Hot Press History In The Making: The Concert - Revisiting a classic interview with Imelda May

Originally published in Hot Press in 2008...

She was toiling in obscurity until she caught the ear of British TV host Jools Holland. Now Dublin rockabilly siren Imelda May is on the fast-track to the big time...

Interview: Anne Sexton

A whole life can change in the blink of an eye. One day you’re plying your singer-songwriter trade up and down the country, performing in lowly places and small venues; then the next thing you know you’re picking up a gong for Best Newcomer at the Irish Music Awards, touring with Van Morrison and receiving compliments from luminaries and celebrities such as Jeff Beck and Michael Parkinson.

For Dublin-born Imelda May, that moment happened when one Mr Jools Holland decided he quite liked her sound and would be keen on giving her a hand.

“I can’t thank him enough,” says May. “I’m such a big fan of his, but I wasn’t expecting anything to come of it. You know how it is, people say they’d like to do this or that with you, but it doesn’t come about for one reason or the other or because people are busy.”

As it turned out, Holland was serious.

“He was as good as his word. He said he’d get us on the television show, and he did. Then he said, wait, let’s get you on the radio first, so we did that, too.”

In 2007, May accompanied Holland on tour. In April this year he invited her into the radio studio and May performed two songs live with Holland’s band. More importantly, his continual support meant that others began to sit up and take notice. This year May supported both Holland and Van Morrison, as well as performing at a slew of festivals including Glastonbury.

“I was really nervous,” she says of her stint with Van. “It was incredible, but we didn’t get to meet him though.”

Holland’s support culminated this September when he invited her on to his BBC2 show Later… With Jools Holland.

“I felt like I’d stepped into the telly,” she laughs. “This was a show that I watched for years, and then to be on it!”

An appearance on Later changed KT Tunstall’s career after a successful performance of ‘Black Horse And The Cherry Tree’ and May’s looks set to do the same for her after playing two tracks, ‘Johnny Got A Boom Boom’ and ‘Falling In Love With You Again’ accompanied by Holland on piano.

Since Later... aired, sales of her new release Love Tattoo have been brisk. The CD was the number one seller in HMV’s rock ‘n roll section, reached number 17 on Amazon UK’s best-seller’s list and number 30 at the iTunes store.

Unsurprisingly, major labels have shown interest. May was due to sign a deal a few days after we spoke.

“I’m not saying which one in case I jinx it,” she laughs. “People downloaded the tracks and ordered the CD. I think it was this that got the record companies interested in the first place – knowing that people actually wanted to buy the album.”

Chances are that’s true. May’s look and sound – rockabilly meets jazz by way of 1950s film noir heroine and burlesque showgirl – is as far removed as you can imagine from the cleverly constructed pop starlets record companies seem to think we have an insatiable thirst for, but it’s obviously struck a chord with the buying public.

In many ways her story is a cautionary tale. It’s not that May doesn’t deserve success. She does. She has a smoky-edged voice that’s both familiar and unique, channelling the spirits of Billie Holiday, Dinah Washington, Nina Simone and Wanda Jackson. Her self-penned tracks include high-energy foot-stompers and ballads and the music fuses jazz, blues and rockabilly.

After years of playing to a cult following of a few hundred, she’s finally poised for the big time. It’s just a pity it took so long for the rest of us to notice.

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