Imelda: It helps to chat

MY MENTAL TUSSLES…

ROCKER Imelda May thinks we still have a long way to go before people take mental health seriously.

The singer-songwriter says despite a lot of famous folk talking about wellbeing, too often they make empty promises.

Imelda told me: “I know a lot of people talk about mental health a lot lately, but a lot of people still shun away from what to do with that.

“What to do with that information and how to get help. They say, ‘Let’s talk about mental health,’ but don’t go much further than that.

“They talk about selflove, but a lot of people think that self-love is having a bath with some candles and it’s more than that, it’s way deeper than that.”

Imelda, who sings about her own struggle in new LP 11 Past The Hour, continued: “I am a massive believer in counselling. I think that helps hugely.

“There’s a song on the album called Don’t Let Me Stand On My Own and it’s all about mental health.

“For me, counselling helped me understand a lot of things about myself and therefore it helps me understand a lot of things about other people. It gives you more empathy and that can only be a good thing.”

She stressed that it’s important her musical peers get the help they need as they can work themselves into the ground. She said: “There’s that mentality within the music industry of ‘the show must go on,’ and you need to try and get a balance within that.”

Unintentionally, Imelda’s new music revolves around loving others. She added: “[It covers] love in all its different forms and I am so pleased with how that unfolded.

“There’s lustful love, romantic love, supportive love like with Don’t Let Me Stand On My Own, there’s Made To Love, which is fighting for love and activism, and there’s Breathe, which is love for the planet and caring for that.”