My secret father and surviving the pressures of fame
Before Sarah Joyce became the singer Rumer she wrote music to make peace with her past. After her debut album was an unexpected hit Sarah had to contend with the pressure of fame
Sarah Joyce spent the first few years of her life in Pakistan with her British parents and siblings while Sarah's father worked as an engineer. When Sarah was 11 her mother told her that her biological father wasn't the man she had always called "Dad", instead he was the family's Pakistani cook. Sarah grappled with the news and the pair didn't speak of it for years, until her mother expressed her dying wish – that Sarah track down and meet her biological father. Sarah wrote music to make sense of her past and turned her experiences into a surprise hit record under the name Rumer. Soon Rumer was performing at the White House in the US and was an exciting new artist on the scene. But behind closed doors she was suffering with the pressures of fame. It took leaving the music industry completely to spend time in nature for Rumer to venture into music again, releasing her latest album In Session.
Presenter: Jo Fidgen
Producer: Jo Impey and May Cameron
Get in touch: [email protected] or WhatsApp +44 330 678 2707
(Photo: Sarah Joyce singing as Rumer. Credit: Chiaki Nozu/Getty Images)
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