Stardom beckons for the Webb Sisters

25-06-2006 10:51

Music appears to be in the genes then -your Dad’s a drummer and has collaborated with the likes of Peter Skellern in the past hasn’t he

Hattie Oh music’s definitely in the genes and it played a big part when we were growing up. As you say our Dad’s a drummer and both of our brothers (Brad and Rocco Rands-Webb) are musicians. Also our uncles’ too-for instance, one of them played the saxophone and the banjo and another was a comedian. It’s gone through generations and there have been a few musical eccentrics in the family. We joined in on that.
Charley I think it was a great start for Hattie and I - we were writing, playing and going to gigs when we were teenagers.

Is it true that you played for the Queen at an event, when you were younger

Charley Yes it is. We played once for the Queen and twice for Princess Anne. We’d do lots of functions across the country playing jazz and classical music. The Queen kept her hat on the whole time throughout our performance for her - we wondered at the time what she’d got under it! We had a chat with her as well afterwards.

You moved over to the USA for a while didn’t you, about six years ago

Charley Yes, we spent some time in Nashville and LA. We lived in Venice Beach for a while which was good - we meet some real characters from the music scene there. We also met the musicians Mike Elizondo and Jeff Trott whilst we were over there and wrote some songs with them. Mike’s worked with people like Eminem and Fiona Apple and Jeff co-writes for Sheryl Crow.
Hattie The four of us were an incredible fusion of lives and characters.

I believe you’re supporting jazz sensation Jamie Cullum next month. Are you excited about that

Charley We’re doing three gigs with him at The Tower of London, Delamere Forest and Thetford Forest in July. It’s not the first time we’ve worked with Jamie though as we played with him in California a few years ago. He’s a good laugh and we’re looking forward to seeing him again.

Is there anybody you’d particularly like to work with in the future if the opportunity arose

Charley There’s so many we’d love to work with. David Bowie, Cat Stevens, James Taylor- we like artists who are quirky, opinionated and have a strong direction with their music.

Who do you both like to listen to when you get the chance

Charley Well live, Ryan Adams and Sinead O’Connor. Hattie Yeah and The Red Hot Chili Peppers.

How would you describe your album "Daylight Crossing" in your own words

HattieIt’s the story of our journey in the last few years- the album really has got heart.
Charley For the album we worked with two brilliant but very different music producers called Steve Lipson and Youth. Steve’s had success with a lot of artists like Annie Lennox, Sting and Cher and Youth has with The Verve, Embrace and Dido. They were both great to work with and through them we were able to meet one of our heroes, the drummer Steve Gadd.

What would your advice be to anybody else wanting to be a singer

Hattie To follow your instincts and your hearts and don’t put yourself down.

What’s an average day like for the both of you

Charley I don’t think we have an average day, as every day is different. Erm (Laughs) - we struggle to get out of bed. BOTH C & Hattie We love our bed! C - Then we have a nice bit of breakfast whilst looking out of the window. At some point we typically have meetings and interviews. Then we have rehearsals and gigs or if not we go to someone else’s.

You’ve been compared to bands like Fleetwood Mac. How do you feel about that

Charley It’s really flattering. They’re a fantastic band and we love their tunes.
Hattie Yeah, great melodies.

I believe you made a music video for the single "I Still Hear It." How did filming go

CharleyIt went really great. We actually filmed the video for that single in Spain so we had plenty of tapas and nice food to eat whilst doing it. There was actually one interesting cold savoury dish, which had a sort of doughnut in it.

What have you got coming up after playing alongside Jamie in July

Hattie We’re at the Borderline Club in London for our headline show after that on 31st July, which should be good as it’s one of our favourite venues.

The Webb Sisters debut album is released on 26th June and the single "I Still Hear It" on 10th July.

For more information about the girls and other dates of their live shows visit Webb Sisters

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