TRAINSPOTTING BOBBY’S GIRL IS A SPLASH HIT
Ava talks about life with her famous dad Robert Carlyle and how he is supporting her after signing a record deal once she’d taken the internet by storm
SHE’S played just one gig at a school talent show but Ava Carlyle is already making waves in the music business. Her proud dad, Trainspotting legend Bobby Carlyle, is among those who have got behind the 19-year old singer who was discovered after posting bedroom takes of classic songs on social media.
Her cover versions of tracks by artists such as The Smiths, Ed Sheeran and New Zealand chart-topper Lorde have led to a deal with the Manchester indie label Spirit of Spike Island.
And Ava, who will release her debut single Faded (Swim Deep) on July 28, said it took courage for her to post her videos online as she feared criticism.
The teenager said: “I wanted to put music covers on YouTube for a really long time but I was too nervous to do it. Then during quarantine I decided to do it because I wasn’t at school and no one could make fun of me. My classmates couldn’t say anything.
“It worked. Everyone has been really nice. I love it and I’m going to keep doing it.”
Bobby, best known for playing the psychopath Begbie in Trainspotting and the 2017 sequel, has been hugely supportive of his daughter’s music career and by her side every step of the way.
And Ava revealed it was her dad who gave her guitar lessons when she was a little girl.
She said: “Professionally, I’ve not even been making music that long, since October, but I’ve been writing my own songs and playing guitar since I was 10.
“It was my dad who used to teach me how to play guitar. He loves music and we would play songs together.
“I only knew basic chords. My dad helped at the beginning. He’d show me a few chords and we’d strum along together. He was very patient because I was just learning. When I got to 14 or 15 I got more serious about it and played every day.”
And despite support from her famous dad she admits she wasn’t sure she had what it takes to be a singer and would seek approval from him.
Ava added: “I started singing from there but I never thought my voice was that good. I just liked to sing along to what I was playing and I just kept practising.
“I used to love Taylor Swift when I was really young so I used to listen to her a lot.
“And my dad would play me a
lot of songs. He loves the Rolling Stones, and he loves Paul Weller and David Bowie. He’s great. He is a great dad. “I come to him with every song I write. He is always so supportive and tells me it’s really good and I send it to J at the label afterwards.” Ava, whose mum is American make-up artist Anastasia Shirley, might have signed to a record label but she’s also studying journalism at a university in British Columbia. But she admits her passion for music – her bedroom walls are plastered with Rolling Stone magazine covers – and her studies might see her combine the two. She said: “I just love Rolling Stone magazine. I’ve always been really interested in reading. I got into journalism and I think it would be really fun to do. “I would probably want to do music journalism, but I don’t ask my dad what he thinks. My mum and dad are just happy if I’m happy.” And she has also yet to rule out following her dad into acting or filmmaking. She said: “I haven’t really thought about it but maybe one day in the future. I used to do all the school plays and I love watching movies.
“I still love acting but I love music more at the moment. I’m not too sure if I will act in the future.
“I’ve just been focusing on music and getting that out. I’m getting really excited about the single.”
Ava, who has brothers Harvey, 17, and 15-yearold Pearce, normally divides her time between the family homes in Glasgow and Vancouver, Canada.
And while in normal times she will spend a lot of time in Scotland, she admitted the pandemic has seen her unable to travel “home”.
She said: “I spend a lot of time in Scotland because it’s my home. I love it there. It’s normally half and half, but at the moment because of the pandemic it’s been really hard to get back. It’s really tough.
“I’ve been here quite a lot but I really miss home. It’s really lovely here. It’s really easy going.
“People are really nice but it’s not like Glasgow. It’s not like Scotland. I miss it so much.”
Ava said one of the best things about Scotland is the music scene and festivals.
She added: “Another thing I miss about Glasgow is that we used to always go to TRNSMT and I’d get to see all the bands.
“Because I love indie music, seeing them live was the best thing. I saw The Killers at TRNSMT and that was one of the best things ever. Brandon Flowers is amazing.”
Though her dad played a Bond villain in the 1999 film Die Another Day, a young Adolf Hitler in the 2003 mini-series Evil: The Rise of Hitler and is probably best known for playing the violent psychopath Begbie, Ava only knows him as a loving dad who prefers spending time with his family.
And she said she only saw his work on his most famous character a couple of years ago.
She said: “I didn’t see Trainspotting until about two years ago.
“It was something that was an adult subject matter and I’ve never really been that interested.
“I remember I went to see Trainspotting 2 with my mum in cinemas and they wouldn’t let me in because I was too young. I was like, ‘It’s not fair.’ I had to go home.
“I don’t think I’d even seen the first one yet. In the end, I watched them out of order. My dad is like a normal person to me so it was funny to see him play that character.”
Bobby will return to acting in the upcoming film adaptation of North of Normal, based on the memoir of writer and former model Sea Sunrise
Person, 51. Like the book of the same name, the film details Person’s rustic upbringing in the Canadian wilderness of Alberta, British Columbia and the Yukon by hippy parents in which she witnessed drug-taking, nudity and promiscuous sex from an early age.
Meanwhile, his enthusiasm for Ava’s music has paid off, earning him a job shooting the music video to accompany her single near their home in Vancouver.
Though her dad has had plenty of experience in the filmmaking department, Ava insisted she held on to creative control.
“Of course I did,” she said. “It’s my stuff. He filmed it.
“I had the idea for the beach shots and I really loved being by the beach. I directed it and told him, ‘Film this bit.’
“He filmed it and found some angles but it was more my idea.”
She added: “I just love doing it as a hobby.
“I don’t really have expectations. I just hope people enjoy it as much as I do.”
He would show me a few chords and strum along AVA ON DAD TEACHING HER TO PLAY GUITAR