Biography
My Life Story emerged among the wave of orchestral British pop acts that surfaced after Pulp and Suede. Fronted by Jake Shillingford, the group never matched the media attention or critical acclaim enjoyed by contemporaries such as the Divine Comedy, yet the junk-shop sophisti-pop captured most vividly on the 1997 sophomore release The Golden Mile—their initial major-label album—cultivated a loyal following that endured well past the ensemble’s 2000 dissolution. Shillingford tapped into that loyalty by convening the musicians again in 2012 to mark the fifteenth anniversary of The Golden Mile, an occasion that reanimated the project and ultimately produced the fresh long-player World Citizen in 2019.
Jake Shillingford, born May 15, 1966, effectively constitutes My Life Story in full. A native of Southend-on-Sea, he launched his first band in 1980, though his professional path did not commence until the late 1980s. During the mid-1980s he spent a short period at Southend Art College before taking employment at Dingwalls in Camden, where he managed daytime duties and operated the Panic Station Club after hours while performing with My Life Story. Eventually restless, he departed for America in 1989 in search of personal direction and returned the next year determined to reshape My Life Story into an orchestral pop outfit built around strings. Throughout 1990 he recruited a revised lineup, bringing back former MLS drummer Aaron Cahill to serve as musical arranger along with drummer Steave Searley, bassist Jon King, keyboardist Helen Caddick, violinists Alison Gabriel and Ellie Newton, cellist Judith Fleet, Rob Spriggs on viola, and multi-instrumentalist Rachel Simnett handling assorted brass parts. The ensemble developed a modest audience through appearances in London’s underground venues and issued its self-released indie debut EP Big before year’s end. By 1992 membership had expanded to eleven players who maintained a steady schedule of shows at spots including the 100 Club and the Marquee.
My Life Story’s visibility increased markedly in 1993 after supplying strings for the Wonder Stuff’s “Welcome to the Cheap Seats.” Later that year the band signed with Mother Tongue Records and delivered the single “Girl A, Girl B, Boy C.” Crafted by Giles Martin, son of Beatles producer George Martin, the track earned Single of the Week honors from both Melody Maker and NME, and My Life Story supported Blur and Pulp throughout the winter of 1994. February brought the second single “Funny Ha Ha,” while “You Don’t Sparkle (In My Eyes)” entered the indie Top Ten a year afterward, preceding the February 1995 arrival of the debut album Mornington Crescent. Though reviews were favorable, threatened litigation from London Underground over copyright infringement briefly clouded the release before dissipating; Melody Maker nevertheless included Mornington Crescent among its albums of the year, even as sales remained modest. Disappointed, Shillingford scheduled a month-long Dingwalls residency for February 1996, vowing to disband the group unless a major-label deal materialized by the conclusion of the four-Sunday run. The residency succeeded, and Parlophone Records promptly signed My Life Story.
While tracking their major-label debut across spring and summer, the band performed several prominent concerts that further elevated their standing. The first Parlophone single, “12 Reasons Why I Love Her,” appeared late that summer, followed by “Sparkle” in October and “The King of Kissingdom” the subsequent February, both drawing mixed press notices. The long-postponed major-label debut The Golden Mile finally surfaced in March 1997. Despite an expanded audience, a critical backlash had taken hold, with reviewers frequently harsh; Select went so far as to brand the album “the worst album ever made.”
The Golden Mile marked My Life Story’s commercial apex. After parting ways with Parlophone the band moved to It Records for 2000’s Joined Up Talking, which peaked at number 126 on the U.K. charts and prompted Shillingford to organize a series of farewell shows at the close of that year. Following a six-year hiatus, My Life Story reconvened for two concerts tied to the 2006 compilations Sex & Violins (The Best of My Life Story) and Megaphone Theology: B-Sides and Rarities. Positive response led to ongoing activity, beginning with a 2007 performance at O2 Shepherds Bush Empire and a 2009 concert presenting Mornington Crescent in full. Shillingford assembled a reduced configuration of the group for a 2013 U.K. tour, and in 2016 My Life Story issued its first single in sixteen years, “24 Hour Deflowerer.” The following two years involved Brit-pop revival package tours, all of which preceded the 2019 appearance of World Citizen, the band’s first album in nearly two decades.
Jake Shillingford, born May 15, 1966, effectively constitutes My Life Story in full. A native of Southend-on-Sea, he launched his first band in 1980, though his professional path did not commence until the late 1980s. During the mid-1980s he spent a short period at Southend Art College before taking employment at Dingwalls in Camden, where he managed daytime duties and operated the Panic Station Club after hours while performing with My Life Story. Eventually restless, he departed for America in 1989 in search of personal direction and returned the next year determined to reshape My Life Story into an orchestral pop outfit built around strings. Throughout 1990 he recruited a revised lineup, bringing back former MLS drummer Aaron Cahill to serve as musical arranger along with drummer Steave Searley, bassist Jon King, keyboardist Helen Caddick, violinists Alison Gabriel and Ellie Newton, cellist Judith Fleet, Rob Spriggs on viola, and multi-instrumentalist Rachel Simnett handling assorted brass parts. The ensemble developed a modest audience through appearances in London’s underground venues and issued its self-released indie debut EP Big before year’s end. By 1992 membership had expanded to eleven players who maintained a steady schedule of shows at spots including the 100 Club and the Marquee.
My Life Story’s visibility increased markedly in 1993 after supplying strings for the Wonder Stuff’s “Welcome to the Cheap Seats.” Later that year the band signed with Mother Tongue Records and delivered the single “Girl A, Girl B, Boy C.” Crafted by Giles Martin, son of Beatles producer George Martin, the track earned Single of the Week honors from both Melody Maker and NME, and My Life Story supported Blur and Pulp throughout the winter of 1994. February brought the second single “Funny Ha Ha,” while “You Don’t Sparkle (In My Eyes)” entered the indie Top Ten a year afterward, preceding the February 1995 arrival of the debut album Mornington Crescent. Though reviews were favorable, threatened litigation from London Underground over copyright infringement briefly clouded the release before dissipating; Melody Maker nevertheless included Mornington Crescent among its albums of the year, even as sales remained modest. Disappointed, Shillingford scheduled a month-long Dingwalls residency for February 1996, vowing to disband the group unless a major-label deal materialized by the conclusion of the four-Sunday run. The residency succeeded, and Parlophone Records promptly signed My Life Story.
While tracking their major-label debut across spring and summer, the band performed several prominent concerts that further elevated their standing. The first Parlophone single, “12 Reasons Why I Love Her,” appeared late that summer, followed by “Sparkle” in October and “The King of Kissingdom” the subsequent February, both drawing mixed press notices. The long-postponed major-label debut The Golden Mile finally surfaced in March 1997. Despite an expanded audience, a critical backlash had taken hold, with reviewers frequently harsh; Select went so far as to brand the album “the worst album ever made.”
The Golden Mile marked My Life Story’s commercial apex. After parting ways with Parlophone the band moved to It Records for 2000’s Joined Up Talking, which peaked at number 126 on the U.K. charts and prompted Shillingford to organize a series of farewell shows at the close of that year. Following a six-year hiatus, My Life Story reconvened for two concerts tied to the 2006 compilations Sex & Violins (The Best of My Life Story) and Megaphone Theology: B-Sides and Rarities. Positive response led to ongoing activity, beginning with a 2007 performance at O2 Shepherds Bush Empire and a 2009 concert presenting Mornington Crescent in full. Shillingford assembled a reduced configuration of the group for a 2013 U.K. tour, and in 2016 My Life Story issued its first single in sixteen years, “24 Hour Deflowerer.” The following two years involved Brit-pop revival package tours, all of which preceded the 2019 appearance of World Citizen, the band’s first album in nearly two decades.
Albums
Singles
