Neneh Cherry

This is another from the archive. Here we have the marvellous and so very cool Neneh Cherry. I drew her last year, partly as I wanted to try and do that amazing hair justice, but primarily because it was around the twentieth anniversary of 7 Seconds – which she sang, with the celebrated and eccentric African musician Youssou N’Dour – being in the charts.

It’s one of my absolute favourites – a challenging song brought to us by two beautiful voices. It topped the charts around Europe, but I hasten to shoot the British of 1994 a disappointed glare in reading that the song did not reach number one here, peaking at number three. I presume number one at the time was Love Is All Around by Wet Wet Wet, which genuinely stayed there for about fifteen years. Or did it just seem that long?

With all this in mind, quite why I plastered Buffalo Stance across the background when it was clearly 7 Seconds I was harking back to, I’ve no idea, but I quite like the effect of the type itself.

Did you know Neneh was inspiration for Lara Croft, heroine of the Tomb Raider series of games and films? Well, you do now!

• 1994
• 7 seconds
• 80s
• 90s
• Art
• drawing
• music
• neneh cherry
• portrait