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Imelda May charts her own course

It must be hard for record store owners to categorize Imelda May’s music.
Imelda May
Irish jazz/blues/rockabilly singer Imelda May is headed for the main stage of the Burnaby Blues & Roots Festival, bringing her unique musical style to the Deer Lake stage.

It must be hard for record store owners to categorize Imelda May’s music.

The Dublin-born songstress has a niche genre all to herself, fusing sultry jazz with upbeat rockabilly and traditional blues into a uniquely modern sound that fits her quirky ’50s look, powerful contralto voice and onstage spunk.

Just a few weeks out from the Burnaby Blues & Roots Festival, May chatted with the NOW about performing as a teenager in pubs and clubs, sharing the stage with her classic rock influences and how she lost a boyfriend to the blues.

Tell me about your upbringing. I understand your interest in music came from your older siblings.

I’m the youngest of a biggish family – we had a two-bedroom house for all seven of us, including my parents, and one record player. I was brought up listening to everything from Bing Crosby and Nat King Cole to The Carpenters, The Specials, David Bowie, Meat Loaf – a huge amount of different, great music.

One of my brothers was into rockabilly – Elvis, Gene Vincent, Wanda Jackson – and I just went crazy for it, but then I also went crazy for what came after. Ian Dury, Adam Ant, The Clash, The Ramones and all these bands that made sense to me in my world.

You started performing in clubs at 16 and were sometimes thrown out for being underage. How was it for you to get gigs in venues that served alcohol?

My brothers and sisters used to sneak me in because I was way too young and the owner used to turn a blind eye – I don’t think you could get away with that anymore. That’s where I learned my trade. I’ve never gone to music college – that was my music college. I soaked it all up and I loved it.

After working with some bands for a few years, you decided to go solo. What prompted that decision?

I was bored. Not bored with music or the bands, but I needed a challenge – I was writing my own music since I was 14 years old, but kept quiet about it. Like a lot of artists, I just wrote for myself and kept all my songs in a big bag.

It came to a point where I didn’t want to sing other people’s songs anymore. I really, really wanted to do my own stuff. I needed to push myself. That’s when I thought, it’s now or never.

You've really carved out a style that is all your own. How long did it take for you to find the sound that you were looking for?

Not long, but forever and not long. It’s like, ‘Oh, she’s an overnight sensation after 25 years.’ I’ve been in blues bands, jazz bands, swing bands, soul bands, rock bands, rockabilly bands – it took forever, if you know what I mean, to really get into all of these, but then when I was writing my songs, obviously, it all seeped into it.

Over the years, you’ve worked with some of the biggest names in rock ‘n’ roll, like Jeff Beck, Eric Clapton and David Gilmour. What was it like to be onstage with these artists you grew up listening to?

It was amazing, but I never actually worked with Eric Clapton – I worked with Jeff on the gig that Jeff was doing with Eric. When Eric Clapton came onto the stage, I left – I wanted to stay so bad!

Jeff is a good friend and a great influence. We got on very well together and we’re both really fired up about music. Dave Gilmour’s terrific, he’s a really nice guy, and I loved performing with Lou Reed – he was an amazing man and gave me some really good tips.

I’ve been lucky to work with a lot of great, great people, and sometimes I have to pinch myself afterwards. At the same time, I like to take people as I meet them and just have a good time with music.

You recently released your fourth studio record, Tribal, in the U.K. What was the recording process for it and how does its sound compare to your previous work?

Every time before I write an album, I get writer’s block beforehand and then I think, ‘Oh no! It’s all over!’ [laughs] And then I start to write and it’s like the floodgates opened and it slides out. Then I have way too many songs and I go through and I pick the ones that seem to fit the best together as an album. I’m old-fashioned that way – I like an album as opposed to singles.

On this album, I wanted to use more of my punk influences and my crazier rockabilly side. I love to mess about and I know what sound I want and I try to get the best performance out of my band. I’m so lucky to have such a great band and I know when I hear the best takes out of them.

What can we expect from your live show on the main stage at the Burnaby Blues & Roots Festival?

I hope the fans expect to have a good time and I’ll pull out all the stops like I do at every gig – I like to give it my absolute best, as does the band. We’ll just rock the house and hopefully have a good time and enjoy the music.

That should just about do it! Anything else?

Well, my love of Elmore James lost me a boyfriend when I was 15. You know that moment when you send each other a mixtape? He sent me all the greatest hits and I sent him an Elmore James one and I never heard from him again. [laughs] I’m glad I got rid of him, he had bad taste in music.

@jacobzinn