The striking good looks of Lydia Baylis has earned her comparisons to Daryl Hannah, Rosamund Pike, and Christie Brinkley, but she’s even more excited to hear what everyone’s saying about her music.
Her soaring, resonant voice has been compared to that of Dido and Carly Simon, and she has been called ‘a young Marianne Faithful.’ “I was so happy to hear this,” she said.
The music career of this 22-year-old Oxford grad is growing fast, and she is working with some of the biggest names in the business. Among her collaborators are lyricist Ian Pickering (Sneaker Pimps, Natalie Imbruglia), writer/producer Paul Statham (Dido, Kylie Minogue, Simple Minds, Peter Murphy) and engineer/mixer Richard Wilkinson (Adele, Amy Winehouse, Arctic Monkeys).
As a child, Baylis listened to her father’s Van Morrison, Velvet Underground, The Band and David Bowie records. But if her father’s gift was music, her grandfathers’ gift was something far more intangible. Both her grandfathers were Welsh Guards who took part in the liberation of Brussels during World War II. That legacy has inspired her to give back today.
She has partnered with the Welsh Guards Afghan Appeal, performing for the WGAA fund-raising event at Glanusk Park, Wales and contributing donations made from her debut single " Starman" to the Appeal.
Now based in London, Baylis writes about what she sees, feels, and hears. “Life, love, relationships, everything inspires my songs. I’m not trying to make any big political statements,” she said. “With " Starman ," I wanted to write about feeling lonely and wanting to be saved.”
But Baylis hardly needs saving. She grew up the only girl among four siblings, admitting she was “a huge show-off” as a child. “I spent hours dancing and singing in front of a mirror at home. I was full of it!” she said. “I guess there was an element of believing anything the boys could do I could do better!”