Swing When Your Winning

Formed in 2007 and inspired by the likes of Rufus Wainwright, Louis Armstrong, old Disney songs and that notoriously naughty dance known as the hokey-cokey, British-based inventors of the ‘circus swing’ genre Gabby Young & Other Animals have been earning rave reviews and steadily recruiting hundreds of converts to their cause ever since their inception. Currently on tour and armed with their second record And The Band Called Out For More, the nine-piece arrive in Ireland for their first visit this month. When we caught up with flame-haired front-lady Gabby, she tells us she can’t wait for the trek to start.

“It’s been a long time coming and an Irish tour has been top of my wish-list for ages,” she enthuses. “We’ve just added an Irish drummer [Niall Woods, who also plays in CODES] and he’s so excited about us coming over. It feels like exactly the right time to do it.”
Released in June, via her family run label Gift Of The Gab Records, And The Band Called Out For More sees Gabby & Co. adopt a Baron Frankenstein-like approach when it comes to creating songs and showcases a group that aren’t afraid to buck conventions, break boundaries and generally march to the beat of their own drums, incorporating all the best bits of ‘20s flapper music, jazz, pop, music hall and more. While she admits she’s more of a live animal, Gabby informs us that she loved making her latest opus.
“I’m not a huge studio person because I love to perform live,” she begins. “For me, it’s all about the connection with the audience and the spontaneous things that can happen when you have a few hundred people all in one room. So getting in a box and singing is pretty tough for me because I don’t have that energy to bounce off. But I finally found a place I could tap into that I’ve never found before. I’m really pleased how everything’s turned out and I’m so proud of this record.”
Album highlight is the recent single ‘Walk Away,’ which is a touching tribute to Gabby’s father inspired by Mr. Young’s battle with a brain tumour. The singer tells us that he also appears in the video for the track.
“It was brilliant having my dad be a part of the video and it actually made me really emotional,” confesses Gabby. “I don’t know if you can tell, but there’s one shot where I’m actually crying because it was a really emotional song for me to write. My dad’s okay now though. He had an operation to have the tumour removed and after that he basically became a young man again, so it couldn’t have gone better.”
With plans to demo new material for their third record when they hit in Dublin, the striking singer, who also runs the fashion-based event Gabberdashery, looks set to earn plenty of Irish admirers when she arrives. She tells us she’s eager for people from all scenes, sub-cultures and age groups to hear her songs.
“This music is for everyone and I don’t want it to only be for a certain section of people,” she concludes. “When we see old couples at shows I always feel so complimented, because I think of the music they’ve been through in their lifetime. For them to come and see us... it’s a really big thing. You don’t have to be in a certain scene to enjoy our music. Everyone’s welcome.”

Gabby Young & Other Animals play the Cork Jazz Festival (October 27); Roisin Dubh, Galway (29); Belfast Festival (31) and the Grand Social, Dublin
(November 2).