We need music and love more than ever
IRISH SINGING STAR IMELDA MAY TELLS MARION McMULLEN WHY SHE IS SPREADING WITH HER NEW ALBUM
THE LOVE
NOEL GALLAGHER, Ronnie Wood and Miles Kane all feature on Imelda May’s new album and she says all the songs are united by one thing ... love. “Every song,” she says proudly. “I didn’t realise while I was writing it. When I write, I just write what I feel like writing. I just go with whatever comes out. Afterwards, when I looked at it as a whole piece, I realised the common thread through it all is very much love. “And it’s love of all kinds, not just romantic love, but love of the planet, of ourselves, love of each other, there’s lustful love, fighting for universal love.
“I’m happy about that because I think an album like that is the album I want to put out into the world right now. I think we all need music more than ever and we need love more than ever.”
The track Just One Kiss certainly captures the spirit of love. “I did two videos for that one,” says the 46-year-old singer. “The first one we all went in and it was all lust and passion and then at the end I had my parents kiss and it got such a reaction.
“People were messaging me and I thought, let’s do another and we’ll get people to send in videos of themselves kissing each other, babies, their, dog or their
love, cat or their horse. delighted with that.”
Just One Kiss features former Oasis star Noel on vocals and Rolling Stone Ronnie on guitar. He and Imelda are long-standing friends and shared a stage in a Dublin blues club when she was 16.
“I have known Ronnie a long time and he asked me to sing on his album,” she says. “It was the Chuck Berry one and we did a little minitour just before all the lockdown stuff. He just said, ‘Give us a shout anytime’. So I did. “Ronnie is amazing. “I was wanting to ask Noel to sing with me on this song because I thought he would be brilliant. I love his voice. I love his vibe.
“And then I thought, ‘I won’t ask him because I am sure he gets asked all the time’. Then we were just texting and here we are.” Imelda’s sixth studio album, 11 Past The Hour also features Miles Kane of the Last Shadow Puppets, with contributions from feminist thinkers and activists such as Gina Martin and Dr Shola Mos-Shogbamimu.
So what has kept Imelda sane during the lockdowns? “I’ve never been sane,” she laughs, “and I’m OK with that. My life doesn’t fall into the normal bracket. Like everybody else I’ve just had to adapt, but writing has always been the great thing for me. I’ve been
I was
so extremely busy getting everything ready, getting the album ready. It was supposed to be out earlier, but the tour kept moving back and that moved the album back and it got to the point I was too excited about the album to do that any more and I said let’s just get it out there. I can’t wait any longer.” Imelda has only been able to get back to Ireland to see friends and family once in the last year.
“I miss people, but everybody is in the same boat. I’m happy to do this, if this is what needs to be done. If we had cracked down earlier we would be in a better position now. I think it’s one of those things. If you just get on with it, it will be better in the end.”
As for getting back to live music, she says: “I live in hope. There have been pandemics before and we’ve got through them so the time will come when we can tour again. The entertainment industry is on its knees, we’re hanging in there, but I don’t know how. “I don’t know what it’s going to be like when we go back, but I do think we will all appreciate small things more, like hugging each other and seeing our family, and sitting together and singing songs at the end of the night. All those simple things we will get great pleasure from.”
I think we will all appreciate small things more, like hugging each other