Vikki Thorn
| Vikki Thorn | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Background information | |
| Birth name | Vikki Simpson |
| Origin | Albany, Western Australia |
| Genres | Folk rock |
| Occupation(s) | Singer-songwriter |
| Instruments |
Vocals Harmonica Guitar |
| Labels | Jarrah Records (with The Waifs) |
| Associated acts | The Waifs |
Vikki Thorn (née Simpson) is an Australian harmonica player, guitarist, vocalist, and songwriter and one-third of the Australian folk rock band The Waifs. Her sister Donna Simpson also plays guitar and sings in the band. Vikki has released six albums with The Waifs, and wrote the band's single "Sun Dirt Water".
Biography
Early life
Thorn and her sister Donna grew up in Albany, Western Australia, and spent their young lives as fisherman's daughters. The girls' father, Jimmy, fished salmon year round. In an interview with Andrew Denton, Thorn described the lifestyle of a fisherman's daughter:
| “ | "Yeah, we played in we played in vats of blood, and all these fish guts. Yeah, it happened sort of three months a year. And there’s three families that go out there, and we’re the third generation actually, so our grandfather, and our father and now us and ah the, they sit on the beach and they watch for schools of salmon coming along, and it’s a very old method of fishing." | ” |
Career
Thorn received her first guitar when she was a teenager, and she started playing Bob Dylan songs and harmonizing Everly Brothers songs with her sister. On Thorn's last day of high school, Vikki was picked up by her sister in a yellow Kombi and asked her to travel with her:
| “ | "I’d said to Vikki, you know, we should go round Australia. Let’s, let’s just get out of here, let’s go travelling. You know, we were from this town where if we saw a car come through from over east with eastern states numberplates, I mean I would just look at these cars and think wow, they’re from over east. They’re from Sydney and, and Wollongong and…you know and it was really exciting for us. So I bought this old van and I went and picked her up from school." | ” |
When Vikki and Donna met Josh Cunningham in the early nineties, they had been touring all throughout greater Western Australia, and playing the blues in certain bars based on what the town's tourist bureau described as the music scene for that area. After less than an hour's time the sisters spent with Cunningham, Donna asked him to tour with them. Just like that, The Waifs were formed.
The Waifs toured Western Australia from 1992 to 1996. In 1996, they decided to move to the east coast of Australia and make The Waifs a serious music career. In May 1996, their self-titled debut was released, three months after it was recorded. It featured three songs from Thorn: "Circles", "I Believe", and "Company". After touring more throughout the mid-nineties, the band released Shelter Me in 1998, and Sink or Swim in 2000. Sink or Swim was released, and more touring commenced. The Waifs were now becoming an international concern, and popularity increased when Up All Night was released. Shortly after its release, the album was certified 2x platinum in Australia and two successful singles followed: "London Still" and "Lighthouse", written by Thorn's sister Donna and Josh Cunningham, respectively.
Thorn's song "Bridal Train" was released as a single in 2004, and the song won the USA Songwriting Competition in 2006. The Waifs' latest album, Sun, Dirt, Water has a lead single of the same name, which was written by Thorn.
Personal life
Thorn has three sons, Noah,Elijah and Jesse. Although she was born and raised in Western Australia, Thorn currently resides in Utah. She wrote The Waifs song "Sun Dirt Water" for her husband. Thorn and bandmate Josh Cunningham had a romantic relationship at one point that, according to Thorn "broke down". She also said that "Through all those years of touring, there was that dynamic going on." [1]
Discography
The Waifs
- The Waifs (1996)
- Shelter Me (1998)
- Sink or Swim (2000)
- Lighthouse EP (2003)
- Up All Night (2003)
- A Brief History... (2004)
- Sun Dirt Water (2007)
- Live From The Union Of Soul (2009)
- Temptation (2011)
- Beautiful You (2015)
Guest appearances and collaborations
- John Dee Holeman & the Waifs Band (John Dee Holeman & The Waifs Band) (2007)