Southampton is best known for being a port city, but it’s also a thriving hub for musicians. The city has a busy music scene, with plenty of venues, live shows, and homegrown talent. Some huge pop-rock bands and famous pop singers have come out of Southampton.
Southampton has a lot of homegrown talent. Musicians from the city have shot to fame and won NME awards, performed around the world, and even gone on to win the X–Factor.
Musicians don’t have to come from big metropolitan towns to break into the music industry. Singers and bands from anywhere and everywhere can hit it big. It’s a matter of determination and originality that will get aspiring artists discovered.
Bands and singers from Southampton
A huge amount of musical talent has come from in and around the city of Southampton. Singers who were born and raised in the area have won Grammy’s, featured on blockbuster soundtracks, and celebrate global fame.
#1 Craig David
He’s become the most successful British R&B artist of all time and a global superstar. But before Craig David made his break, he started out as a small-time garage artist in Southampton.
Craig David’s musical talent was first recognised when he was 13, and he was asked to sing on a Kick Racism Out of Football single commissioned for Southampton FC. But it wasn’t until he collaborated with Southampton-based production duo Artful Dodger that Craig David’s career skyrocketed.
Artful Dodger needed a vocalist and Craig David stepped in to collaborate on their track, “Re-wind.” The record was an overnight sensation; it went from being performed in clubs to becoming an anthem and reaching No.2 in the UK charts in just a matter of weeks.
With Mark Hill (one half of Artful Dodger) working as his producer, Craig David soon released his first single, “Fill Me In” in 2000. The track debuted at number one in the UK Singles Chart. He started out on a Southampton council estate, but Craig David is now a household name. He’s won an NME Award, 2 MTV awards, and been nominated for two Grammy’s.
#2 Band of Skulls
Band of Skulls have 5 studio albums under their belt. Their bluesy-stroke-gritty music has been featured on several commercial soundtracks, including the video game “Guitar Hero: Warriors of Rock” and the blockbuster movie “The Twilight Saga: New Moon”.
The Southampton rock group first formed when the three members, Russell Marsden, Emma Richardson, and Matt Hayward met at college in the city.
Matt Hayward has since left the group, but the Band of Skulls are still as high-profile as ever in the rock industry and have a tour of the UK scheduled for the summer of this year.
#3 Birdy
Jasmine van den Bogaerde, better known by her stage name Birdy, has strong Hampshire roots. She was born in Lymington and grew up in the New Forest, before winning Open Mic UK in 2008 and soaring to fame at just 12 years old.
After she was crowned the winner of both the under-18’s category and the Open Mic UK’s Grand Prize, Birdy continued her education in the New Forest. Despite her celebrity status, she became a student at Brockenhurst College just outside of Southampton.
Alongside her studies, the indie singer-songwriter recorded her debut album with Gareth Henderson at the River Studios, Southampton. Her self-titled album, Birdy, was released in 2011 and rocketed to number one in Australia, Belgium, and the Netherlands.
The talented singer’s whirlwind career didn’t end there. Birdy was nominated for Best British Female Solo Artist at the Brit Awards in 2014, she performed at the Paralympics Opening Ceremony, and has even written songs for the hit films The Hunger Games and The Fault in Our Stars.
#4 Foxes
British pop–sensation Foxes has had 7 records in the UK Charts and won a Grammy for Best Dance Recording. The singer-songwriter has toured with the likes of Coldplay and Mariana and The Diamonds, but Foxes’ career all began in Southampton.
Foxes, whose real name is Louisa Rose Allen, was born in Southampton and grew up in the neighbouring areas of Swaythling and St Deny’s. The singer-stroke-model lived in Hampshire until her late teens and studied at Eastleigh college.
She then went to music school in London but dropped out because she preferred performing music to learning it. Foxes found herself performing at open mic nights until she released her debut single, “Youth” in 2012, and has been hot in the music scene ever since.
Southampton rappers
It’s not just big names in pop who have come out of Southampton; the city has a huge diversity in its music scene. Rappers and urban artists are also starting their music success stories in Southampton.
#5 Tyrone & Warbz
Up-and-coming Southampton rappers Tyrone & Warbz are an artist to watch out for. The urban duo has over 800,00 Spotify streams and their single, “Get Gassed” reached number 9 in the UK dance charts last year.
Tyrone & Warbz pay homage to their Southampton roots in all their tracks. Speaking to the Daily Echo in a recent interview, Tyrone explained: “We really try to represent the city with everything we do and we want to give the city’s music scene the attention it deserves.”
The talented rappers frequently tour the city and their headline gig at The Joiners last year sold out in just 12 hours. They even recorded a single in 2019 titled “SO,” which was penned about their hometown to get Southampton’s music scene put on the map.
Southampton Musicians
Southampton has produced lots of talent from all areas of the music industry. From producers to instrumentalists, the city has been the birthplace of many top musicians.
#6 Joe Brooks
Joe Brooks is another pop sensation to come out of Southampton. The singer-songwriter grew up in Shirley and studied music technology at Barton Peveril Sixth Form College in Hampshire. He used what he learnt in class to start up his own Myspace page for his music in 2005.
As soon as his music went viral, Joe Brooks became an online sensation. By 2008, he had 11 million plays on his songs and was hailed “Number 1 Unsigned UK Artist” on Myspace.
#7 Artful Dodger
The UK garage duo Artful Dodger bagged seven consecutive singles in UK Top 20 between 1999 and 2001. They’re the band behind the hit “Re-rewind”, which features David Craig on the vocals and the memorable chorus “when the crowd say, Bo Selecta.”
Artful Dodger is another Southampton-based music sensation. The duo’s original members were Mark Hill and Pete Devereux – two producers who spent their younger years living in Southampton city centre.
Mark Hill studied music at the University of Southampton and after joining a band at university, decided to set up his own recording studio in the city. The studio was described by The Guardian as being a ‘soundproofed room next to a radio station in Southampton’ and led to Mark hill meeting his bandmate, Pete Devereux.
The pair reportedly decided to name themselves “Artful Dodger” when they met in a Southampton coffee shop. Mark Hill later met Craig David through a music project linked to Southampton Football club, and their fellow Southampton-born musician was recruited as lead vocalist on multiple Artful Dodger tracks.
#8 Charles Owen
Hampshire isn’t just home to dozens of huge singers; it’s also been the birthplace of talented instrumentalists. The world-renowned pianist Charles Owen grew up in Hampshire, and now his glittering career sees him perform at the London’s Barbican and Queen Elizabeth Hall as well as internationally.
Charles Owen has won numerous awards as a pianist, including the Silver Medal at the Scottish International Piano Competition and the 1997 Parkhouse Award. He now lives in London, but says he owes his love for music to his “early lessons with a Hampshire County Award teacher.”
Famous singers and bands from Hampshire
Hampshire has a buzzing music scene with dozens of great venues for live music. It’s in venues across Southampton that some of the best indie bands have forged a name for themselves in the music industry.
#9 Matt Cardle
Matt Cardle is the pop-rock sensation who beat One Direction to be crowned the winner of X–Factor 2010. The Southampton-born singer’s debut single, “When We Collide”, went to number one in the charts and became the second-biggest selling record of 2010.
After he found fame on the X–Factor, Matt Cardle became an overnight success. He’s gone on to have a colourful career, selling 2.2 million records in the UK and being nominated for a BRIT award.
The Southampton superstar took a break from music but came back with a bang when he released his new fourth studio album, “Time to Be Alive” in 2018.
#10 Delays
Four-piece indie band Delays were formed in Southampton. The group was formed by brothers Greg and Aaron Gilbert and their friends, Colin Fox and Rowly. Their debut album, Faded Seaside Glamour, was a huge success and made it into the top 20 of the UK Album Charts in 2004.
Delays have had dozens of monumental moments in their singing career. Music from their second album, “You See Colours”, was used as a soundtrack to BBC’s Match of The Day. Their records were a commercial success and were then used on several TV advertising campaigns in the UK and US.
The bandmembers have always stuck to their Southampton roots. In 2018, lead singer Greg Gilbert married his long-term partner at Westgate Hall in the city’s historical centre. The talented musician has also turned his artistic skills to sketching, and his artwork is exhibited at Southampton City Art Gallery.
Famous songwriters from Southampton
A lot of Southampton-born artists like Birdy, Foxes, and Joe Brooks write their own songs. The most famous songwriter to have come out of Southampton was Billy Reid.
Billy Reid was one of the biggest showbiz names of his generation. In the 1930s and 1950s, the Southampton songwriter was renowned worldwide for his lyrics.
He was the first UK songwriter to have his songs top the US charts, and his music was recorded by huge names like Frank Sinatra and Vera Lynn.
Live bands in Southampton
With Southampton’s thriving music scene, it’s no surprise the town has produced so many famous singers and musicians.
Concerts and intimate gigs are hosted almost every night across the city and there are plenty of opportunities for live bands and aspiring singers to get recognised. There’s no doubt that there’s still lots more music success stories yet to come out of Southampton.
Related Questions
What Hampshire singers have appeared on TV talent shows?
Matt Cardle is the most successful Southampton-born singer to find fame on a commercialised talent show, after winning the X Factor in 2010. But he is not the only famous singer from the south-coast to have appeared on a TV talent competition; Rob Reynolds, a successful singer-songwriter from Hampshire, appeared on The Voice UK.
Rob Reynolds auditioned for The Voice UK in 2013. He performed a cover of Pink Floyd’s “Wish You Were Here” but didn’t secure a turn from the judges. Daniel O’Donoghue, the lead singer from The Script, said Rob Reynolds “had incredible talent” and would have turned for the Hampshire singer if his team wasn’t already full.
Do any famous radio presenters come from Southampton?
Radio 1 presenter Scott Mills grew up in and around Southampton. The hugely popular presenter has been hosting a regular slot on Radio 1 since 1998, and he hosts the Official Chart Show every week.
Scott Mill’s co-host on Radio 1, Chris Stark, also studied in the city and started his radio-presenting career in the town while he completed his degree at The University of Southampton.