Category: Features

Festivals Are Failing Female Acts

Recent BBC research has found that only 6% of headline acts at festivals this year are women, and shockingly there are no female headliners at Glastonbury at all, despite its liberal leftie reputation. Lorde, the biggest star out there right now is only second on the bill on the second stage! Is it really that much to ask in the 21st century to have female headliners and a 50/50 split of male and female acts on a festival bill? Continue reading “Festivals Are Failing Female Acts” →

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When Tina Turned the Country On!

 

The early life of Anna Mae Bullock sounds like the story of a potential country music star – she was raised in rural Tennessee, she worked in the fields, she only listened to country and western on the radio, she spent her childhood singing in church, her parents abandoned her and she raised herself the hard way. However instead of taking the path to the Grand Ole Opry she joined Ike Turner’s rhythm and blues band in St Louis, became Tina Turner and the rest is music history.

In the sixties and early seventies everything about her life was under Ike’s megalomaniacal control – it was his name, his songs, his style, his fist, his way. When Tina released her debut solo album, Tina Turns the Country On! in 1974 this signalled the beginning of her attempt to break with Ike both personally and professionally. While ultimately a commercial failure, the album is a fascinating glimpse into the life and times of one of music’s most successful female performers. Continue reading “When Tina Turned the Country On!” →

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Thoughts on the Scottish Album of the Year Longlist

The longlist for the prestigious Scottish Album of the Year award was announced last week in Glasgow. The last two winners were both female: Kathryn Joseph for her stunning album Bones You Have Thrown Me And Blood I’ve Spilled in 2015 and last year Anna Meredith won for her experimental opus Varmints. This year there is an interesting mix of albums nominated for the award (the full list can be found here) and so I thought I’d share some thoughts on the long listed albums which are by female artists. Continue reading “Thoughts on the Scottish Album of the Year Longlist” →

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Bobbie Gentry and the Power of Mystery

‘It was the 3rd of June, another sleepy, dusty, Delta day,’ sings Bobbie Gentry in the opening of her most famous song Ode to Billie Joe, setting the scene for one of music’s most elusive mysteries. This song and the album of the same name is the topic of a book by Tara Murtha in her contribution to the 33 1/3 series about significant albums, published by Bloomsbury. Murtha explores both the recording and release of this album, alongside the life and eventual disappearance of Bobbie Gentry herself. Continue reading “Bobbie Gentry and the Power of Mystery” →

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Why ‘Tin Man’ Is The Sad Song We Need Right Now

Nowadays in popular music escapism is the name of the game. Songs are often nothing more than an attempt to make the listener feel good – even ballads are autotuned and polished to perfection. Raw emotion is no longer acceptable.

But look at the world. Look at all the terrible things that are happening. More than ever we need to hear songs that tell us the real stories of people’s lives – of their heartbreak and pain and suffering. These songs are still out there, but you won’t hear them much on the radio or at award shows. When Miranda Lambert stepped up to sing Tin Man at the ACM awards she said it was a ‘risk’ but it was a performance which proved that sad songs still have the most power. Continue reading “Why ‘Tin Man’ Is The Sad Song We Need Right Now” →

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Why A Win for Laura Mvula Would Be A Win for All Women in Music

The Ivor Novello awards, given for song writing, are to take place in London this week. They are strange awards in many ways – sometimes rewarding just for commercial success and other times recognising artists beyond the mainstream.

What makes this year’s nominations list stand out for the right reasons is the inclusion of Laura Mvula, who was recently dropped by her record label. Now you would think if they signed you for a five album deal then they at least believe in your talent and potential. But in this case they dropped her after her second album failed to reach their sales targets. And they did this by email.  Continue reading “Why A Win for Laura Mvula Would Be A Win for All Women in Music” →

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