GLASGOW GIRLS
SCOTS rocker Lucia Fontaine was among many fans left reeling at the death of The Cranberries singer Dolores O’Riordan.
The 21-year-old is one of the leading lights of Glasgow’s rich scene of female-fronted acts, such as Honeyblood and The Van T’s.
She was inspired by groups like Blondie, Hole, Garbage and The Cranberries, whose 46-yearold singer died last week.
Lucia, from Glasgow, said: “I was really sad to hear about Dolores but it goes to show that strong female frontwomen have been making their mark on rock music for decades.
“Zombie was one of the best guitar-led tracks of the 90s.
“There may be a resurgence of female-fronted rock bands emerging but we’ve been here all along.
“There have always been great female-fronted bands such as Blondie, Joan Jett, Hole, The Cranberries, The Cardigans and Garbage.
“And it’s really great there are still so many smashing it just now, like Dream Wife, The Big Moon, Black Honey, and Glasgow girls Honeyblood and The Van T’s. Rock is ready to make a comeback to the charts.”
Lucia’s positivity is thanks to an exciting Glasgow music scene which also boasts The Ninth Wave and Gerry Cinnamon,
Lucia said: “It is amazing just now. There are so many great bands and we all love to help each other out.
“We are all still young so there is still time for us to take over the world.”
Lucia has already packed in a lot. As a teenager, she supported the Bay City Rollers and sang with Moulin Rouge composer Craig Armstrong.
More recently she was picked out by magazine Nylon and named as one of Fred Perry Subculture’s New Wave 2018. She said: “The Fred Perry nod felt pretty good. It was a great kickstart to the year and was good to know other people were tuning in and looking forward to hearing more from us.” With her band Lucia, she’s just released cold-stone classic Melted Ice Cream and the former busker has beefed up her Phil Spector and garage rockinspired sound. She said: “Lucia is obviously my name and started out as more of a solo thing playing with session musicians. “It formed into more of a band as I play with two of my closest friends and my boyfriend. We recorded my debut EP the Best Boy last year.” It’s been a steady rise for Lucia who at 15 was busking on Glasgow’s Buchanan Street. She said: “I did it because I enjoyed it. It was a great way to meet people, make money and it helped my confidence levels.” Gordy Goudie, who has played with Simple Minds and Echo and the Bunnymen, became her mentor. She said: “One of my good friends introduced me to Gordy. We used to go up to his flat and write and record songs. It was fun. I feel lucky to have been able to work with him.”
She began to find her sound, swapping acoustic for electric, and got her break when she sent demos to John McLaughlin, who wrote for the likes of Busted.
He was impressed and got her a gig with Craig Armstrong – who has worked with Madonna and Texas – at Glasgow’s Royal Concert Hall.
Lucia said: “That was an experience that will stick with me forever. Craig is extremely talented.”
Songwriter John got her a support gig for the Bay City Rollers at their comeback gigs in Glasgow and London.
It was a good start and Lucia has been developing a rockier sound, inspired by her favourite band The Kills, fronted by Alison Mosshart.
She said: “I grew up around a lot of old soul and disco music and then found a new love for punk and rock music. I think the first band I really became interested in was The Kills.
“I now try to create a 60s girl group vibe like The Ronettes and Phil Spector.”
She’s planning to record more and has gigs lined up at Bakers in Kilmarnock on March 3, supporting Neon Waltz, before supporting The Ninth Wave in May, kicking off at Drummonds in Aberdeen on May 10.
Luica said: “I’ve got lots of exciting shows I will be announcing. I’m glad I got to play T in the Park before it finished and I’m looking forward to hopefully playing TRNSMT in future.”
Lucia Fontaine is proud to be part of new wave of strong women leading the charge for music in her home city