Una Healy on the mother of all solo albums
Saturdays singer on how her children and husband inspired new debut album
Una Healy’s first solo album is not called The Waiting Game for nothing. Although The Saturdays, the multimillion selling girlband of which she is a member, have been ‘on hiatus’ for two years and the Tipperary woman was busy as a judge and mentor on RTÉ’s The Voice Of Ireland, she says she also made time to write ‘dozens’ of songs. Then she bided her time until she could launch herself as a solo performer.
Of course, this is a reintroduction to Una in that guise.
She was on the cusp of a breakthrough in her own right when she was successful in her audition for the girl group in 2007.
Una, who is now 33, combines her musical career with being a mother; she is married to top English rugby player Ben Foden and they have two children, Aoife Belle and Tadhg John. Several of the songs on The Waiting Game are simply about her version of love and domestic bliss.
‘I’ve been writing the songs for about three years now and they’re all very personal to me,’ she says.
‘There are love songs and about having to take the rough with the smooth. They don’t suggest that there is always a happy ending because life isn’t like that. There are also songs about my children that hopefully every parent can relate to.’
Above all, Una says she doesn’t want to alienate people. She hopes that a perception of her living a lifestyle of the rich and famous won’t preclude her from writing songs about ‘real life’.
‘The song Out The Door is about how every person has to go out every day to put a crust on the table,’ she explains.
‘What I do to make a living might be a little different from most other people but it is all still very normal to me. It’s what I’ve always wanted to do and it’s what I enjoy; I’ve worked very hard for it. The song is also for my husband Ben but it’s for every other parent who walks out the door everyday to provide (for their family) as well.’
Ben was not involved with the England team in yesterday’s match with France but he is still an integral part of the Northampton Saints team.
With all the talk of serious head and spinal injuries in the sport, I wondered how worried does Una feel when Ben goes out to earn his crust? ‘Touch wood he hasn’t had a major injury in a while,’ she says. ‘He had three bad ones in a row at one stage and it took him out of the game for a long time. It spoiled his chances of being part of the World Cup squad two years ago. He seemed to keep getting bad injuries... but now he has built his confidence back up and he is playing well again.’
But when it comes to country loyalties Una has always supported Ireland whether Ben is lining out for England or not.
‘My loyalties are always with Ireland, always have been, always will be,’ she says proudly.
‘My family are huge Munster and Ireland supporters.’
Una understands the importance of competitive sport. She was an excellent swimmer as a child and was Irish under-9s champion. She says she only gave up the sport when music became a priority.
‘I enjoyed swimming so much; you couldn’t keep me away from the pool,’ she says.
‘I do think it’s important for children – all people really – to keep a little bit of competitiveness about them, to be prepared to set goals and to achieve them. It is good to see hard work paying off. It helps you when it comes to setting goals for yourself in later life.
‘But I don’t think myself or Ben would put any pressure on our children to think that they must be the very best at anything. If they enjoy whatever they do I will be happy.’
The Waiting Game is out on Decca Records on Friday. Una plays The Sugar Club Dublin on Thursday, February 16
‘It is good to see hard work paying off. It helps you when it comes to setting goals in later life’