YOU KNOW HER SO WELL . . . ALMOST 70 AND STILL TOURING
Barbara Dickson Dunfermline Queen’s Hall, Feb 26, Perth Concert Hall, Feb 28, Glasgow Royal Concert Hall, Mar 1
TO many, she’s still the fresh-faced youngster with charttopping hits and TV appearances seen by millions.
But Barbara Dickson turns 70 this year – and she’s as surprised as anyone.
“It sounds incredible,” she admits. “I can’t quite believe I’m going to be 70 – I suppose I should be grateful I got there without keeling over!
“I was talking about it with a friend who has turned 70 and we were saying what keeps us creative is that we don’t feel like old people.
“I’m happy to be 70 as long as I have my faculties. If I was unable to play the guitar or couldn’t sing anymore because I was rubbish I’d probably be really upset.
“But if I couldn’t sing I think I’d like to teach. I think it’s dangerous if you’ve done something all your life to stop and get hit with boredom.”
As a keen follower of current affairs and political developments, Barbara admits Brexit and Donald Trump’s election give her concerns for the year ahead.
But she has plenty of other things to keep her mind occupied in 2017.
Most imminently is her latest tour, her first with her full band in two years.
It kicked off in Birmingham this week and has dates in Dunfermline and Perth at the end of the month and Glasgow’s Royal Concert Hall on March 1.
Even after all these years, Barbara, who also has a new five-track EP, admits she gets a huge thrill from performing.
“I started off as a soloist and being on my own, so I’ve never got blasé about working with a band.
“I love it so much. I just shut my eyes and listen to them, knowing it’s all live with no recorded tracks involved in what we do.”
The Dunfermline date is of special significance to Barbara as it’s the place of her birth.
And she recently moved back to Edinburgh, her old stomping ground.
Although she had a flat in the capital where she spent some of her time, home for Barbara and husband Oliver was a house in Lincolnshire.
But they sold that and the flat to buy a property in Edinburgh.
“I live in the middle of the city and absolutely love it,” says Barbara.
“So does Oliver, who comes from London and had never lived here.
“I used to live in Edinburgh when I was very young and having been in London for a bit, it just seems so small, wonderful and walkable.
“There’s lots of stuff to do, such as going to the theatre and I have friends from many years ago.
“My home is always Dunfermline and there’s a feel there I can’t get in Edinburgh. But I don’t need to live in Dunfermline.”
Barbara, who was given an OBE in 2002, is Scotland’s all-time best-selling female artist, with a stellar career going back to the ’70s.
It’s more than 30 years since Barbara and Elaine Paige topped the charts with I Know Him So Well but she says she and Elaine have very different lives, so they haven’t seen each other in years.
And while she does play a few of the old songs that made her famous during her sets, she doesn’t dwell on the past.
She had massive hits such as Answer Me and Another Suitcase In Another Hall. You get the feeling, though, she’s far more comfortable with her musical life these days.
“I’ve never performed for the money, I’ve only ever done it because I wanted to,” she explains.
“The only time I was worried was when I was a pop star.
“I was very often being pulled in different directions. The more successful you become, the more difficult it is.
“You’re advised to do all sorts of things and the lack of feeling of being in charge of what I was doing concerned me.
“I remember appearing on a TV show in Holland and being asked to wear a coat and walk down a gangway with a suitcase in my hand to sing Another Suitcase.
“I just felt it was embarrassing and I was heartbroken. There were a lot of pop stars who would have done anything they were asked quite happily.
“The problem with me was I didn’t want to do anything to be noticed. I think I burst into tears.”