Pepi Lemer

b. 25 May 1944, Ilfracombe, Devon, England. Lemer was born into a musical family and had classical singing lessons from the age of five. She went on to stage school and has worked in cabaret and the theatre both in the UK and abroad. Lemer was able to cover all sorts of singing styles from the most abstract improvisation to popular song and has done session work with Alan Price and Mike Oldfield. In the 60s and early 70s she worked with John Stevens’ Spontaneous Music Ensemble, Peter Lemer’s E, Keith Tippett’s Centipede, Mike Gibbs and Barbara Thompson’s Paraphernalia. Then with Jeff Clyne she led the band Turning Point, which undertook an Arts Council UK tour in 1976 with guests Allan Holdsworth and Neil Ardley. The latter went on to release The Harmony Of The Spheres (Decca 1978), written for a 9-piece ensemble featuring Lemer’s voice and that of Norma Winstone.