Anita Kelsey | |
|---|---|
 Anita Kelsey, cat behaviourist | |
| Background information | |
| Born | 1963 (age 60–61) Mitcham, England |
| Genres |
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| Occupation(s) | Singer, songwriter, cat behaviourist |
| Years active | 1997–present |
| Website | http://www.catbehaviourist.com |
Anita Kelsey /ˈkɛlsi/[1] is an English singer and songwriter whose vocals and top lines are featured on many hit dance records and feature films.[2] Her voice has appeared as backup vocals for artists such as Kings of Leon, the Good, the Bad & the Queen, Razorlight, Boy George and the Spice Girls, as the featured vocalist on big screen productions such as Dark City, and more recently as the singer and songwriter for a series of successful dance projects.[3] Since 2009 she has worked as a cat behaviour consultant.
Kelsey appeared on the dance scene in 1997. She won the UK's MOBO Award for her first album on Dorado Records with UK garage musician Sunship. Her next single, "Try Me Out" from the second Sunship album, became a UK club hit and was an Agia Napa anthem of 2001. Kelsey also worked on two of Dorado label-mate Matt Cooper's Outside albums, penning the singles "If You Come with Me" and "Somewhere New".
In 1998, composer Trevor Jones asked Kelsey to perform on the soundtrack to sci-fi cult film Dark City. This resulted in American actress Jennifer Connelly miming to Kelsey's voice in two prominent scenes as well as the Kelsey rendition of "Sway" being featured on the end credits. (The director's cut of Dark City uses Connelly's vocals both in the film and the version in the credits.) The tracks "Sway" and "The Night Has 1000 Eyes" were included on the film's soundtrack, released on TVT Sountrax. Other soundtrack projects featuring Kelsey's voice include Bring Me the Head of Mavis Davis and Merlin.
More success came in 2002 for Kelsey's work with D*Note's "Shed My Skin".[4] During that same year, she appeared in the opening scenes of the horror movie Long Time Dead in which she participates in a ouija board séance just before dying a horrific death.
In 2004, Kelsey signed to BMG Music Publishing.
In 2005, Markus Schulz teamed up with Kelsey to release the single "First Time" on Armada Music in the Netherlands. This led to the track being included on Schulz' debut album Without You Near, on which she sang on a second track, "Travelling Light". Schulz' second album, Progression (released 2007) featured a new collaboration with Kelsey, "On a Wave".
In 2006, Kelsey was approached by dance producer TTLC, also known as TDR (Tom de Ridder), to collaborate on electro track "Never Ever". This track was released by Belgian label Mostiko and has culminated in DJs such as Judge Jules and Sasha championing the Filterheadz remix (live and on their weekly shows on BBC Radio 1), as well as the Housetrap mix receiving heavy air rotation on Belgian national radio. Kelsey also co-wrote Virgin Records's Lost Witness singles "Home" and "Coming Down", performed by Tiff Lacey.
"Falling", co-written with First State, was included on Tiesto's In Search of Sunrise 6: Ibiza.
A collaboration, "Wicked World", with Dutch production duo Hardsoul resulted in the track being picked up by Fedde Le Grande to remix for his debut album, Sessions, released on Ministry of Sound in 2007. In 2010, she collaborated with producer Stonebridge and released a single called "Rescue Me".
Kelsey changed her career in 2009 and studied to become a cat behaviourist. She runs a cat behaviour consultancy in London's Notting Hill[5] after leaving Middlesex University with a first class honours degree in Feline Behaviour & Psychology.[6] She is believed to be the first person in the UK to be awarded a first class degree in this field.[7] In July 2016 she was awarded the Gerry Fowler prize by Middlesex University, for outstanding work in her studies and chosen field.[8]
She is a member of the Canine and Feline Behaviour Association (CFBA). She also writes for various cat related magazines including Your Cat[9] as well as online pet magazine Style Tails and UK cat blog Katzenworld.[10] Her debut book Claws: Confessions of a Cat Groomer, was published by John Blake in September 2017.[11]
Her current book Let's Talk About Cats. Conversations On Feline Behaviour was published 2020[12]
In 2018, Kelsey was awarded "Best Feline Behaviourist and Groomer" by Global Health & Pharma.[13]
In 2022, Kelsey worked with Amazon UK to create music designed to help relax cats.[14]
