aaamusic | On 22, Apr 2013

Thea Gilmore has been described as one of the few world class female singer-songwriters Britain has ever produced. In 2011 she released a collaboration with the late Sandy Denny entitled Don’t Stop Singing and, in 2012, her CD single London was  featured on the BBC coverage of the London Olympics. Interviewer Anthony Weightman chatted to her ahead of the release of of her 14th album Regardless.

AAAmusic: Firstly, my very best wishes to you in May when your 14th album Regardless is released. You also start a new tour in May. Would you like to say a few words about your new album?

Thea Gilmore: It’s about a lot of love and a lot of cynicism. It’s an album very much influenced by being a parent, I suppose. Understanding that being responsible for someone’s life is a big deal and understanding that letting someone go is also a big deal. You know how it changes you and how it grows you as a person. There’s a lot of growing up and accepting responsibility and the way the world changes around you. It’s not necessarily something you can directly affect, but playing your part is very important. It’s what we’re here for, in my opinion. I suppose it’s quite grown up, in a strange sort of way. But, I am 33 now, so I’m not kidding.

AAAmusic: I was intrigued by your ‘posthumous collaboration’ Don’t Stop Singing where you added your own voice and compositions to Sandy Denny lyrics. Personally I loved Sandy Denny and I was very lucky to see her live once with Fotheringay at The Town Hall, Oxford. Songs like The Sea always bought tears to my eyes because they were so exquisitely beautiful. You don’t really get much better than Sandy Denny. When you agreed to this project did you feel that people would expect a great deal from you?

Thea Gilmore: Yes. I was terrified. I have to be honest. It took a long time for me to say ‘yes.’ There were several reasons. One, because you’re dealing with a legend. Also a legend that’s not around to say ‘You know Thea, that’s s***, please don’t release that. It’s nothing like I had in mind.’

AAAmusic: Or possibly ‘that’s really marvellous.’

Thea Gilmore: Yeah. I suspect that Sandy was vociferous with her thoughts, from people I know who used to know her. She would have a few things to say if she didn’t like something. She might have stayed quiet if she did like things. I was worried by the process because she was so highly regarded and respected. Her music following is so incredibly passionate. I knew there would be a lot of people who would accuse me of grave robbing and, in some respects, understandably. I refused. I love Sandy as an artist. I think she’s awesome. I loved the idea that there were lyrics out there and that sometime they’ll see the light of day, but I didn’t think they’d got the right person. They sent me this book of lyrics and my curiosity got the better of me. I couldn’t help myself. I started to write a tune and it came so easily. I appreciate that there are people out there who think it shouldn’t have been done. I stand by the record. I think it works. I picked the lyrics that I felt were the most formed. There were scraps and things I could have changed lyrically, but it didn’t feel right. I tried to be as respectful as possible. I also respect that there are people out there who don’t get it and don’t think it should have been done, but there are an awful lot of Sandy fans who really loved it. I really appreciate that. I’ve met an awful lot of wonderful people through that record. I’ve got a huge amount to be thankful to Sandy Denny for. I’m very glad I did it.

AAAmusic: I was lucky to chat with Tom Paxton in Washington recently. He remembered his last meeting with Sandy Denny, a lunch where she was very eager to be on tour and extremely happy. Do you think this is the way Sandy would have liked people to remember her? 

Thea Gilmore: I just simply don’t know. I never met her. I know an awful lot of people who knew her. I’ve heard a lot of stories, particularly through doing this record. Sandy was wonderful to be around when she was in a good place and terribly sad sometimes. There were two very definite and opposite sides to her personality. I’m sure most of us would like to be seen as happy people.

AAAmusic: I know you sometimes return to your Oxfordshire childhood territory & The Cropredy Festival. It’s still quirky and charming and the audience is very committed. I’ve sung Meet On The Ledge in the pouring rain and wondered if my tent was going to blow away. Over the years do you feel it has changed much?

Thea Gilmore: I don’t think it has changed much, actually. Even though there are 15,000 people they seem as if they’re connected. Everyone’s there to connect with music. It’s an annual event and party and they’ve kept it small enough to be able to maintain that.

AAAmusic: As a mother who goes to live music events popular with families I’m sure you’ve seen  situations where parents want to stay up till midnight but young children are getting tired, restless and bad tempered. Perhaps the compromise is to have a 10pm curfew like Folk By The Oak in Hatfield. It seemed to work when I was there.

Thea Gilmore: I think having the choice is the right thing. All kids are different. One of mine would happily stay up till midnight and wouldn’t get grumpy at all. He’s pretty young at 6. Involving your kids in everything you do can only be healthy. My second child, 20 months old, I have to apply slightly different rules to. But every kid is different. Giving parents choice is the way to go.

AAAmusic: For a variety of reasons, some artists make a decision to move to the USA and be based there. Richard Thompson from Fairport Convention made that decision. Is this something you’d ever consider?

Thea Gilmore: I love playing gigs in the USA. It’s an entirely different experience. The love and joy of music over there is infectious. From a purely practical perspective, I don’t think I could afford to because of the health care. That you really do have to consider if you’ve got children. I’m a firm believer and lover of the NHS in this country and would fight for it till my last breath.

AAAmusic: Terrorism in Boston has sadly been on the news yet again this morning. On the weekend of the London bombings in 2005 I went to a well known London venue to find it half empty because people were afraid. The audience and musicians who were there were absolutely determined that the evening would be a success. Do you have any memories of that particular weekend?

Thea Gilmore: Yes, I was in London when it happened, in a hotel on the Bayswater Road. My memory is the incredible stoicism that the British people have. Absolute determination that, whatever happens, life goes on. I walked all the way to a studio three miles away. Nothing was running that day. People were very sober on the streets, but there was a sense of community. There was a genuine feeling of ‘we’re all in this together’. Connecting. That’s the best way to fight something that’s ‘unfightable.’ I remember feeling very proud.

AAAmusic: I know you’re a bit wary of those who might try to push you in a direction which doesn’t seem natural to you. You always seem to be a person who knows yourself pretty well. Do you still feel that way, that you’re most comfortable when you’re personally in control of your own destiny.

Thea Gilmore: Yeah. I’m a complete control freak. I don’t think I know myself at all but what I do have is an animal instinct. If something happens to me or somebody says something to me and I know instantly that I feel that they’re wrong, then I will say so quite strongly. I do speak my mind. I suppose I believe in myself enough to not take too much crap from too many people and I stand by that. It’s seen me through some difficult times.

AAAmusic: You once said that “in the UK we like to build people up but, as soon as they become successful, we try to knock them down again. Americans don’t tend to do that.” Personally, I’m not quite sure on this but I’m curious because, assuming you’re correct, what do you feel is the cause? Is it an irrational dislike of success, or is it jealousy, or is it simply a feeling that success hasn’t been earned?

Thea Gilmore: I think it’s a combination of all of those. Also the British sense of humour comes into it. I think the British have a self deprecating sense of humour and an enjoyment of laughing at other people. Whereas Americans laugh with people, very definitely, but tend to shy away from laughing at people. The more cynical American comics that laugh at people are received with wildly mixed reviews. Whereas, over here, the more you laugh at somebody, seemingly the more the comedian is liked. I subscribe to it as well. I’d dreadful with that. I’m definitely very British.

AAAmusic: I like to be in company of people who laugh with others, so perhaps I should live the the United States.

Thea Gilmore: Maybe. You sound like a very nice person.

AAAmusic: You’ve said “it makes me mad when people say politics should be kept out of music.” Personally, I don’t understand this either because, inevitably, some songs are about the morality of decisions made by people in power and how they affect basic rights like peace and security. Why do you think some people have this view?

Thea Gilmore: You know, I’ve been thinking about that a lot in the last week and a half because it’s been said to me on two separate occasions, through social media, that people are very disappointed in me because I bring politics into my social network conversation. I find it bizarre. Politics affects us all, both with a big and a small ‘p.’ For me, as someone who makes a living out of my creative responses to my personal situations, politics affects that directly. Why wouldn’t I put it in my work? I don’t understand. I completely appreciate that people don’t agree with me. I have no problem with that.  I’m not asking for people to agree with me. What I do enjoy is the discussion. In Thatcher’s passing, suddenly Britain is talking politics again and I think that is marvellous because I feel so strongly that we don’t really have a discourse. Whereas, all of a sudden, there are people sometimes arguing extreme views. But it’s the argument and discussion that matters. There are plenty of people who are very right of centre who listen to my music who are not afraid of saying so and I’m not frightened of hearing it. They’re not threatened by me being left of centre. It’s just a normal and usual human political discourse. It’s invaluable. I can’t understand why anybody would find that threatening, in any way.

AAAmusic: In writing songs you’ve said “I feel very lucky because it feels like the songs have  been written somewhere before and I’m just kind of channelling them.”  Do you think that this is a fairly common initial reaction, but then you’re often pleasantly surprised because you seem to have imprinted your own personality on a song?

Thea Gilmore: I think it depends on the song, to be quite honest. Songs that arrive very quickly definitely feel like they’re out there and are waiting to be caught in a net. Quite often I have no recollection of writing them. Absolutely none at all. Whilst I can listen and hear there’s me in a song , it’s quite an accurate portrayal of something that I feel on a regular basis. I have no idea where it came from and I genuinely don’t remember writing it. There are other ones where you sit and you bend words and melodies and you craft them. I suppose neither way is more valid than the other, but certainly the ones that surprise you the most are probably the ones most enjoyable to listen back to.

AAAmusic: A silly question to finish with. I understand the only fan poster on your wall was once Winnie The Pooh. Do you have a favourite Winnie The Pooh song? I think mine is Little Black Rain Cloud where he goes up in a balloon to find honey.

Thea Gilmore: I don’t remember that many Winnie The Pooh songs, but I do like The More It Snows The More It Goes On Snowing.

Author: Anthony Weightman