Jessie Ware introduces us to her new ‘baby’
A new arrival and some help from Ed Sheeran proved an inspiration
Many artists speak about their work in terms of it being their ‘baby’. In Jessie Ware’s case, the birth of her first child was central to the making of her latest album Glasshouse. The soulful singer-songwriter from London found out she was pregnant while planning her third album. She hoped to deliver the completed record well before being taken to the labour ward. The 32year-old planned song-writing sessions with a host of artists, including her friend, Ed Sheeran. They had co-authored songs for her previous record, Tough Love and for his all-conquering Divide album.
However, something was missing with her own efforts. ‘I was searching for something to feel strong and passionate about,’ she said. ‘I love my husband. We are great together. But there are only so many songs I can write about how great he is.
‘Then we experienced something as profound as having a child together and looking after another a little human. Suddenly, I had more life experience and much more to talk about.’
She says that while she had written four songs while pregnant she wrote eight after the birth of her daughter.
‘You hear about “difficult second album syndrome” and maybe “difficult third album syndrome”. The truth is they’re all bloody difficult to make,’ she says.
‘But I felt more confident coming to make this one. I felt I’d found my voice, lost it, then found it again with a vengeance once the baby was born.’
Jessie gave birth to her daughter in September last year. She says that for her and her husband, personal trainer Sam Burrows, ‘it’s been the most mental year and yet wonderful as well’.
The final track on Glasshouse, simply called Sam, is her latest single. Like much of the album, it is refreshingly direct. Lyrics such as, ‘I hope I’m as brave as my mother / wondering what kind of mother will I be / I hope she knows that I’ve found a man far from my father / Sam, my baby, and me,’ have attracted much attention.
‘I know it’s very direct. Blame Ed Sheeran. We wrote that song together,’ she says. ‘We originally had a different chorus. But I thought it was too generic.
‘When we were writing it, I was eight-and-a-half months pregnant. My bump was very visible and very much a part of all our thoughts. Ed and I thought why don’t we make it about the waiting, the anticipation but also make it a celebration of my husband and my mum. People think it is a real stab at my father. It’s not meant to be. My mum and dad were together and it didn’t work out and they broke up. I married a man who is very different from my father. It’s just reflecting on what I have now.’
That’s a theme which also drives the album. Glasshouse reflects, in a punning way, how she feels she has become more transparent since starting a family and wanting to share her experiences.
‘It’s about trying to be the best mother, wife, friend and artist and struggling at times. I’ve let people see more of me through the songs. The people who like my work were on the outside and now with these songs I’ve let them look in.’
Jessie is the sister of actress Hannah Ware and daughter of award-winning TV journalist John Ware. Jessie herself was a journalist, working for The Daily Mirror among other publications, before committing to music. Was she not afraid that her transparency and people’s feeling of familiarity with her would lead them to think they could invade her privacy?
‘I would like to think that my fans would be too respectful to do something like that,’ she says. ‘I’m open with them about my life. I’ll show pictures or videos of my daughter plink-plonking on the piano, although I won’t show her face. I know the songs I’ve written seem to be resonating so much already. It was already three years since I had put new music out. I knew I had to put more out; people don’t wait for you. I work hard but now having a kid has made me more determined to work harder.’
Jessie Ware’s album Glasshouse is out now on Island Records.
‘People think it is a real stab at my father. It’s not meant to be... it’s reflecting on what I have now’