Patti’s music for the soul

International star Patti Boulaye will be in Wokingham this Friday with a show dedicated not to her hits, but those of Aretha Franklin. EMMA MERCHANT finds out more

AN AWARD-WINNING singer and musical theatre star is bringing her show to Wokingham.

And lovers of Aretha Franklin’s music are in for a treat because it features many of the queen of soul’s best-known songs.

Patti Boulaye is full of enthusiasm as she describes her one-woman show, Aretha and Me.

“Singing is such a blessing,” she says. “It’s a common language that everyone understands.

“It speaks to people’s hearts.”

Like many, Boulaye was forced to stop touring when covid struck. Now she’s back, with her night of soul music at the Whitty Theatre on Friday, May 20.

A celebration of Aretha Franklin’s life and songs, it’s an event that should appeal to both young and old.

Weaving songs and stories into a musical narrative, Patti compares and contrasts her own life with that of the 1950’s soul music star.

Both women’s lives led them to show-business stardom and success.

Patti understands Aretha’s rise to fame better than most, perhaps.

“I know what show-business can be like. There’s a lot of jealousy, but you can’t let it get to you,” she laughs.

While both singers found fame, other areas of their lives differ.

Patti’s childhood was particularly challenging.

She’s recently written about it in her autobiography, The Faith of a Child.

The book follows her journey through wealth, poverty and near death in the Biafran civil war to the success she now enjoys in both Britain and Nigeria. It will be released this August by Kaleidoscope Publishing.

“Most people will never have experienced things that I have,” Patti explains. “I lived through genocide when I was young.

“I didn’t talk about it for a long time, until I wrote my book. But I chose to write it, because my children need to know who I am.”

Patti’s show, like her book, reflects the ups and the downs of her life, but she doesn’t dwell on the difficult times.

Indeed she has been described as ‘a bundle of fizz’, and her audiences have been known to dance in the aisles.

Songs to move to will include Aretha Franklin gems: Respect, Say A Little Prayer, Natural Woman, and Chain of Fools.

And there will also be a selection of Patti’s own favourite songs.

Each one tells a story.

“There are funny stories, sad stories, poignant stories and lots of laughing in the show,” she says.

Patti first found fame as a singer in the late 70s when she won the British ITV talent show New Faces, receiving the maximum 120 points.

Since then she has enjoyed success on stage, TV, and in musicals.

Performances include her West End debut in Hair, Yum Yum in The Mikado, and more recently her TV appearance in the BBC’s The Real Marigold Hotel.

And there are the one-woman shows.

Her previous sell-out tour, Billie and Me, was a similar celebration of the life and music of jazz singer Billie Holiday.

Music has always been important to Patti since her earliest years.

“Never mind a Desert Island Disc,” she jokes. “I would need a whole carload of discs.

“I remember songs my mother sang when I was little, and my heart wells up. There were nine children to look after, and we lived through difficult times.

“My mother’s favourite song was

Louis Armstrong’s, Nobody Knows The Trouble I’ve Seen. She would hum or sing that, and I would sit and listen.

“She was a great mother, she taught me how to do life.”

Doing life well is something that Patti is passionate about.

She is a Visiting teaching fellow at Middlesex University, where she works with young people.

“I try to help them prepare for life,” she explains.

“I encourage students not to take things personally and not to give others permission to hurt them.

“I tell them, don’t judge others, be kind and remember that you’re not perfect either. Really it comes down to making good life choices.”

Asked which song she would pass on to the next generation, Patti replies:

“That would be, How Great Thou Art. Young people today face so much pressure. They need all the help they can get, but they just don’t know where to go.”

Boulaye believes in offering young people positive examples of individuals overcoming difficulty, showing them how others successfully face life’s challenges.

To this end she has launched her own internet streaming TV chat show, Life with Patti Boulaye. It can be found, along with her vlogs and music, on her YouTube vlogging channel, The Vlogging Grandmother.

Here, she invites celebrities and successful people from all walks of life to share their stories and life tips.

Patti also finds time and energy for charity work in the UK and Africa, for which she has been awarded an OBE.

Her charity has built five healthcare centres and helped to finance a school in Lesotho.

Ask Patti where she finds the strength to do all these things and she’ll tell you: “I just have a very strong faith. With that, you can get through anything,” she explains.

“Many people are afraid to talk about faith, but I’m not one to stick to the rules. My God, my faith has brought me through everything in life.

“Aretha Franklin was also a Christian,” she adds. “She had her struggles too. Different ones.

“She chose the wrong man again and again, and she battled with alcohol.

“Unlike me, she lost her mother when she was only 10 years old. She didn’t have someone to help her do life well, but she did have faith.

“I believe that was why she survived the music industry, and lived to her 70s in good health.”