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Known for her distinct singing, Alison also plays bass and a bit of guitar for the band. Alison has been the focal point of media and fan attention since the band's inception. Speaking on this topic, Ms. Shaw said, "Oh, that? They [the rest of the band] laugh at me. That kind of thing I do get a bit embarrassed about. But when it's someone [a fan] reacting to a song, be it the lyrics or the music, then we really appreciate it. It's why we carry on."
Although Alison's musical interested started when she was young, it was not till much later, when she returned to her hometown of Portsmouth, that she discovered that her brother shared her musical tastes and interests. The result was a sibling collaboration to make their own music, with Jim writing and recording the music and Alison writing and singing the lyrics.
Alison's voice proved to be distinct in its child-like sound, as it reflects the same qualities that are in her everyday speech. According to her, "The first two songs we did my voice sounded as it does now, but then I went through an awkward phase. . . this is really early on . . you can't accept your own voice, and you try and find something else . . . but you just end up with what you've got, what come's out naturally."
In writing the lyrics, Alison has said that, "they're mostly personal stories. Fragments of things that happen. Sometimes you'll connect a certain melody to the way you felt when such and such happened - and the two things will just collide and give you a certain feeling." In 1998, Alison became an author when a compilation of her lyrics, Til the Stars Shine, was published.
Alison currently resides in Southsea, England, near the ocean. She is a skilled linguist (reflecting her University studies), fluent in French and Spanish, as well as her native English. Her French ability is often showcased by interviews on and in French media. Additionally, La Tragédie D'Oreste et Électre was a French spoken-word album. Her liking of Mexico has also helped to draw the band there for several one-off shows and accompanying vacations. When asked about her favorite songs to perform, Alison has mentioned Adrift, Angel Bell, and Far Away.
In describing how the music is created, Alison has responded in the following manner:
"The music comes first. Jim will start something and play it to me, and I sometimes get an idea straight away. You'll get a thought, and it might seem a bit nonsensical, but you use it as a starting point, work around it."
"I keep a diary sporadically, just jot things down that mean something to me. On tour, I really try to keep a diary, because its a precious time, really. And I'm really aware that when you're happy, things rush by so quickly that it's gone almost before you can take it all in. And I think that's what we try to do musically, to try to capture an impression of a time or a relationship or a feeling that you had."
On a interesting note, VOX magazine listed Alison as #13 on their list of The 20 Most Wanted Women of 1998.
In another piece of interesting information, the band Levitation, who were present during a Cranes interview during the early 1990s, cleared up that question we have all been asking ourselves, by stating that, "Alison doesn't sing when she orgasms."
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