Her new album, A Curious Thing, reflects Amy’s feeling towards this new celeb culture, with many of the tracks being inspired by real-life personalities or events from her everyday life. “My new single - This Pretty Little Face - is about a girl who doesn’t really have any talent to back up her fame so we’ve done a video taking the mick out of the situation. It’s very funny at end when you see her get dropped for a younger model. I had a lot of fun making it and it’s something completely different from my usual stuff.”
Amy also revealed how she has overcome the thought of ‘you’ve only made it when you’re big in the UK and America’ saying how
proud and excited she is to be so successful in Europe – particularly in
Switzerland where she is one of the five top selling artists - alongside
the likes of Sir Elton John and The Rolling Stones. “When I signed my
record contract, I thought it was all about Britain and America. Then
I started to travel Europe for shows and realised there were a lot of
other countries to go to. The album has sold close to a million, which is
amazing. The last one took a year to reach a million and this album has
just been out a couple of months and I’m very proud of that.”
Amy, who admits she’s a real festival girl, was mid way trough
her European festival tour when she spoke to POSED and told us how
much fun she and her band have been having and they love to rough it
like everyone else. “We don’t stay in fancy hotels or fly to venues, we
love to just hang and sleep in tour bus - usually we have another place
to go to right away. I love festivals - I’m a real festival girl at heart and
believe in the authenticity of roughing it,” laughed Amy.
Amy’s love of festivals means she gets to play on the same stage
as some of the biggest acts in the business, including The Black Eyed
Peas, Florence and the Machine and the Scissor Sisters. “I’ve played
so many festivals, each one different from the other. We’ve gone from
small tents to the top of a mountain in the Swiss Alps.”
Amy’s success in Switzerland saw her headline another massive
festival in Berne – the place her music was stamped onto the European
map. “We played there two years ago before anything had happened for
me in Europe,” she said. “I played a tent and the festival organiser said
that was the first time everyone had left the main stage to see a band in
that tent. It is still one of the best gigs my band has ever played.”
The highlight of any performance for Amy is the reaction from
the crowd – she says there’s not another feeling like it in the world. “I didn’t get into this business for the fame or the celebrity, my true passion is to write and perform my music. I write all my songs myself
and that makes me immensely proud when the fans sing the lyrics back
to me. That’s why I do this and I love being a part of it.”
With the new craze of big names and lesser known artists
looking for credibility, jumping on the collaboration band wagon, I
asked Amy if she’d ever thought about going down this route. “It is
something I’ve thought about but maybe it could be something for the
future. “If I got the opportunity and the time of course, I’d love to work
with Bruce Springsteen - I really admire him - he’s such a great writer
and artist.”
AMY’S ALBUM ‘A CURIOUS THING’ IS OUT NOW.
interview by Georgina Lennon
Amy is genuine and true to her upbringing, describing herself
as the consummate homebody – even though the 22-year-old from
Bishopbriggs, Glasgow, spends most of her year touring or recording
down south with her management. “I try to get back home as much as
possible, even if it just for a day,” said Amy. “The first thing I do is pick
up my dog Arnie, who is a miniature schnauzer, from my mum’s. I really
miss him when I’m away. I’m a simple girl at heart, which can be hard
to believe as I’m in this business, but when I’m home I like to do simple
things like walk my dog, visit friends or go out for a quiet dinner.”
Amy got her start in the business by responding to an
advertisement placed in NME magazine by a new production company
set up by her now managers, Pete Wilkinson and Sarah Erasmus. “I
spotted the ad in the magazine and thought I’d give it a try. I’d been
writing and performing my own songs for a while in local pubs and
clubs, so I decided as I had nothing to lose why not apply and see what
happened,” explained Amy. “I didn’t really think I’d hear anything
back, particularly as I’d sent them this really rubbish demo done on an
eight-track in my bedroom, so when I got the call from Pete I was totally
overwhelmed.”
Although new to the management game themselves, Pete and
Sarah worked tirelessly with Amy for six months before producing
and sending out her demo to major record labels. She initially signed
with Warner Chappell before being signed to her now label, Mercury
Music Group. “Myself, Pete and Sarah were all new to the business and
that really helped me at the beginning. They welcomed me into their
home and took care of me like I was family – as soon as I met with them
something clicked.”
Talking fondly of her managers, Amy reveals she has never felt any pressure to churn out records or change herself in any way, saying,“I can write one song and not have another for six months. As I write all my music myself it’s important I get it right – I wouldn’t want to put something out there that I wasn’t proud of. I’m very luck to have Pete and Sarah as my managers, as they have never put any pressure on me to meet deadlines or sell myself sort.”
“People Are Searching for a gimmick”
Now on her second album, Amy says she’s learnt a lot about the business and has actually been quite shocked by some of its revelations.“Since the release of my first album I have noticed a massive difference to the way the music industry works. People are searching for a gimmick because records are not selling as much as they used to but I couldn’t sell my soul like that. I like to keep it all about the music,” said Amy. The Scot has always remained true to her values and has lately spoken out at her shock of how vain some artists in the industry have become. “Everyone has become obsessed with this celebrity culture and a lot of people are put through hoops to maintain it - from silly names, gimmicks, and ridiculous outfits – there’s a lot of style over substance these days. If that makes them happy then fair enough but it’s not for me.”
