b. Elizabeth Caroline Orton, 14 December 1970, East Dereham, Norfolk, England. Beth Orton pulled off the unlikely task of making folk-influenced music hip among mid-90s clubbers. Her early musical heroes were artists such as Neil Young, Rickie Lee Jones and Joni Mitchell, but by her teens she was more interested in an acting career than in being a singer. However, when William Orbit recruited her to record some spoken text for his Strange Cargo project, the moderately drunk Orton sang instead (notably on the chillout classic "Water From A Vine Leaf"). Bizarrely, shortly afterwards she went totally blind for five days, for reasons still unexplained. After she regained her sight she made further guest appearances with Orbit, recording the extremely rare Superpinkymandy for the Japanese market. She then worked with Red Snapper and the Chemical Brothers, singing the sublime "Alive: Alone" on the latter's highly acclaimed 1995 debut, Exit Planet Dust. She recorded some demos with members of Primal Scream, which came to the attention of Heavenly Records boss Jeff Barrett and the Winnebago project was born.
Orton's songs were definitely influenced by her 70s singer-songwriter idols but with the assistance of musicians such as Red Snapper's Ali Friend and Sandals drummer Will Blanchard, as well as remixes by dance music maestro Andrew Weatherall, the songs maintained a sort of trip-folk momentum. The album, renamed Trailer Park after threats of legal action from the makers of the camper van, was rivalled only by Portishead's Dummy as a prime choice chillout album for broad-minded, beautiful people. Finally, British folk/dance meant something other than fat men in white trousers hitting each other with bladders.
In 1997, Orton appeared on the Chemical Brothers' massively successful Dig Your Own Hole singing the chillout classic, "Where Do I Begin?". The Best Bit EP, released the same December, featured Orton duetting with her musical hero Terry Callier on a cover version of Fred Neil's "Dolphins". Callier appeared on Orton's eagerly anticipated follow-up, Central Reservation, an album which replicated the ramshackle charm of her debut. The 2002 album Daybreaker, in complete contrast, was a more polished and over-produced collection which attempted to add some glitter to this reluctant artist. A remix version of Daybreaker was released the following year alongside a well-chosen "best of" album.
