Finley Quay talks about his latest release

4 months ago 11th Jul 12:58

Who remembers Finley Quay and his infectious 1997 hit, ‘The Sun Is Shining’? I know I do! Well, he’s back and ready to release ’The Epic Years’: a collection of his collection of greatest hits

However there’s far more to the godchild of legendary Jazz Musician Duke Ellington than which initially meets the eye, so FemaleFirst took time to get under his skin.

Why did you decide to release your epic years now, after being out of the spotlight for long?

It seemed like a good idea.

How did you pick which songs made it onto the album?

They were my favourites and are particularly good in the live show so it made sense.

Will it include any new material as well as your older stuff?

No.

You were born in Scotland but have quite a reggae sound to your music, where do your musical influences come from?

All over the place really, a bit of Spain a bit of America and the Caribbean.

Is there anyone you look up to?

Gnarls Barkley and Oasis

You left school with no qualification and have had various jobs such as smoking fish, scaffolding and spraying cars, how did you end up getting into the music industry?

I used to MC for a few years and just ended up singing at a gig with a guy called Gerald who is famous for a house track called Voodoo Ray and we did a track together called Finley’s Rainbow and put it out on a white label in 1993 and it kind of started from there.

Do you still keep in contact with him?

Yeah I do, we have been doing stuff together now for 15 years.

Your godfather was the legendary Duke Ellington, one of the most influential Jazz musicians of all time, was he a big inspiration in your life?

Yes, I guess so.

What was it like having someone like him to look up to? Did you want to follow in his footsteps?

No, I was just always impressed by his music and his style. He died just after I was born so I never really knew him but his music was always played in out house.

Your debut album was a big success, do you think you can replicate that success?

I’m really not sure about that, it would be nice to think so.

Your mother died when you were ten years old, and you have only recently gotten to know your father, did that have an effect on your music and lyrics?

No, I don’t think so.

Do you have a certain process you go when you are writing your songs?

I generally like to just play with a guitar and sing through stuff and jam around and find some melody, then work from there

If you could work with any musician, alive or dead, who would it be?

Nigel Tufnell from Spinal Tap.

Who do you think is the best musician around at the moment?

That’s a very tricky question as there are so many good musicians around. It has got to be our guitarist Chris Campbell. Or my drummer.

Okay, aside from your band, who do you think is awesome?

Gnarls Barkley and Martina Topley-Bird

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