Eg White

Francis Anthony "Eg" White (born 22 November 1966) is a British musician, songwriter and producer. He started his career in the cowpunk band Yip Yip Coyote in the 1980s and then formed Brother Beyond with his brother, David White, in the late 1980s. In 1990, Eg White recorded the pop album 24 Years of Hunger, and then in 1992 he produced the debut, self-titled album by Kinky Machine.

He turned to songwriting in 1997, winning the Ivor Novello Award for Best Song Musically and Lyrically in 2004. In 2008 White worked with Adele on three tracks. In 2009 White was awarded his second Ivor Novello Award for 'Songwriter of the Year' and in 2010 he had a second UK number 1 with the Diana Vickers single "Once", a song he wrote with Cathy Dennis. White started his own record label in 2009. In 2024, White won his third Ivor Novello award.

Career
Eg White started his career in the band Yip Yip Coyote and then formed Brother Beyond with his brother, David White, in the late 1980s, leaving the latter when they became involved with the songwriting team of Stock, Aitken and Waterman, just prior to their chart successes.

In 1990, Eg White collaborated with London model and BMX champion Alice Temple to record the pop album 24 Years of Hunger, which was released in 1991 under the name and Alice and failed to chart. Lack of commercial success did not deter the taste-makers, however, and 24 Years of Hunger was described by Allmusic as "one of the finest, most refined and fully realized recordings of the era, employing a much more sophisticated and romantic style than anything else out of England at the time".

In 1992, White produced the debut, self-titled album by Kinky Machine, then disappeared from the music industry until 1996 when he released his debut solo album Turn Me On, I'm a Rocket Man, which was unsuccessful.

He turned to songwriting in 1997, providing instrumentation for the sessions of Suggs' solo album The Three Pyramids Club, but it was in 1999 that his career began to take off as a songwriter, musician and producer. His collaborative relationship with Alice Temple continued, the results of which can be heard on her solo debut album Hang Over. He also worked with Icelandic-Italian singer Emiliana Torrini on her debut album Love in the Time of Science and produced British singer-songwriter Mark Abis' album Changing Inside.

White's song "Leave Right Now" was recorded by Will Young in 2003, and reached number 1 in the UK Singles Chart. In recognition, White won the Ivor Novello Award for Best Song Musically and Lyrically in 2004. He has since enjoyed chart success with acts including Duffy, James Morrison and Joss Stone.

In 2008, White worked with Adele on three tracks which appeared on her first album 19, including the second single "Chasing Pavements".

In 2009, White was awarded his second Ivor Novello Award for 'Songwriter of the Year', and in 2010 he had a second UK number 1 with the Diana Vickers single "Once", a song he wrote with Cathy Dennis. Also in 2010, White reprised his collaborative role with Adele, and with her wrote "Take It All", which appears on her number one album 21.

White started his own record label imprint, Spilt Milk Records, in 2009 – making Lauren Pritchard its first signing, and then signing an exclusive license deal with Island Records to release the album Wasted in Jackson in 2010. The album features collaborations with White, Ed Harcourt and Marcus Mumford (of the band Mumford & Sons). He signed a recording contract with Parlophone Records and released a second album entitled Adventure Man on 18 May 2009.

In 2024, White won his third Ivor Novello award (this time for "Best Song Musically and Lyrically", his second in that category), alongside Jonny Lattimer and Victoria Canal, for Canal's song 'Black Swan'.

White has worked with Adele, Kylie Minogue, Lennon Stella, Natalie Imbruglia, Florence and the Machine, Dua Lipa, Tom Odell, Sam Smith, Will Young, James Morrison, Linkin Park, Pink, Joss Stone, Matt Cardle, Maverick Sabre and Rebecca Ferguson.

Eg and Alice discography

 * Singles
 * "Indian" c/w "Crosstown and Bobby and Holly" (WEA 1991) - did not chart
 * "Doesn't Mean That Much to Me" (WEA 1991) - did not chart


 * Album
 * 24 Years of Hunger (WEA 1991) - did not chart

Singles

 * 1995: "Stay Home" (WEA)
 * 1997: "Made My Baby Cry" (WEA)
 * 2009: "Broken" (Parlophone Records)
 * 2015: "You Fooled Me" (Lakeshore Records)

Albums

 * Turn Me On, I'm a Rocket Man (WEA, 1996)


 * Adventure Man (Spilt Milk, 2009) – featuring Louis Eliot, Aret Komlosy, Neil Hannon, Ricky Ross, Matt Marston, Alice Temple, and Jack Hues

First review found at Daily Music Guide.