A New World Of Outsider Music
Little Miss Blue
Lady Geraldine Elliott
If Lady Geraldine Elliott's album isn't extraordinary enough, here are brief highlights of her life: born profoundly deaf; ostracised at school by both pupils and teachers; beaten up by an abusive husband; a career as an oil painter in Africa; founder of a doll's hospital in Scotland. And now, recording artist. Sensible readers will already be penning a screenplay.
Though a life-changing operation has given Lady Geraldine 30% of her hearing, 'Little Miss Blue' is still a staggering achievement for someone who was denied any sound at all for the first 20-odd years of her life. Though you may expect Geraldine, who, one assumes, is a lady of mature years, to have recorded an album of tender, plaintive ballads, there is a peculiar slant towards the dry ice grandeur of AOR, with wailing guitars setting the scene for Geraldine to deliver her grand rock pop epics.
In a world of musical blandness and beige personalities, Lady Geraldine is a genuine breath of fresh air. It may not be a million-seller, but it's heart-felt, honest and a celebration of what it means to have a passion for music that overcomes all adversity.
