Elizabeth Fraser

The Cocteau Twins' Elizabeth Fraser was once described by a British critic as having "the voice of God." When the Cocteau Twins released their debut LP, Garlands, in 1982, Fraser's dreamy, otherworldly vocals stunned the U.K. press and legendary BBC DJ John Peel, who had the band perform live on his radio show before Garlands even hit the shelves. Born on August 29, 1958, in Falkirk, Scotland, Fraser joined the Cocteau Twins in the early '80s. (Guitarist Robin Guthrie was her boyfriend.) The Cocteau Twins found success on their own terms. While the group never sold millions of albums, their audience expanded with every LP; moreover, Fraser influenced bands like Throwing Muses, the Sundays, Belly, the Cranberries, and Sugar Hiccup, the latter even named after a Cocteau Twins track. In 1986, Fraser sang on The Moon and the Melodies, an album recorded by the Cocteau Twins and keyboardist/composer Harold Budd that received substantial college radio airplay. The Cocteau Twins' songs often featured unintelligible lyrics; the title track to 1990s Heaven or Las Vegas startled fans with its fairly decipherable words and it was spun constantly on modern rock stations. The Cocteau Twins broke up in the late '90s. In addition to her work with the Cocteau Twins, Fraser has collaborated with artists such as Ian McCulloch, the Bathers, and Massive Attack. ~ Michael Sutton