Deirdre Cartwright

Deirde Cartwright (born 1958) had her first professional experience in a rock band, Tour De Force, that were signed to EMI Records, but she was already interested in jazz and blues. From 1981 she had become a member of the Guest Stars, a latin jazz group. Busking in Covent Garden she was spotted by a BBC producer and offered the job of presenter of Rock School. This gave her and by extension the Guest Stars welcome exposure. The band went on to record three albums and tour worldwide. The 1990s saw her start up the Blow the Fuse jazz club, label and a new band, the Deirdre Cartwright Group. In recent years she has released a duo album with fellow guitarist Kathy Dyson and formed a new band Picnic with trombonist Annie Whitehead.