JADE: "D’you know where I had an absolute ball? The Guinness Factory! I went with my security guard, bless him"

“I think I needed to take a good couple of years to really find my sound on my own, become a better songwriter, and understand that I could write from a more personal experience.”

So says Jade Thirlwall, colloquially known as Jade, of her upcoming album That’s Showbiz Baby! She’s sitting in her London apartment, looking more relaxed and assured than ever, now almost four years out of Little Mix, and a month from the release of her solo debut.

“I could finally understand who I was going to be, as my own artist,” she tells me of the two years she spent writing, recording and producing her latest effort. “I went into the campaign very sure of who I am. I have creative freedom now, on my own. In a group, you have to learn to compromise. You have to understand that every decision isn’t your own.

“Not having the girls there, though, in interviews or onstage, is difficult. Not having a shoulder to lean on was hard to get used to at first. We were probably quite co-dependent of each other, because we’d seen each other more than anybody else in our lives. We would be with each other nearly every day for over a decade.”

Throughout her career, Thirlwall has always been adamant about her support and respect for the queer community, queer art, and her own queer fans.

“I’m very aware that I would not be where I am now were it not for the support of that audience, and the influence that I take from drag culture and queer artists,” she nods. “I remember being a little girl in Blackpool, watching the drag artists – that for me was my first experience of watching these glamorous queens on stage – and being like: that’s the doll I want, not a Barbie.

“I thought, ‘How do I become this?’ That was before I even had an understanding of queer culture. Then when I moved to London at 18, it was very much my gay friends that took me under their wing and took me out to their nightlife culture. Throughout the years, I have been within that space and that community. In Little Mix, I think we had a huge gay following and, again, you can’t really benefit from that without giving back, to a degree.”

Photo: Conor Cunningham

Both in her younger years and in Little Mix, Thirlwall has also been very open about the prejudice she experienced, as a brown girl growing up in the UK, and then pushed into the spotlight at a young age. I ask if her own experience with racism made her feel a stronger kinship with the queer community.

“I think it’s not until I got older that I understood that link,” she agrees. “That feeling of being othered, or feeling like a minority or a misfit of sorts. As a child, I was actually surrounded by diversity, where I lived was a very diverse area. But when I went to secondary school, I was one of very, very few brown people in a strict Catholic secondary school.

“I very quickly understood what it means to be different, and not fit in and be a bit of a target. There was a sort of mutual understanding between the queer community and I, of feeling out of place, of feeling misunderstood.”

This feeling of injustice, both for herself and others, always took the form of being extremely outspoken about important political causes, including the rights of Palestinians, the LGBTQ+ community, or any prejudice.

“I’d be lying if I said there wasn’t some sort of fear of speaking out,” Thirlwall says of her pop star role. “But for me, I have to push past that, because I feel like, especially, now as an artist in the public eye, how can you be silent about certain things?

“You have to practice what you preach: in the girlband, it was all about female empowerment. It was about these four bolshy girls who were unafraid to be themselves. And for me, that came with being outspoken.

“Within the group, it would sometimes get me in trouble, but I’ve just been brought up that way. My mum is very outspoken and we were always taught to stick up for the guys that were struggling. Whether that’s for the LGBTQ community, or transphobia or the rights of the Palestinian people – I will say it with the chest out and accept the consequences of that.”

On Thirwall’s track ‘Angel Of My Dreams’, she discusses her difficult relationship with the music industry, and the complex feelings that come with it. When I ask if her relationship with the industry has evolved since leaving Little Mix, Jade nods.

“It’s about still being in the game but knowing how it’s played,” she says. “When you first enter the industry, it’s so crazy. It’s so easy to be taken advantage of. I’ve had the highs and lows, and I’ve come out the other end of it for the better. I’m stronger and more independent.

“And obviously, I’m still signed to a major label, but I know how it works now. I think if you know the game, then you can enjoy playing it. One really important thing that my partner, Jordan, said was, ‘You’ve already clocked the game, you’ve already done it. So this is just that bonus round.’

“With ‘Angel Of My Dreams’, it’s about showing that turmoil, that love-hate relationship with the industry – I so desperately crave the love and attention I get from it, and it’s important to be honest about that.”

At the start of autumn, Thirwall will be embarking on her first solo headline tour since leaving Little Mix.

“I thought I’d be shitting myself a bit more,” she jokingly reflects. “But actually what’s been really smart is I’ve started with a festival run. That’s scarier, because they’re not necessarily all fans. So it’s my job to convert people that would never usually listen to me when they walk past at a festival.

“I’ve actually really enjoyed that. It has been a challenge – some of the gigs have been better than others, in terms of reaction. But it’s been a great way of pushing me to be a better artist and to work the crowd. I’m very excited that I start the tour in Dublin – thank God it starts in Dublin! I wish it could end there as well, but to be fair, I’m going to end it in my hometown of Newcastle.”

What’s her favourite bit about Dublin crowds?

“They’re just up for it, aren’t they? Every time! They’re a rowdy bunch. You can’t not have a good time in Ireland, to be honest. I love Dublin anyways, I love walking around. D’you know where I had an absolute ball? The Guinness Factory!

“I went with my security guard, bless him. He’s an older bloke – he wanted to go and no one else wanted to go with him. So I went, best day out ever. It was actually so interesting. And you know, you get your little face on the pint at the end! A 10/10 experience. The best.

“I love everything about Dublin – but the crowd is the main thing.”

• That’s Showbiz, Baby! is out now. Jade plays 3Olympia, Dublin on October 8.