Fiona Apple Maggart, 13 September 1977, New York, USA. Growing up in a dysfunctional New York family, Fiona Apple soon discovered the impetus to articulate frustrations that would eventually result in widespread comparisons to  Alanis Morissette for her 1996 debut, Tidal. As a child she was introduced to the Beatles by her stepfather, while her mother educated her in jazz standards. By the age of 11 she was writing her own songs, as a means of coping with self-imposed isolation caused by her shyness and lack of confidence about her appearance, and a rape ordeal at the age of 12. She found solace in the poetry of Maya Angelou, which she maintains to be her biggest influence. She took her first step on the road to international success when Clean Slate Records owner Andy Slater overheard her demo tape (recorded on a cheap tape recorder in her bedroom) at a Christmas party in 1993. He quickly signed her to the label, but allowed her a full two years of writing and recording before her debut album was released in July 1996. Tidal made an immediate impact, entering the Billboard Top 100 while Apple built up encouraging reviews by opening for Chris Isaak on tour. She was subsequently asked to appear on a November 1996 edition of Saturday Night Live - a booking that carries a de facto nod of approval from the music industry's left-field cognoscenti. The album's attendant single, the haunting "Shadowboxer", also earned rave reviews, and was play listed on several Top 40 radio stations. In 1997, Apple won the Best New Artist accolade at the MTV Awards. Her relationship with magician David Blaine raised her media profile, although the couple split up while Apple was recording her sophomore collection. The title of this album runs to an astonishing 90 words, but is commonly abbreviated as When The Pawn .... When all the fuss regarding its title had died down, the album proved to be another challenging collection of singer-songwriter material, albeit less accessible than her debut.