WHEN OTHER girls her age were listening to Wham, A-Ha, and Bros, Imelda May was extolling the virtues of Elvis, Eddie Cochrane, and Gene Vincent.
She served her apprenticeship as a singer on the Dublin blues/jazz scene but just over a decade ago she decided there would be a better chance of being noticed on the London scene and so she moved across the Irish Sea.
Imelda was immediately in demand as a session singer and spent four years as vocalist in Mike Sanchez’s Rhythm and Blues Band. Through this work she came to the attention of Jools Holland and he subsequently invited her to perform on his Later show on BBC 2. Buoyed by her success on the show May returns to Ireland to play the Róisín Dubh on Tuesday March 10 at 9pm.
It would be wrong to assume May is an overnight success. For many years she was learning her craft and cultivating her own unique style here. From an early age she frequented Dublin venues such as Bruxelles and JJ Smyths and performed with various roots bands.
“The blues/jazz scene was always fantastic for music,” says Imelda. “It wasn’t a huge scene but the people who were doing it were doing it incredibly well. You had people like Mary Stokes, Mary Coughlan, Honor Heffernan, Louis Stewart, and Richie Buckley. Bands like the Hothouse Flowers would come down after their own gigs and jam old blues songs for hours and hours.
“I was only about 16 or 17 at the time and it was all kind of mind-blowing for me. I’d listen to every note and every verse and chorus and over time the musicians sort of took me under their wing. My dad knew I was mad into the music so he’d drop me off at the venues in the evening and then pick me up afterwards.”
Family remains an important factor in the rise of Imelda May over the past decade.
“My parents always encouraged me to follow my dreams and my whole family were absolutely fabulous all along,” says Imelda. “My father was an old-time dance teacher and my mother was a dressmaker and they used to travel around and see bands themselves.
“I’ve always enjoyed clothes and fashion and dressing up and I think that’s probably because of my mother. I remember for my confirmation I got dressed up in a sailor’s suit and I went through all the different phases after that. I know what I like and I know I have curves so the 1950s style seems to suit my shape. As I’ve got older I got into bolder and bolder fashions.”
It is the unique musical and fashion styling of Imelda May that has set her apart from her contemporaries. However she really came into prominence in the entertainment industry when Jools Holland invited her to perform on his fame-making BBC 2 show.
“We sort of heard through word of mouth that Jools liked our music and my manager sort of hopped on that,” Imelda says. “Things like that can slip away if you don’t chase them up. We ended up getting a support gig with him. As time went on we got offered more and more dates on his tour and then he would come to the side of the stage to listen to us.
“He told us one night that he would get us on his television show and fair play to him he stuck to his word. I’d watched the show for years and I knew it was the making of a lot of bands. To actually be in the studio was very exciting and I don’t think the lads in the band had ever heard me so quiet before a gig!”
The quietness quickly subsided and Imelda gave a rollicking performance of ‘Johnny Got A Boom-Boom’ and ‘Falling In Love With You Again’, and wowed music legends such as Dave Gilmour and Jeff Beck in the process. Even since then it has been a non-stop roller coaster ride for May with her debut album Love Tattoo selling well and this year looks like being one of her busiest to date.
“We’re starting our tour tomorrow and then we’re on the road for about two months,” she says. “We’re playing the St Patrick’s Day Parade in Trafalgar Square in London and then it’s back home for the Meteor Awards. I’ve already started the second album and when we get back from tour I’ll be putting the finishing touches to it. It’s all good fun and it’s very exciting and interesting.”
Life on the road is made considerably easier by the fact that Imelda’s husband Darrel Higham is also her lead guitarist. He brings a wealth of experience having worked alongside Chrissie Hynde, Linda Gail Lewis, Sonny Burgess, and Screaming Lord Sutch.
“It’s great to have him on the road because we actually get to see each other,” says Imelda. “Also if anyone gets too friendly I can have him there as my bodyguard to look out for me!”
