Biography

(You can now read Kelli's biography in her own words at the new official website. Click >HERE< to go there now)

    Kelli was brought into the world on the 30th June 1974, in Birmingham, England. Her first memory was being held in the arms of a doctor and seeing the bright blue sky through a huge window.
    Kelli, with her older sister Rebecca, was raised in Bartley Green, Birmingham. Her parents were big fans of David Bowie, The Kinks, Joan Baez, & Jimi Hendrix, their records were to be a great influence on the young Kelli.  She was also really into bands such as The Doors, Sonic Youth, The Cramps, Violent Femmes, and The Pixies.  Another love was writing stories, & poems, later this would develop into a special talent for songwriting as well.
     By her early teens Kelli was bored with school, she had played truant for months and left around the age of 14 to continue her education at home. She got a Saturday job at a rather strange hair salon called Rumours, and by age 15 was working evenings at the Barrel Organ, a goth rock bar in Birmingham.
    On her 16th birthday Kelli walked into Jake's, a tiny tattoo parlour in Birmingham city centre, and got the first of her now famous tattoos, the exquisite panther on her right arm.  She was getting more interested in live bands around then and went to see a lot of acts, Iggy Pop, Sonic Youth, and Xray Spex, among many.
    Then Kelli saw something in a music shop window that would feed her desire for music even more, a gorgeous white electric guitar!  The price tag was well beyond her wages, but after saving every penny she was finaly able to buy it!  Sadly she had to sell it soon after, but was then given another guitar by her friend Roger Rose as a gift for singing on his song, 'Come Dance With Me'.  She learned quickly and was soon playing, and singing, in her own band, Psycho Drama.
    It was a fantastic experience for Kelli, she discovered a real love of writing songs, and worked hard with the other band members on verses and choruses to make the songs come to life on stage.  Psycho Drama had a great time playing the pubs, and bars, all over Birmingham city centre, but after a while things got a bit weird and they split up.
    Around that time Kelli really got into horror, reading a lot of Stephen King, Clive Barker, and Splatter Punk books. She loved getting stoned with friends and staying up all night with them to chat about horror, usualy while watching gross cartoon legends Ren & Stimpy.
    Soon after Psycho Drama had split, Kelli was phoned by Russell Cross, the frontsman of a local punk band, he had seen Psycho Drama perform and was very impressed by Kelli.  Cross had just heard about the split and asked if she would be interested in becoming the singer for his band.  Kelli was reluctant at first but after some discussion she agreed to join.  The band was renamed The Lumieres, and Kelli became the singer, songwriter, and guitarist.
    That was a magical time for Kelli, over the following months The Lumieres (Kelli, Russell Cross, Rob Simmons, & Linley Cross), played a lot of gigs around Birmingham, each performance bringing larger crowds. They later released a 7" vinyl single, the excelent 'Cinder Hearts'.
    Kelli sent The Lumieres demo tape to several record companies, one of these led to their first London gig. It was there she met with Rick Lennox of One Little Indian Records.
    He asked Kelli if she would be interested in joining a new trip-hop band they were going to sign! The band's founders, ex club DJs Liam Howe, & Chris Corner, had heard Kelli singing and thought she would be the perfect voice for their new material. Kelli asked if she could hear some of the music before deciding, so Lennox sent her their demo.
    Kelli was uninspired at first, she was from a rock & roll, & goth, background and there was really nothing like that on the demo, but after listening for a while she started to dig the music and decided to give it a go.
    The rest of The Lumieres were fine about Kelli's departure, by this time the band was coming to an end.  The bass player had got married, and as his wife was expecting a baby he couldn't tour. So with Kelli leaving, The Lumieres called it a day.
    Lennox introduced Kelli to Howe, & Corner, and they invited her to their studio (in a spare room at Howe's parents house) to sing on some demos.
    It was all a bit of an experiment at first. Howe & Corner would produce the music, and write the lyrics, Kelli would then interpret and sing them in her own way, bringing a unique sensuality, warmth, and humanity, to the largely electronic tracks.
    Over the next few months the fledgling band rehersed, developed their sound, and made a new demo. They also (after some changes) settled on a new name...Sneaker Pimps.
    Kelli, and the others, relocated to London, and after playing some gigs and a lot more work in the studio, the first Sneaker Pimps singles, 'Tesko Suicide', & 'Roll On' were released. They were quickly followed by the album, 'Becoming X', and yet more singles, '6 Underground', 'Spin Spin Sugar', and 'Post Modern Sleaze'. Reviews were glowing, with Kelli's singing always bringing the highest praise from the critics.
    Sneaker Pimps had signed to Clean Up Records (part of One Little Indian).  But even bigger news was to follow when Virgin Records signed them in the USA.
    The band really took off in America.  Bored with generic, home grown, pop bands, the US was ready for the trip-hop Brits, especialy the gorgeous Kelli and her sexy, sensual, vocals.
    This was especialy true for the single, '6 Underground', Sneaker Pimps biggest hit.  Endlessly remixed, appearing on many compilation albums, adverts, and even on the soundtrack for the movie, 'The Saint', the song became a classic of the 90's. The stylish video for the song with the beautiful, seductive Kelli, sporting a very striking, spikey hair style, also fueled the media interest and fan mania.
    In early 1998, with 18 months of sell-out tours behind them, and still riding high on the sucess of 'Becoming X', Sneaker Pimps began work on their next album. Kelli naturally thought she would be singing as before, but Howe, & Corner, had came to an almost unbelievable decision.  At a meeting she thought was to discuss the next album they told Kelli they wanted to change musical direction, and didn't want her in the band anymore!
    Kelli (and 99.9% of the fans, & music press) was surprised, and shocked, but she simply said "cool" and left, she was too hurt to say anything more.
     (Kelli had become (not surprisingly) the main focal point for the fans and media attention.  Because of this many fans feel that jealousy, on the part of Howe & Corner, had a lot to do with them asking her to leave.  It was a fateful decision by them, without Kelli, the next Sneaker Pimps album (with Corner on vocals) sold poorly, and interest in the band dwindled)
    Although she was upset by the break up, Kelli knew exactly what she was going to do next, get busy writing new songs and start on her solo career.
    Until then she had used her mother's family name of Dayton. But sadly Kelli's father, Michael Ali, had recently died. To honor him she decided to change her name and write all her new songs as Kelli Ali.
    One of the first things Kelli did was to buy an electronic piano, and sequencer. She had enjoyed the experience of computers during her time with Sneaker Pimps and was keen to continue using them, but guitars would be at the heart of her music.
    It was not just the fans who had fallen in love with Kelli's voice. Around this time Marc Almond asked her to co-write, and perform a duet with him, the result was the majestic, sultry ballad, 'Almost Diamonds'.
    The next year there followed a mega sucessful colaboration with Japanese born dance producer/DJ Satoshi Tomiie.  Kelli co-wrote and performed two stunning house tracks 'Love In Traffic', and 'Up In Flames'. They were a huge success, and became essential kit for club DJs everywhere.
    Those couple of years were a mixure of emotions for Kelli, she was excited to be working with other artists but for a time there wasn't much contact from the record companies regards her own songs.  It was also difficult to find a producer who understood what she was trying to do, and say, with her music, that was soon to change when she met producer Rick Nowles at a party in London.
    Nowles, who had already produced music for Madonna, and Dido, loved Kelli's songwriting, and ideas, and invited her to his studio to work on her new material. He was based in Los Angeles, so Kelli packed her bags and headed for the City of Angels.
    She was there for a year and a half, it was a wonderful experience for Kelli. She fell in love with LA, and the sunshine and relaxed way of life really inspired her song writing.  Nowles was full of ideas and encouragement, and had a vast experience of all styles of music, and instruments. Together they created the amazing collection of songs that would become Tigermouth, Kelli's debut album.
    The name of the album was inspired from something Kelli's Kung Fu teacher had told her. He showed her an energy point on the hand between the forefinger, & thumb, called the Tigermouth, which if pressed will lift your whole mood.  The idea, imagery, and the very word, touched Kelli very deeply and she just had to write a song. Tigermouth, also became the perfect name for her album.
    Back in the studio the creative work continued. Kelli was broadening her musical style much further than before, the best example being 'Papermoon', a delicate, beautiful song, which featured traditional Japanese instruments. Kelli was inspired to write this wonderful song after reading 'The Tale of Genji', an old Japanese story of love.
    Many of the other tracks drew on Kelli's early rock influences. Nowles had a big surprise for her when he asked ex Doors drummer, John Densmore, to play percussion on the song 'Kids'.  Kelli has been a huge Doors fan since childhood, it was a great thrill to have a member of the legendry group play on her album!
    In 2002, the eagerly awaited promotional 'Tigermouth' albums began to be sent out.  An avalanche of praise, and congratulations, followed from critics and fans alike. They loved the album's embracing, summery feel, and the wide range of songs surprised and delighted the reviewers.  From the punchy rock 'n' roll of 'The Infinite Stars', to the sensual grace of 'Sunlight In The Rain', it was obvious to all the album was a finely crafted labour of love.
    There was surprise from some fans expecting darker tracks similar to the Sneaker Pimps days, but they quickly relised these are Kelli's own songs, full of love and emotion and much more personal than anything she had sung before.
    It was now just a matter of time before the final cut of the album was released to the stores.
    Although Kelli was working hard on Tigermouth she found time to travel, visiting Japan, and Panama. (She also has a great interest in oriental art, & music, and has even studied magic in many different cultures.)
    There were also more colaborations with other musicians in 2002, singing on Linkin Park's 'My Dsmbr', and teaming up with funk legend Bootsy Collins to write, and perform 'Play With Bootsy', the title song of his latest album.
    Kelli was also on her first ever solo UK tour, supporting the band Garbage, at the request of lead singer Shirley Manson.
    There were a few delays, but in early 2003, 'Tigermouth', was released. To quote one reviewer, Kelli Ali is here to save us from a world without stars!

(I'd like to say a very special THANKS to Kelli for
sending me a lot of info about her early life, and career)