Donald's Encyclopedia of Popular Music

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MAY, Tina

(b Daphne Christina May, 30 March 1961, Gloucester, England; d 26 March 2022 of a brain tumor) Singer. Equally adept at interpreting sparky novelty songs and singer-songwriter material from '70s and '80s, along with jazz standards, her training as an actress was a considerable advantage both in stage presence and delivery of lyrics. Three albums on 33 Records '91-3, Never Let Me Go, Fun and It Ain't Necessarily So feature regular accompanists like tenor saxist Don Weller and Gerard Presencer on trumpet, and constants David Newton on piano and her husband Clark Tracey on drums, the last notable for a moody collaboration with the Britten String Quartet on Billy Strayhorn's 'Chelsea Bridge'. Time Will Tell '96 had a similar mix, but with the Locrian String Quartet. There were many more fine albums, nearly all on 33.