Katie Melua

All profits from the single, which entered the UK singles chart at No. 1 on 16 December 2007, went to the Red Cross.

Melua has visited Oxfam charity shops for many years, using them frequently to buy her clothing. She has stated that this is related as much to her dislike of spending and glamour as it is to her support for the charity, and admits that she looks "like a tramp" and that her hairdresser playfully calls her look "the Romanian window cleaner".

Katie is also patron of Fair Trees, http://www.fairtrees.co.uk, the organisation that is trying to stop exploitation of cone pickers in Ambrolauri, Georgia by the European Christmas tree industry. The local people in this region of Georgia are paid a pittance to risk their lives climbing 30m high fir trees to collect the cones from which the seeds are extracted and sent to Christmas tree nurseries in Europe. Until Fair Trees came along these cone pickers were given no safety equipment or training, no health insurance and very little pay; every year people are injured and even killed doing this hazardous work. This cause is close to Katie's heart as she was born in Georgia. Fair Trees grow and sell the only fair trade Christmas trees in the world (certified by the WFTO) and are campaigning to change things in Georgia. Read Less

It also features Melua's friend Molly McQueen, the former frontwoman of The Faders, as co-writer of "Perfect Circle". Melua also collaborated with Andrea McEwan on the album, who wrote the lyrics for "What I Miss About You" and "Dirty Dice". The album also featured a cover of "In My Secret Life" by Leonard Cohen and Sharon Robinson. Melua said of the cover, "It completely got to me, about how we all have great ideals but in reality we end up conforming, following everyone else."

Melua released four singles from the album: "If You Were a Sailboat", "Mary Pickford", "If the Lights Go Out", and "Ghost Town". "Mary Pickford", written by Mike Batt, was about the silent film star of the same name. "Ghost Town" was Melua's first reggae-sounding song.

The iTunes version of the album includes a cover of the Prince song "Under the Cherry Moon" as a bonus track. Read Less