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| Born | November 20, 1962 Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States |
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| Years active | 1985–present |
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Gail Ann Dorsey (born November 20, 1962) is an American musician. With a long career as a session musician, she is perhaps best known for her lengthy residency in David Bowie’s band, from 1995 to Bowie’s death in 2016. Aside from playing bass, she occasionally sang lead vocals on “Under Pressure” and dueted with Bowie on other songs, including “The London Boys”, “Aladdin Sane “I Dig Everything”, accompanying Bowie on clarinet, and a cover of Laurie Anderson’s “O Superman”.
From 1993 to 1996, Dorsey recorded and toured with Tears for Fears, and collaborated on songwriting with the band. She appeared in several of the band’s promo videos throughout this period. Her diverse range of work includes performances and/or recordings with, among others, Lenny Kravitz, Bryan Ferry, Boy George, the Indigo Girls, Khaled, Jane Siberry, The The, Skin, Gwen Stefani, Charlie Watts, Seal, Gang of Four, Susan Werner, Ani DiFranco and Dar Williams.
In addition, Dorsey has released three solo albums: The Corporate World (1988), Rude Blue (1992), and I Used To Be… (2003).
Dorsey grew up in the 1970s in West Philadelphia. She played guitar from the age of nine and cites Mark Farner of Grand Funk Railroad, Terry Kath of Chicago, Jimi Hendrix, and Nancy Wilson of Heart as early influences. She acquired a bass shortly after her 14th birthday but didn’t consider herself a bass player until she was 20. She also wrote feature-length screenplays to accompany some of her musical compositions.
In 1995 she was recruited for David Bowie’s Outside Tour. Throughout the remainder of the 1990s and into the 21st century she performed and recorded with artists such as Gang Of Four, Louise Goffin, world music stars Rachid Taha, Faudel, and Khaled (“1, 2, 3 Soleils”), Sophie B. Hawkins, Tears For Fears, The The, The Indigo Girls, Canadian artist Jane Siberry, Jeffrey Gaines, Italian blues man Zucchero, Dar Williams, Catie Curtis, Toshi Reagon, Joan Osborne, The B-52s, and Michael Hutchence of INXS.
Dorsey is perhaps best known for her contribution to the David Bowie band. After the Outside Tour she provided vocals and bass for Earthling (1997), Heathen (2002), Reality (2003) and The Next Day (2013). She recorded “Planet of Dreams”, a duet with Bowie on the 1997 EMI UK benefit CD release, Long Live Tibet, as well as several other live recordings and videos. She has been on board for the last six tours and performed with Bowie at “The Concert For New York” at Madison Square Garden. About a decade after Rude Blue, Dorsey released her third solo album in 2003. The album entitled I Used To Be is a collection of previously unreleased material spanning the past 18 years of Dorsey’s songwriting archives. She wrote all songs herself with the exception of a few collaborators, namely Roland Orzabal and singer-songwriter Kristen Hall. I Used To Be was produced by Dorsey and engineer/producer Brandon Mason, with long-time friend and fellow bassist Sara Lee as executive producer.
Dorsey’s musical style spans broadly and includes rock, funk, country, and pop influences. She describes her current sound as a present-day version of the AM/FM radio tunes that left a mark on her music such as The Fifth Dimension, Olivia Newton-John, Bread and the Wilson sisters, and Heart. When asked to describe her sound in one word she says
“Black-arach…but that’s maybe how I feel most days. Sometimes you can never tell what vehicle is required to deliver the message until it tells you. I don’t want to limit myself to anything. I just want to maintain honesty and substance in the work. That is my responsibility to the music and the audience”
Bass Stuff 