Naomi Bedford

Naomi Bedford is an English roots singer from Brighton. She is active in folk, singer-songwriter and country music, and also works with the groups Back Yard Tigers and The Bedleys.

Early life and background

Bedford grows up in a family immersed in music. From the age of five she learns to sing murderous ballads. Her father, Richard Bedford, edits a number of landmark pop videos in the late 1970s and 1980s, including Come On Eileen, Undercover of the Night, Smooth Operator, The Great Rock n’Roll Swindle and Poison Arrow. Her childhood home in Putney is filled with a mix of cult films, discussions with figures such as Julien Temple and Don Letts, and music ranging from The Clash and Dolly Parton to hip hop.

Early involvement in music and politics

As a teenager, Bedford babysits for her downstairs neighbour, guitarist Andy Summers, to fund nights out at gigs and the Mud Club. During the 1990s she continues to form bands, follow live music and party. She also joins the Party and becomes more politicised under the Thatcher and Major Conservative governments. She later takes part in Militant and then plays a major role in the Anti Poll Tax Movement, where she coordinates artist liaison for the Hyde Park demonstrations.

Orbital and wider recognition

In 2000, Orbital hear Bedford singing at a party in Brighton and invite her to sing and co-write their Top 20 single Funny Break. The record brings her to wider attention and she appears on Jools Holland’s programme alongside R.E.M. and across the national media.

Return to roots music

After that period, Bedford steps away from the spotlight to spend time in India and then raise a family. In 2007 she returns to music, inspired again by the folk and country songs she first loves as a child. That year she releases Dark They Were And Golden Eyed, a Mick Glossop-produced album that begins her fusion of English and Americana roots. Her cover of Bonnie Prince Billy’s Riding draws his attention. She later releases Tales From the Weeping Willow, which presents a fuller expression of her style.