Belinda O'Hooley

An exceptionally gifted pianist, singer, songwriter, and composer who has become renowned for her highly individual, emotional, yet sensitive musicality. Belinda is also one half of the much-loved Yorkshire folk duo O’Hooley & Tidow alongside her wife Heidi Tidow; together described by The Guardian as ‘exceptional songwriters.’ The duo have been propelled into fame for penning the theme tune to Sally Wainwright’s hit BBC1/HBO drama ‘Gentleman Jack’, earning them global admiration, plus an acting role for Belinda on the iconic TV drama Happy Valley, appearances on Radio 4 Woman’s Hour and concerts that sell out months in advance.

Belinda is also known for her inventive, minimalist, sometimes flamboyant accompanying of folk luminaries including Rufus Wainwright, Nic Jones, Jackie Oates and the Mercury-nominated Rachel Unthank and The Winterset.

Her solo album ‘Inversions’ showcases Belinda’s abilities as a composer and pianist with many of the piano pieces inspired by the songs and tunes her father inherited from a long line of male musicians in the hills of the West coast of rural Ireland. Belinda, the first woman in her family to reclaim the tradition, has found the freedom to express the music of her ancestors in her very own, unconventional way, evolving and migrating into something you could describe as an inversion: a reversal of the norm.