Alexis Strum

Alexis Strum, viewed as one of the United Kingdom’s most overlooked pop figures, has seen her prospects as a mainstream chart contender repeatedly blocked by misfortunes with record labels despite critical expectations of success. She arrived in 1981 in Chingford, Essex, born to parents of half-Polish descent. A local band’s performance of Nirvana covers prompted her to take up the guitar. With friends she interpreted songs by Elastica and L7 while also exploring multi-tracking and home production methods. Enrolled in English at King’s College, London, she served as music editor of the college paper, which deepened her interest in live music. Using her own funds to hire session musicians, she arranged regular performances across the capital. After supplying vocals for dance releases by Ed Case, Lange, and Thrillseekers, she secured a deal with WEA Records. Collaboration with Xenomania, the production team behind Girls Aloud, yielded an electro-pop debut album that was ultimately shelved when lead single “Addicted” received no radio or television support. Two tracks from the project, “Nothing Good About This Goodbye” and “Still Standing,” were later recorded by Rachel Stevens and Kylie Minogue respectively. Dropped by the label, she journeyed to Antigua to write new material that she forwarded to producer Billy Steinberg, noted for his work with Madonna. Their partnership shaped the more acoustic follow-up album Cocoon, which also included contributions from Magnus Fiennes, linked to Jamelia, and Pascal Gabriel, associated with Sophie Ellis-Bextor. Signing with Mercury Records in 2005 proved short-lived after lack of backing for lead single “Bad Haircut” prompted its withdrawal. Although album track “Go Your Own Way” became the theme for the hit ITV drama Vital Signs, Strum was once more dropped. In 2007 she took on vocal and songwriting duties for Bo Pepper, an anonymous indie act whose members appear concealed behind sock puppets. Debut single “No One But Yourself to Blame” gained airplay on both Radio 1 and Radio 2, and the group placed second in an unsigned competition run by Capital Radio.