone her craft.
Encouraged to make their own entertainment, she began writing songs with her brothers and sisters, and after moving to the UK, developed a huge passion for musicals and, in particular, Judy Garland.
Having moved to London to pursue her dreams of a solo career, she adopted a stage name inspired by the author Rumer Godden and began performing in various clubs. At an open-mike night, she caught the eye of TV music composer Steve Brown, the house bandleader in Alan Partridge's Knowing Me, Knowing You, and the pair began work on her debut album. In 2010, she signed to Atlantic Records and was personally invited by Burt Bacharach to sing for him at his California home.
Her first single, "Slow," became one of the most requested tracks on Radio 2, and reached number 16 in the U.K. charts. The full-length album Seasons of My Soul was released in November of that same year. In 2011, she was nominated for several Brit Awards and won the UK Asian Music Award for Best Alternative Act. She also recorded a song for the soundtrack to the film Johnny English Reborn.
In 2012, Rumer released her sophomore effort, the covers album Boys Don't Cry. Much like the '60s soft rock vibe of Seasons of My Soul, Boys Don't Cry featured Rumer's unique take on tunes by such artists as Isaac Hayes, Clifford T. Ward, Todd Rundgren, Townes Van Zandt, and others. In 2014, she returned with her third studio album, Into Colour, which featured production from Rob Shirakbari, a longtime associate of Burt Bacharach. Rumer has gone on to forge an acclaimed career both as a highly regarded songwriter, penning global hits such as “Slow” and “Aretha,” and also a peerless interpreter of the work of others, as evidenced on her follow-up album Boys Don’t Cry – plus Rumer Sings Bacharach at Christmas and This Girl's in Love: A Bacharach and David Songbook.
Her latest album, Nashville Tears collects fifteen of Prestwood’s finest songs, many never recorded until now, revealing truths of the heart, both intimate and universal, realistic and romantic. Jon O'Brien, Rovi.
Addressing the challenges of women in the art and music industry, Rumer said, “I think this pandemic was very challenging for me because I have a young son who needed my attention, and it was very difficult to get time to work. And you do lose heart and start to wonder if what you do matters, if people appreciate what you do, or if you've made a mistake by choosing an artist’s life.”
Rumer feels that everyone must have a backup plan, especially in times of crisis, so that it doesn't leave you more vulnerable.
Rumer regrets not completing her education. “I could have done with a degree, especially in times like the pandemic. It's a marathon in the music business - you have to just keep going, keep putting out good work, be consistent, do the best you can keep focused, and stay in the business,” she told the newsweekly.
She’s thrown in good money to start live streams during the pandemic to keep going but it's cost her thousands. “But then we decided to put the record out as a live album, and balance it out that way. It wasn’t easy to think of new ways to just keep our checks and balances and put out new content for fans without going completely broke, you know. So that was very challenging, but we tried to do as much content quality content as possible,” Rumer explained.
