Isobel Campbell (born on April 27, 1976 in Glasgow, Scotland) is a Scottish singer, cellist and composer in the indie and folk genres. She is often labelled as "twee pop".
Campbell was a member of Belle & Sebastian from their formation in Glasgow in 1996 until 2002, when she departed the band for personal reasons. She played cello with the band, and sang backing vocals. She also took lead vocals on a few songs from the band, and co-wrote their top-20 UK single "Legal Man".
Her band The Gentle Waves released its first album on Jeepster Records, titled The Green Fields of Foreverland, in 1999. The second Gentle Waves record, Swansong For You came out one year later. In 2002, she collaborated with Scottish jazz musician Bill Wells on a collection of Billie Holiday songs, released by Creeping Bent.
In 2003, Campbell released Amorino, her first solo album under her own name, to very good reviews. Bill Wells was featured here again, along with other jazz musicians.
Her next LP, Ballad of the Broken Seas, a collaborative album with former Screaming Trees and Queens of the Stone Age singer Mark Lanegan, was released in March 2006. For this record she received a Mercury Music Prize nomination. She toured the UK, United States and Canada to promote the album. Her second solo album, Milkwhite Sheets, was released in November 2006 and continued the folk-based approach of Ballad of the Broken Seas.
A follow-up to Ballad of the Broken Seas with Mark Lanegan is in the pipeline entitled "Sunday At Devil Dirt" with a tentative release date of Spring 2008.
