Shelly Poole

Shelly Poole is best known as one-half of '90s sister duo Alisha's Attic but has since forged a career as an established songwriter for some of pop music's biggest names. Born Michelle Lena Poole in Barking, Essex in 1972, the daughter of '60s beat outfit the Tremeloes' frontman Brian Poole grew up on an eclectic musical diet of Dusty Springfield, Prince, and Simon & Garfunkel. In the late '80s, she teamed up with her sister to form bubblegum pop duo Keren & Chelle, but they only achieved success much later on, when they changed both their name, to Alisha's Attic, and their sound, to an Alanis Morissette-inspired brand of kooky guitar pop. They scored eight Top 40 singles and released three studio albums, Alisha Rules the World (1996), Illumina (1998), and The House We Built (2001) before going their separate ways in 2003. After signing a deal with Gary Barlow's publishing company, San Remo Live, she penned a multitude of tracks for other artists including Janet Jackson, Will Young, Sophie Ellis-Bextor, and Liberty X. In 2005, she released her debut solo album, Hard Time for the Dreamer, which featured two duets with acoustic singer/songwriter Jack Savoretti, and a year later provided guest vocals for Michael Gray's Top 20 hit "Borderline." In 2008, she teamed up with Texas guitarist and husband Ally McErlaine and Charity Hair, formerly of early-noughties Dixie Chicks sound-alikes the Alice Band, to form the alt-country trio Red Sky July, due to release their first album in 2011. ~ Jon O'Brien, Rovi