Carroll Thompson

QUEEN OF LOVERS ROCK

What music are you currently grooving to?

Gregory Porter’s Liquid Spirit. It’s a kind of happy, pre-Covid, pre-apocalyptic kind of place. Also, I’ve been dissecting [her 1981 LP] Hopelessly In Love in terms of having to perform it for the first time, so I went back to the stuff from my formative musical days: Randy Crawford’s Raw Silk, Carole King’s Tapestry, Songs In The Key Of Life [Stevie Wonder] – just like old friends.

What, if push come to shove, is your all-time favourite record? Ella Fitzgerald’s Lullaby Of Birdland, the very first song I ever played on my grandfather’s radiogram. I remember being completely mesmerised, she just sounded like a bird, and thinking she looked a lot like my grandmother.

What was the first record you ever bought. And where did you buy it?

I bought Love Is Overdue by Gregory Isaacs, My Eyes Adored You by Frankie Valli and Average White Band’s Pick Up The Pieces from a little, dusty bookshop called David’s Bookshop in Letchworth. I didn’t stop playing them, I sent my family bonkers. I was about 14.

Which musician, other than yourself, have you ever wanted to be? Maurice White from Earth, Wind & Fire. So exceptional as an artist, a songwriter, a producer, a performer, a genius.

What do you sing in the shower? Three Little Birds – Bob Marley. My mantra, and the opening song at my wedding.

What is your favourite Saturday night record?

One of my favourite reggae raving tunes is Promised Land by Dennis

Brown and Aswad, the energy and the vibe is just so incredible. I’ve actually been on the road with Dennis Brown and Aswad doing that live with them. It never fails to get me in a good mood.

And your Sunday morning record? My three divas – Sarah Vaughan, Billie Holiday and Ella Fitzgerald. A really nice breakfast, the smell of coffee and music. That’s a good Sunday morning.