Elkie Brooks

Elkie Brooks...blues, rock, pop and jazz singers. An icon in the U.K.  She signed with A&M Records in the United States in 1975--at least 15 years into her career. Her manager Alan Seyffert told Music Week, "We signed because we believe in the company and in fact turned down better money to do so." Brooks' tenure with A&M was longer in the U.K. than it was in the U.S.

It was the A&M single "Pearl's a Single" that gave Elkie her first Top 10 hit.

Her Pearls I album was the biggest selling recording by a British woman in the U.K. in 1981. Pearls was supported by a television marketing campaign. In March 1982 A&M reported that Pearls had sold over 600,000 copies and in April over 750,000 copies. Pearls I and Pearls II were on the British charts for 105 weeks and sold well over 1.5 million units by 1984. 

The British Record Merchandisers teamed with A&M Records to finance its first marketing campaign for an artist for Elkie Brooks in 1982. The campaign featured her four A&M albums. Retail stores customized how they promoted the albums. The stores could use radio ads, television ads, and print advertising, leaflets (in-store or mailed to homes), in-store displays and discounts.

Brooks' 1982 tour of the U.K. had 64 dates and sold 120,000 tickets. She was capable of selling singles to teenagers while still maintaining a strong adult audience.

Her contract with A&M Records stipulated that her recordings would remain with A&M in perpetuity.

The cover of her debut album for A&M, Rich Man's Woman, was considered "outrageous".

Screen Gems was recorded live in four sessions at Angel Studios with a 50-piece orchestra. A&M released the CD first for a limited time with vinyl album and cassette released weeks later. 

Elkie Brooks, Britain's Queen of the Blues. In 1997 the Guinness Book of Records included Ellie as "having the most number of top 75 albums of any British female artist." 

OFFICIAL PROMOTION BY A&M RECORDS

Rich Man's Woman New Music On A&M Records
Two Days Away New Music On A&M Records
Elkie Brooks: Live and Learn

Official website: elkiebrooks.com

Official autobiography:
Finding My Voice by Elkie Brooks (2012-07-09)