For guitarleaves Roots we’ve been looking into the wonderfully quirky Paloma Faith. Paloma was raised by her mother in Stoke Newington, during which time her skill and love for dance grew. She then went on to gain her degree in Contemporary Dance at the Northern School of Contemporary Dance. Soon after, Paloma went on to achieve an MA in Theatre Directing. In order to fund her further education, she was employed in a variety of professions: from burlesque singing to life modelling. It was during this period when Paloma was asked by the pub manager where she worked to front his band, which later became Paloma and the Penetrators. From that point onwards she became engaged in the nightmare of becoming signed, making contacts with managers and trying short periods with many different people. Perhaps most notable in this time was when Paloma walked out of an audition for Epic Records after her request for the manager to turn his mobile off was ignored. She also turned down an offer of joining Amy Winehouses’s band.  Currently, Paloma is signed to RCA Records and has recently released her third (and most successful) studio album – “A Perfect Contradiction”.

Paloma is also well known for her acting, having appeared in St. Trinians, Dread and The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus, and is equally iconic with her fashion choices. Having sported everything from a morph suit to a vintage dress made of lace paper, red carpet appearances for Paloma are as varied as it gets. Our favourite song of hers at the moment is “Changing”, which is an upbeat collaboration with Sigma: you can check it out below. If you love Paloma as much as we do, you can see her this Winter on her UK and European tour – it’s bound to be a memory you won’t be forgetting!