Elkie Brooks should need no introduction, having become a household name back in the seventies with hits such as “Pearl’s A Singer.” Here, in an exclusive interview with “Pulse” author Steve Rudd, the legendary vocalist reflects on her fifty-year career in the run-up to an eagerly-anticipated appearance at Bridlington Spa as part of her latest tour...
Q. So how has 2016 treated you so far, Elkie?
A. Fine, thank you. It’s beautiful here where I live in North Devon. I think I might go out and have a walk later on. I did three or four gigs in January, and I’ve just done a couple in February, and we’re doing very good business. I’ve just been to Gateshead, and we had a really good turn-out... 950 people this year. So the numbers are going up! It’s all looking very, very good.
Q. How does it feel to be touring again?
A. I’ve not stopped working for many, many years. I did 25 shows last year, 30 the year before, and so it goes on. I’ll probably be doing roughly the same this year.
I have an album coming out in November all being well. My eldest son (Jay) and I have been working on it for quite a few years now. It’s our fourth album together.
Q. How many songs have you written for it so far, and do you have a working title for the album?
A. No, we don’t have a working title, and there aren’t that many home-grown songs. There are always one or two that Jay and I have written between us, but I’m doing quite a few cover versions, which I’ll keep to myself for the time being! I’ve got a few really, really fabulous guests on there as well, who have contributed to the writing of the album, and also the playing.
Q. Back onto the subject of touring – it must be extremely gratifying to consistently command full-houses up and down the country.
A. The thing is, people know that when they come and see me, I will be giving my all. I give 100% – and I want that back from my audience as well! If an artist isn’t giving all, you can’t expect all back, can you? I do my best, and I always do all the hits.
Many, many years ago, I remember doing a tour when I just did all the songs from the latest album that no one had really got round to listening to. It hadn’t really been promoted that well, and I made a bit of a mistake.
Now I always try and put a lot of the hits into the show. In fact, I do all of them! I’m on stage for nearly two hours, with a short break in between sets, so I try and give audiences what they pay good money to hear.
Q. Of all the songs you’ve performed over the years, is there any one song in particular that you enjoy performing the most?
A. It varies, to be honest. Most artists will probably tell you the same thing. It can get very, very boring after many years of singing the same song. You have to appreciate that I’ve been singing “Pearl’s A Singer” for almost forty years! 1977 it was released – on my birthday!
It’s difficult to say which one is my overall favourite. I try to rearrange a lot of the songs as the years go on, which makes it interesting for me and the band as well. The audience, too! I do love “Don’t Cry Out Loud” – I never tire of that; it’s a great song. I also really like “Warm and Tender Love.”
Q. What memories do you have of the day that you got up on stage at the Manchester Palace Theatre when you were fifteen? If you knew then what you know now, what advice would you have given yourself as you teetered on the cusp of being “discovered”?
A. To be honest, it was a difficult time for me, because when I did actually get into the business, and make a couple of records, I was doing a lot of the clubs up north, which I didn’t particularly like doing, having to put up with “house bands” that couldn’t play my music very well! I was doing a lot of songs that I was persuaded to sing by my management at the time... songs that didn’t really suit me.
Some of them were from shows, and I’m not a person that likes musicals very much. I was so fed up at the time that I was thinking of doing something completely different. If you’re not enjoying your job, my advice would be, “Go and do something else!” The music business is a very, very hard business. It takes a lot to persevere.
Deep down, I knew I had a good technical ability, and I knew I could sing really, really well. I just hadn’t been given the chance to show what I could do. It wasn’t until I met a guy called Pete Gage that I found some sense of musical direction. We later got married, and he had the idea of forming a band called Dada in 1969.
Later on, it became Vinegar Joe with Robert Palmer. Until that point, I’d just been floundering around the business, not going anywhere. I might have been somewhere very different had I not persevered. A friend I went to school with, Maxine, was very religious, a Jewish girl from an orthodox family. My family, in contrast, was very secular. Maxine wanted to go to Israel, to live and work on a kibbutz for a bit, and then join the army. It all sounded rather romantic at 17! But I’m quite glad that I didn’t do that!
Q. Did you find writing your autobiography, “Finding My Voice,” to be a cathartic process?
A. Not really, because that wasn’t the reason I wrote it. I wrote it in case somebody else was going to come out with something that ended up being rather fictional! I did it because that was the thing to do. I just put down what I thought, and how it really was.
Q. Finally, looking beyond your latest tour and new album, what does the rest of 2016 hold in store for you?
A. It’s going to be a very, very busy year in general. I’m actually about to phone Robert Palmer’s mum, Anne, and ask her if she’d like to come to the show in Bridlington. Whenever we’re in York, or around that area, we like to try and see each other. I have such fond memories of Vinegar Joe and staying at Robert’s parents’ place when they had a B&B!
l Elkie will be performing at Bridlington Spa on Friday 11 March. Visit www.elkiebrooks.com for more details
l For more information about Steve, visit www.steverudd.co.uk or www.valleypressuk.com/authors/steverudd