The other night I was lucky enough to nab tickets to attend a talk with Tracey Thorn about her new book at Waterstones on Piccadilly. It's called 'Naked At The Albert Hall' (an allusion to an episode in her first book when she sang at the Royal Albert Hall as Everything But The Girl).Tracey's previous book, 'Bedsit Disco Queen' was a great and very easy read so I didn't have any hesitation at getting the latest book. This one is about singing rather than autobiography but, from the readings Tracey did, it'll have her sly humour and wit as she talks about things all of can get even if we might not fully understand the nuances of vocalisations.
I loved her reading about the time she tried hypnotism to get over her stage-fright and just played along with the hypnotist because it would be rude not to. And even going back for the second appointment even after the first one failed. That is just so British and something I can relate to (although I doubt I'd have gone back!).
It was also nice to hear Tracey talk about other singers and, occasionally, their reported problems with singing. She had nothing but praise for Dusty Springfield and, when asked who she'd most want to sing with alive or dead, she named Dusty. But said she'd probably be too shy to be able to do it! She also name-checked Poly Styrene as a great singing hero (which, of course, she is).
It was all over too quickly and then we joined the queue to get the book signed and when it was my turn I showed Tracey the 'Poly Styrene' enamelled badge I always wear. Some things are important.
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