Abena Bailey Features

I chat with Katie Melua

 

People were asking 'whatever happened to Katie Melua?' after she suffered a breakdown. Now the doe-eyed songstress is back touring with a new album and is making wedding plans. Abena Bailey catches up with her for a chat.

 

First things first, congratulations on your engagement to former superbike champ James Toseland! Are you looking forward to the wedding?

"Thank you. Yes I'm absolutely excited about the wedding. It's the only thing that's on my mind at the moment...that and the album of course."

 

So what kind of wedding do you want?

"I just want a small affair. It will be relaxed and chilled out with family and friends. It might be in the UK or Georgia. My family are over the moon. Being Georgian means family is important so they are excited.

 

How are the plans going?

"I've been looking for a dress and caterers. There's so much to think about but I've got a couple of girls from the office helping out. They have been great."

 

So you were off the radar for a bit when you went through a breakdown a couple of years ago. How are you now?

"I love being back on track. It's good to be at work and just doing it."

 

You were only 20 years old when you became the biggest selling female artist but the years that followed brought too much pressure for you to handle. Are you going to do things differently this time?

"Yes, definitely. I'll be dealing with things in a different way, putting things in perspective and balancing the work/life situation better. It's really about spending more time with my family and friends and just being in love."

 

Has love influenced your recent works?

"I would say so. I wouldn't be as romantic and happy if I wasn't in love."

 

What was the main inspiration for Secret Symphony?

"I did a gig a few years ago with an orchestra in Germany and it was such an amazing feeling to be on stage with an orchestra I thought about doing it for an album."

 

What is it about an orchestra that appeals to you so much?

"It's just indescribable. I can't put it into words. It's such an emotive and huge sound it really is fantastic. When you work with an orchestra you feel like you're doing something epic and subtle all at the same time."

 

So you're back working with Mike Batt - the man who discovered you at the Brit School almost 10 years ago. After three successful albums you did your fourth album, The House, with William Orbit. So why back to Batt for Secret Symphony?

"Mike is phenomenal at string arrangements so I thought it was the perfect time to work with him again."

You and Mike are a dream team when it comes to music. You went from finding it hard to get air play for Closest Thing To Crazy to the album Stop The Search going to number one. What is that works with you and Mike?

"We bring the best out of each other. It's always a joy working with him, he has such a passion for music, which we share. We don't always agree and sometimes we argue but most of the time we agree on things and he has such a good attitude and he's really inspiring to work around."

 

Which songs on the Secret Symphony did you write with Mike?

Forgetting All My Troubles, Heartstrings and Lone Wolf. Lone Wolf is really sombre. It's about being attracted to certain people that are dangerous for you. I've been intrigued by outsiders and interested in strange people and it has caused trouble."

 

What happened?

"I don't want to go into details because I want the song to speak for itself and I want the audience to attach their own stories and feelings to it."

 

Are there any other tracks on the album that you feel particularly close to?

"The single I'm really proud of is Better Than A Dream. It's a really happy, intimate and lovely song about the person you're with being better than you imagined."

 

Ah, so did you write it about your husband to be?

(Giggles) "When I sing it I think of him."

 

Katie Melua will be performing at Hampton Court Festival on Friday, 22nd June. Her new album ‘Secret Symphony’ is out now on Dramatico. Visit www.katiemelua.com

 

See examples of my features published online here

Interview with comedian Robin Ince

 

Real life feature on grandma's boudoir photoshoot

 

Real life feature on pensioner with a home crammed with gramophones!

 

Travel feature on luxury stay at Le Mas Candille in Mougins

 

Travel feature on having a country-style break in London

 

Pole dancing in burqas...

 

Gini Zdesar has just set up pole dancing classes at her home studio in a trendy canalside development in Kings Langley.

It is a fledgling project as she has just moved to the area – a far cry from Bahrain, where this time last year she was rushed off her feet with demand from Middle Eastern women who wanted her to teach them moves on the pole.

She said: “It all started when I brought my pole over to Bahrain so I could use it to lose weight.

“All of my friends noticed that I was looking good and wanted to know what I was doing.

“When I told them it was pole dancing they wanted to give it a try. I started putting posters up in The Rugby Club, which is frequented by ex-pats and liberal Middle Eastern women, and next thing I knew about 80 per cent of my clients were Middle Eastern and Muslim.”

While world news reports highlighted simmering unrest in Bahrain between the governing Sunni Muslim and the Shia Muslims and debates were raging about whether the F1 Grand Prix should go ahead in the country, Gini was experiencing a Bahrain that was very different.

She said: “I had plenty of women coming to my door all covered up.

“They would come inside and whip off their burqas and cloaks to reveal their gym wear underneath.

“They loved pole dancing and some of them told me that their husbands had never been so interested in their fitness regime!”

The image of a woman in a burqa conjures up thoughts of oppression, religion and even terrorism among some people in the Western world, But for the pole dance instructor women in burqas were her best clients.

They enjoyed individual 45-minute lessons that concentrated on flexibility, co-ordination, fitness and confidence, rather than sexiness.

It was more about working up a sweat and losing weight.

Gini said: “I also held pole dancing parties. Women would come wearing burqas and they would wait for the male caterers to leave before they would take off the cover-ups and reveal designer clothes and very high heels underneath.

They dressed liked celebrities. “They would drink mocktails and let themselves go on the pole.”

It made Gini think that maybe the burqa wasn’t the sign of oppression that some people may think.

She said: “I don’t know whether it was their choice or they are told to wear them by their husbands and families but some of the Middle Eastern women would arrive for pole dancing covered up and some would come in shorts and T-shirts, depending on how they felt.

“One week my friend Nas came wearing gym clothes and the next she came wearing the cloak part of her burqa because she felt my security guard was staring at her during her previous visit.

“It was her choice to cover up. “The reason women wear the burqa is so that men don’t get any pleasure from looking at them.

“When my husband told me he wanted to go and work in Bahrain I was very worried about whether I would be able to expose any part of my skin and what I would be allowed to wear. I didn’t know much about the country,” she explained.

“I was dreading it but when I got there I was really shocked at how westernised it was.

“Bahrain gets a lot of stick from other Middle Eastern countries for not being an Islamic state and being more liberal.”

It seems there were two worlds in Bahrain – one of civil unrest between Sunnis and Shias and the other was a cosmopolitan life lived by well-off Middle Eastern people and ex-pats.

The political and religious differences were kept separate from those living a more westernised lifestyle, who felt safe tucked away in their guarded villas and shopping malls.

Gini said: “The Sunnis made sure that the Shias stopped coming out of their area.

“We had the police keeping them under control. Whether that was good or bad, I don’t know.”

As the economy in Bahrain took a dip and contract work in the UK became more lucrative for Gini’s husband the couple decided to move back to England.

Towards the end of their stay, which was at the end of last year, the political unrest became more evident.

“There were police check points and curfews in certain areas that weren’t there when we first arrived,” explained Gini. “

By then we could hear gun fire in the distance and smell tear gas in the air but I was never scared.”

Find out more about Gini’s pole dancing classes at www.thepoleworkout.com.

 

Appeared Hemel Hempstead Gazette 

Behind the scenes at Brits

Since the launch of Ingeny Music two years ago its A and R director Damian Knowles, from Hemel Hempstead, has made a few trips down the red carpet.

Abena Bailey met with him in his studio to find out what happens on the other side of the velvet rope.

Tinie Tempah was performing on stage at the 2011 Brit Awards and the atmosphere inside the O2 Arena, where it was held, was simply electric.

Pumped up with excitement Damian, who was sitting at a table five rows from the stage couldn't help but send a few Tweets to Tinie's producer Richie Montana, who was sat with an entourage at a front table.

Tinie's performance is just smashing it! The light show is awesome, he tapped out on his iPhone .

Richie replied, 'Thanks bro we drunk and about to get messy'.

“The Brits was immense,” Damian, 29, told me.

He described beingtotally surrounded by big name musicians - some who he had admired since he was a teenager.

“I was sitting there like a little girl, you know shaking and enjoying every moment. It was the same at The Savoy where we went for the Universal Records after show party.”

The glitzy event at one of the West End's most iconically glamorous hotels was the hottest ticket in town.

Cheryl Cole, Katherine Jenkins, Jessie J, Fearne Cotton, James Corden, Paloma Faith, Robbie Williams, Pixie Lott and a host more stars, were all in attendance at the party hosted by Take That.

Outside a throng of paparazzi photographers and fans looked on.

Estranged husband of model Katie Price, Alex Reid ended up in the papers in the following days because he couldn't use his status to get in past security and was papped while being refused entry.

The Brits award ceremony, shortlist announcement party, and the many after parties are either strictly invitation-only or extremely hard for even the most renowned mover and shaker to gain entry.

As a member of the voting academy, which is made up of 1,000 panellists who choose the musical acts to be shortlisted for the Brit Awards, Damian was definitely in.

For each category he chose five acts from a selection of 30. Among his choices were Eminem and Tinie Tempah.

Damian's company Ingeny Music Ltd, which is a family business he runs with parents John and Frankie and two silent partners, represents artists working in showbiz.

One is international vocalist and musical arranger Tee Green, who has written a number one track for N Sync as well as coached and worked with the likes of Kylie Minogue and Alexander O'Neal.

Also on the artist roster is East 17's Terry Coldwell, musician and director John Knowles, who last year presented Smugglers The Musical at The Elgiva theatre, in Chesham.

Dorian Graze, a band from Hemel Hempstead , which released its debut single The Destination on iTunes, in January, and singer and dancer Nikita.

Ingeny also represents television presenters Nick Knowles, who presents DIY SOS and Real Rescues on the BBC, and Chantelle Munt, who has presented Smart Live Casino and appeared on The Only Way is Essex.

Damian's name was on the guest list of  both the awards and after party: “Even though it was a music event there was a stationery theme running through the interior. There were oversized pencils and thigns and even palms trees.”

The free bar was in full swing and cocktails inspired by the Union Jack colours of the  new look Brit Award trophy, which was designed by Vivian Westwood, were being served.

“Even the food was surreal,” revealed Damien. “Very British I suppose. It was tea party food. Exquisite miniature cakes, sandwiches and tea were being offered to guests.

“I I told one of the members of Mumford & Sons they will soon be in for a challenge when Dorin Graze hits the scene big time, I had a chat with James Corden, Will Young and Dermot O'Leary.”

These parties are just as much a time for networking as they are for celebrating and Damien knows this all too well.

As a professional, who in his eyes, is in the lower echelons of the industry, he has to push the buzz he gets from meeting stars and seeing live performances, to the back of his mind.

“It's not like I can approach anyone and ask for a photo with them. The moment I do that, I become a member of the public in their eyes and not a businessman. They just wouldn't look at me on their level,” he explained.

“Last year I spoke to Noel Gallagher at the Brit Awards after show party and I really wanted to ask him to endorse something for me but I couldn't, it would have put me beneath him. This is the stuff I play with all the time. I'm in a chicken and egg situation. You have to grow things yourself to make people want to come on board, but you need people on board to grow things.”

The reality of the showbiz party for an A&R director of a growing management company is it's all about making contacts, getting exposure both to the industry players and for your clients in the papers if the event is being photographed.

Take the OK Magazine party Damien attended: “It's a big pap night. I tell you seeing life in lights like that shuts you up for a moment to take it all in.”

For the onlooker all is not as it seems. Not everyone who attends the party is allowed to walk up the red carpet. On occasions it is reserved for celebrities only, so their accompanying friends and family will be asked to go in through a different entrance.

Many of the stars, who turned up for the Brit Awards were at The O2 for most of the day sound checking. They had a sit down dinner inside and then traipsed outside to walk back in again up the red carpet for the cameras.

Damien said: “I was at the Brit Nomination party last year at Indigo and I notice how the stars were brought in and then had to walk around the back of the photographers to get to the sponsor's board to be photographed in front of.

All the camera men and journalists, who were kept behind a rope, clamoured for pictures and quotes but if they had just turned around they could have got closer.”

The exclusivity and unattainably builds a hysteria that helps to creates many products that the public want to buy into.

Celebrity magazines, fashion labels, brands and musicians use these as a tool to encourage people to buy their products.

Brands rush in to give stars their products to use or wear in front of the cameras, who then sell pictures to the magazines, who then sell the the culture to the public, who then buy the magazine and the products.

A seat at  a table of The Brit Awards will cost a guest from £750 to £840 and tickets for a whole table costs about £10,000.

The levels go from VIP, to VVIP, to platinum VIP.

“So you see, it's red carpet but its not red carpet for me,” explained Damien.

“We are not red carpet until we have got to the stage when one of our artists is up for an award – then it will feel like it should.

“I want to walk up the red carpet with one of the artists I'm representing. That's my aim for next year.”