The brainchild of Anna Mountford, a former professional actress and singer. She starred in Andrew Lloyd Webber’s musical Starlight Express in the West End and Germany while still in her teens and went on to become a regular on British tv, in shows like Holy City, Silent Witness, Murphy’s Law and Jack of Hearts to name a few www.annamountford.net for more on her career in the UK and US.
Mountford taught herself to sing as a child and lists Garland, Streisand, Madonna, Maria McKee, Joan Osbourne, Edie Reader and the music scene in the 80’s and 90’s as major influences. She fronted covers and original bands in and around London through the 90’s but began writing her own material in 2010 following a move to LA which she describes as a knee jerk response to the culture shock of living in Hollywood. A chapter in her life she loved and hated in equal measure.
“There were highs and lows, personally and professionally. Life and people can be challenging, too many wolves and the least uncomfortable way I can work through that, is through music”.
Over the next 4 years Mountford collaborated with local musicians in LA including former Iron Butterfly frontman Billy Demartines. They penned a number of tracks which were released in the States via The Annilee Ford Band. www.theannileefordband.com
Mountford returned to the UK in 2015, which she describes as a bumpy ride of a year and after a few false starts Lille Røde, Danish for Little Red (as in Riding Hood) was birthed. Having discovered that standing up infront of a crowd and singing as herself was not something she enjoyed, she realised she needed a vehicle through which to vent and a persona to hide behind and felt the idea of a Little Red type character was a suitable alter ego.
In 2016 Mountford officially retired from acting and unravelled for a few years. And what about now...?
“I’m a single parent to a teenage boy, I’d rather write a song than cook a meal, I own an ex race horse called Spin Cast and spend more time mucking out than I do cleaning my house. I often smell faintly of horse. My son and I share a wooden, Swedish house in a village on the outskirts of Bath with a rabbit called Walter and I do mean share, though he does at least poop discretely in a little tray.
Having been insanely ambitious in my youth I burned out somewhat upon hitting 40. Now I'm retired my goals are simpler and I'm much more comfortable. I love meeting like minded people and playing music. I hope my words will resonate with some of them and we’ll find we share common ground. That's what music does best I think, unites us in our pain, joy, rage, crazy, happy, confusion and all that good stuff”.
Mountford is now a coach and mentor for young actors.
