Although the similarity strikes most immediately, A Girl Called Eddy hasn’t yet grown weary of hearing comparisons between her vocal chords and those of Aimee Mann.
“I never tire of that, thank you,” she laughs. “I have no problem with that! I’m a big fan of hers, as well as of the other obvious suspects, too: Chrissie Hynde and Dusty Springfield.” It’s the latter from whom Eddy’s moniker is inspired. Although her real name is Erin Moran (not the one who played Joanie on “Happy Days”), some friends in England had taken to calling her Eddy, so she used that nickname and borrowed “A Girl Called” from one of Dusty’s albums.
Eddy found her way onto the Anti Records roster after opening for Tom McRae at Shepherd’s Bush, but, prior to starting a solo career, she worked with Francis Dunnery. “I was a massive fan of Francis’s when I heard his first album on Atlantic (Fearless),” she says, “and I used to go to lots of his shows when I lived in Manhattan. Then, a friend of mine became a friend of his, we were introduced, and I ended up singing on two of his albums and playing on a few of his tours.”
Nowadays, she’s based in London and has been for about a year and a half, though she still maintains a little studio place in NYC. Her self-titled debut album was produced by Richard Hawley (Pulp) and his partner, Colin Elliott. “We did it up in Sheffield over the course of a couple of months,” she reveals. “I had known Pulp, thought they were pretty cool and that Jarvis (Cocker) was a great lyricist, but I first heard of Hawley because the label I was originally going to be signed to, Sentanta, put out his solo albums. When I was looking for a producer, they suggested him, sent me a few of his releases, and his sound was very similar to what I was going for.”
Eddy’s entire album is based on events she’s lived through or on people she’s known, “whether they know it or not. I do admire songwriters who can tell tales about stuff they’ve not experienced. I’m not able to do that yet...but I keep practicing!”
(originally written for Amplifier Magazine)