‘I didn’t realise the world wasn’t so inclusive’
Pop sensation Sinitta on her explosive comeback after 25 years…
Your new single Shine With Pride is making waves this summer…
I’m a big supporter of the LGBT community and it felt right to write a song like this, which has now become the official anthem of Pride 2018.
You’ve always had a very special relationship with the gay community…
I have – I kind of grew up in it. When I was younger, I didn’t realise the world wasn’t so inclusive. One of my closest friends is from Malaysia and it’s still illegal to be gay there and, even now, when I came back from Belfast recently, a headline in the newspaper was about the church refusing to baptise children of same-sex couples. Even though so much has changed, there’s still so much work to be done. It’s scary.
Do you still get the same buzz when you’re up on stage?
I think I get more of a buzz now because I appreciate it more, having been away for so long. The fact I can still dance in high heels is a huge bonus!
You have a new autobiography, Who Put The Sin In Sinitta…
Every publisher I went to wanted to put their own spin on it, like ‘Sinitta’s Guide On How To Be A Pop Star’, which I didn’t want. I have my own recording studio with cameras, so I came up with the idea of recording my book. I’m in vision and you subscribe to it.
‘There’s still work to be done’
You certainly have no shortage of stories…
There’s everything in there – it’s the story of my life, about growing up, and with some darker stories, too. It’s not all doom
and gloom, though. There are lots of funny stories – like the time Simon [Cowell] and I were on Sir Philip Green’s yacht eating Spotted Dick!
There must be a picture in the attic because you never change!
I do exercise, mostly Pilates on those reformer machines. They look like something you’d [use to] torture someone. I also do ballet exercises with a bar and a combination of both helps keep it all up and tight.
It appears to come naturally…
The desire to exercise comes naturally, but it’s a killer.
Will you go away this summer?
I want to go to Ibiza, singing Shine With Pride at all the festivals and doing what I do best! Being a working girl again all summer. Shine With Pride is out now. Head to sinitta.com for more