Jade Starling (born January 19, 1960)Nash, Suzi. "Jade Starling: Pretty Poison, pageants and Pride", Philadelphia Gay News, April 12, 2012. Accessed March 20, 2025.https://www.retrojunk.com/a/8c3wo19Yas/a-talk-with-jade-starling is an American singer, and the lead vocalist for 1980s band Pretty Poison. She lives in New Jersey. Starling is a gay-rights activist and a supporter of same-sex marriage. She also sings songs in Spanish.
Early life Starling was born in Camden, New Jersey and raised in Merchantville, New Jersey."Pretty Poison's Jade Starling: Madonna Meets Lucille Ball", The Morning Call, April 19, 1986. Accessed March 20, 2025. "Jade, originally from Camden, N.J., grew up in Merchantville.... She sang in church choirs, acted in school plays and graduated from Camden County Vo-Tech, where she studied cosmetology." She decided to become a performer at 5 years old after winning a singing contest. Her parents were both musicians, with her father being a jazz guitarist and her mother being a pianist. Her first name is her real name while the last name Starling is her stage name.https://chicago.gopride.com/news/article.cfm/articleid/I843424
Philanthropy Starling has worked as a gay-rights activist, performing on behalf of many gay-rights benefits including gay-rights parades and LGBTQ benefits. In 1997, her song "Let Freedom Ring" was used to help further the concept of legalizing gay marriage. She has also been active in the "Ball Community" through her work with Jay Blahnik.
Musical career
Pretty Poison Starling has appeared on various Billboard Charts 9 times since 1984. Topping the Dance/Club chart 3 times with 2 of those club hits crossing over to both the Pop and R&B Chart.
1984 – "Nightime" – No. 13 Dance Svengali Records 1987 – "Catch Me (I'm Falling)" – No. 1 Dance, No. 8 Pop, No. 13 R&B – Svengali/Virgin 1988 – "Nightime" – No. 1 Dance, No. 36 Pop, No. 64 R&B 1997 – "Let Freedom Ring" – No. 17 Dance 1998 – "Catch Me 98" – No. 43 Dance 1998 – "My Heart Will Go On" – No. 37 Dance 1998 – "Honey Brown" – #41 Dance 2013 – "Insomniak" – No. 31 Dance 2014 – "Think About U" – No. 14 Dance 2015 – "Better & Better" – No. 3 Dance
She has released 4 LPs since 1988. 1988 – Catch Me I'm Falling 1995 – Sex in Violets - Deflowered 1997 – Pretty Poison's Greatest Hits Vol. 1 1998 – Euphoria – very rare as it was recalled shortly after its release. 2014 – Captive – Jade Starling solo LP
Starling has received numerous awards along with Pretty Poison founder and long time co-writer Whey Cooler.
References