Lizzie Emeh
Lizzie Emeh | |
|---|---|
 Emeh recording her first album | |
| Born | 1977 Notting Hill, London, England |
| Died | 2021 (aged 44) |
| Nationality | British |
| Alma mater |
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| Occupation | Singer, songwriter, disability rights activist |
| Website | https://www.lizzieemeh.com/about  |
Lizzie Emeh (1977 – 2021) was a British singer, songwriter, and disability rights activist. She could not talk until she was 4, but she created her own album and performed at the 2012 Paralympic Opening Ceremony.
Life
[edit]Emeh was born in Notting Hill, London in a difficult birth in about 1977.[1] Her parents, Kathleen (née O'Neill) and Jonathan Emeh had Irish and Nigerian heritages.[2] She had difficulty learning and she defied some predictions when she began to speak when she was 4.[3] She went to boarding school and she also had to contend with haemophilia, pneumonia and meningitis and at some point her spleen was removed. Emeh noted that there were others worse off than she was.[4] Her grandmother sang and she inspired Emeh. Her grandmother told her that she would succeed at singing.[5]
In 1999, she discovered the Deptford-based Heart n Soul organisation and they discovered her singing talent. With that charity she sang at three Glastonbury Festivals and a festival in Asia.[2] She found that she could write songs and she decided that she wanted to create her own music album. She was inspired by the American singer Stevie Wonder, who succeeded despite his disability. She could not read or write and her father worried that she would be exploited, but she was encouraged by Heart n Soul and an album named Loud and Proud was released in 2009.[1] It is believed to be the first solo album created by a British artist with learning difficulties.[4][2]
During the 2012 Summer Paralympics opening ceremony, Beverley Knight, deaf performer Caroline Parker[6] and Emeh[2] appeared on the Moon stage to close the ceremony with a performance of "I Am What I Am". A pyrotechnic display took place as the entire cast flooded the stadium to form the three agitos of the Paralympic logo. The performers and the audience joined in the song using sign-language.[6]
Death and legacy
[edit]She died in 2021 from COVID complications at the age of 44.[2] In 2024, she was a Google Doodle on 9 October on the anniversary of her first album being released.[5]
References
[edit]- ^ a b Salman, Saba (2009-09-29). "Singer on track to break records". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2024-10-09.
- ^ a b c d e Reynolds, Sandra (2021-11-21). "Lizzie Emeh obituary". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2024-10-09.
- ^ Emeh, Lizzie (2016-06-01). "The more I hear stupid things said about disabilities, the more lyrics I come up with". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2024-10-09.
- ^ a b "Doctors said I would never talk or walk ... now I'm aiming for music". Evening Standard. 2012-04-12. Retrieved 2024-10-09.
- ^ a b "Who is Lizzie Emeh? The pioneering artist in today's Google Doodle". Indy100.com. Retrieved 2024-10-09.
- ^ a b "With great ceremony: The London 2012 Paralympics". The Independent. 30 August 2012.