Singer Alison Statton, born in Cardiff,Wales, began her music career with enigmatic, new wave minimalists Young Marble Giants, which released its defining LP, Colossal Youth, in 1980. Statton's coolly unadorned vocals were one of the defining characteristics of that incomparable post-punk landmark. With her subsequent group, Weekend, Statton preempted the posh, cocktail-cool of acts such as Everything But the Girl and Sade. After Weekend disbanded, Statton returned to university and disappeared from the musical landscape for a time. Nevertheless, she resurfaced in the late '80s as one half of the Celtic-tinged folk-pop duo Devine & Statton, along with Mancunian songwriter-guitarist Ian Devine. The pair made two albums, 1989's The Prince of Wales (which featured a cover of New Order's "Bizarre Love Triangle") and 1990s Cardiffians. Subsequently, Statton would go on to reunite with an old Weekend bandmate as Alison Statton & Spike. ~ Erik Hage