Beth Gibbons

Beth Gibbons, lead singer of the important British alternative band Portishead, is not so much mysterious as intensely private. Born in 1965 into an Exeter farm family, she embraced rural life fully, forgoing college to continue doing farm work and listening to music on a home stereo with her family. As a 22-year-old in the late '80s, however, she took a chance on becoming a singer by moving to the seaside town of Bristol. A smattering of praise and bookings kept her on the local scene, but Gibbons, who is often compared to Edith Piaf, wouldn't start earning enough as an artis...