Beth Ditto

As front woman of US band, Gossip, Beth Ditto has undoubtedly become one of the most prominent female figures in modern day music.

A struggling stint for Gossip albums, (That’s Not What I Heard and Movement) between 2001-2003 was the slump prior to the mayhem that later ensued.  Standing In The Way Of Control was released in 2005 and marked Gossip’s birth into the mainstream. The title track was used as the theme of UK TV Show, Skins and was one of 2005’s biggest indie/pop hits.

Outspoken and outrageous, Ditto topped NME’s ‘Cool List’ and caused controversy when she admitted in an interview with the indie magazine in 2006 that as a child she had eaten squirrel, “people in Arkansas just do”.  Ditto later became an unlikely champion of Ladies with a fuller figure when she posed nude on the cover of NME and then later on the cover of Love.  Beth Ditto, who is a lesbian, is also very well-known for her outspoken support of LGBT and feminist causes.

Ditto’s erratic onstage behaviour, unique dancing, tight-fitting leotards, and passionate embrace of the punk lifestyle, opting not to wear deodorant or shaving under her armpits, have made Gossip an unforgettable but must-see live band of recent years.

Not content with the asteroid impact her and her band mates have made on the British music scene in the late noughties, Ditto has extended her talents to the fashion industry, and as gal pal to Supermodel, Kate Moss, Ditto has designed her own range for larger Ladies High Street store, Evans.  This year also saw her open and close Jean Paul Gaultier’s Spring Fashion show.

Ditto’s appearance on Fearne Cotton’s ITV2 Show, ‘Fearne And….’ in late 2010 showed audiences an alternative side to the bolshy and boisterous front woman we’ve come to know and love.  Beth openly admitted her love of cooking for her girlfriend and family, and gave us a glimpse of a karaoke night with friends at her local bar, as well as her passion for vintage fashion.

Now, in 2011, Ditto has released her solo EP, with debut single I Wrote The Book premiering on NME TV last week (now available from iTunes).  Critics have praised Ditto’s solo efforts and fans are hungry for a debut solo offering to follow.  No doubt Ditto will embark on a solo album with the same fearless zest that she has become famous for.

Beth Ditto has proved (repeatedly) that she is no one-trick pony.  Ditto’s energetic and somewhat erratic onstage performances, her advocating of Gay/Lesbian rights, her championing of the fuller figure with her unique clothes line and her love of domestic bliss have showcased levels of versatility and a  chameleon like nature, making her, undoubtedly, one of the most exciting and refreshing front women of our generation.