Tricky

Born in Bristol on 27 January 1968, Adrian Thaws rose to prominence through his work as a rapper, going under the name of Tricky and performing with the acclaimed trip-hop band Massive Attack. He featured on the band's debut album Blue Lines, released in 1991 before striking out with his own solo project, recording the album Maxinquaye which featured his then girlfriend, vocalist Martina Topley-Bird. The album, named after his mother Maxine Quay, proved to be pivotal in his career. Unshackled from the limited role he had played in Massive Attack, a solo album allowed him to explore and integrate a wide variety of influences into his music. It went on to sell half a million copies which significantly elevated his standing within the hip-hop genre. Alongside his performing and recording commitments, he has also been involved in acting and film work. He has landed roles as a character actor and played a sizable acting part in the Luc Besson film Fifth Element. Although he has never repeated the commercial success of Maxinquaye, he has maintained an artistic consistency throughout his recording career and has worked on collaborations with some major stars including Cyndi Lauper, Grace Jones, INXS and Alanis Morissette. He released his thirteenth studio album, Ununiform, in 2017, following it up in 2020 with the critically acclaimed Fall to Pieces, which saw him return to the UK Albums Chart for the first time in six years and featured extensive guest contributions from Marta and Oh Land. In 2023, he joined forces again with Marta for When It's Going Wrong, keeping up this spirit of collaboration on his next offering, 2024's Fifteen Days, recorded under the project name of Theis Thaws with Parisian producer Mike Theis.