KT Tunstall

Few origin stories are as unusual as Kate Victoria Tunstall's. Born in Edinburgh in 1975 and placed for adoption as a baby, she grew up in St Andrews, where her adoptive father lectured in physics, and she had asked for a piano by the age of four. Her songwriting moves easily between folk and blues, and her screen work has stretched to two episodes of the comedy series This Is Jinsy on Sky Atlantic.

Her 2004 Later performance changed things quickly. Eye to the Telescope, released that year, was re-released after the broadcast, climbed to No. 3 in the UK and earned five times Platinum certification, and Black Horse and the Cherry Tree reached No. 28 in Britain and No. 20 on the US Billboard Hot 100. Suddenly I See won the Ivor Novello Award for Best Song in 2006 and was featured in The Devil Wears Prada. Later releases include Tiger Suit (2010), the trilogy of Kin, Wax and Nut, and Face to Face (2023), made with Suzi Quatro.