Part 1 of our exclusive interview with Band of Sisters & David Mindel

We were in contact online and he had this idea to do an album with all his favourite female singers that he’s met. He had the idea that everybody was going to be writing about a particular subject that was close to their heart, to do with being a woman and the circumstances that can come about from that. So he asked me if I would co-write a song with him for the album, so then we proceeded online with that. He explained what the project was about, which I thought was quite exciting, a project completely by Women, for Women. So yes, I was very, very keen to be involved.

I think he was looking for Women that he felt could express women’s issues on behalf of other women. I think he wanted to give a voice to women.

It’s amazing, absolutely amazing. We did the album launch at the BBC, the buzz was intense. It was incredible! We also performed a couple of gigs in the Kings Road in Chelsea and it was absolutely packed - it completely sold out weeks beforehand.David wanted everybody to speak about the song that they had written to give a little bit of background. I spoke a few words about my song and why I had written it, what it meant to me and a little bit about my history.

It does relate to my personal experiences because I am a single mum, and I have been for quite a long time now. It was a journey through loneliness and, for me, it was like exploring the nature of loneliness and what it really means. On the surface it’s when nobody is around, but I actually think that it is something a lot more than that, a lot deeper. You can be alone but not lonely.

It was fantastic. He is musically very generous, and you don’t have to contend with any ego at all. He obviously loves women, and respects women’s ideas. He certainly respected my ideas. He wanted me to have as much musical input on the album as possible. He was very open to hearing other people’s ideas, which is a sign of somebody who can be very, very successful.

I did get an email from a female fan after the shows, just so say “thank you so much”. The album is about articulating for women, and the email said that so much of what I had said resonated with her. I think this was because I was able to articulate it in a slightly more fundamental way, more profoundly.

 

I think the whole album can, yes. It’s a brilliant idea and there are so many ideas around it. Almost all of it has been recorded online and through social networking. David took that further because he actually recorded it like that as well. He recorded the drums in America, the bass in America and the guitars in England. It was all different for each track. It was global input, really. It was fascinating that he could get a whole album together like that. I recorded my vocals guitars at home!.

It was a co-write, so it does include David’s ideas about loneliness, too. But for me, I think it is a forgotten subject for women because I think that so many women are fighting at the frontline. Women are left on their own with children when they’ve become single mums. The issues are all about making sure they get the right support, which is very important, of course. But beyond that, I think women are left to deal with the aftermath and the reality of being alone with themselves. People have also commented on Facebook about how much the songs have helped them with various issues, such as violence towards women.

I remember on one occasion somebody had written that she was about to take her abusive partner to court. She heard the song on the album about domestic violence towards women (‘Cuts & Bruises’, sung by Kim Alvord) and said that the song had given her the strength to go into court and fight her corner, and to get the courage to go in there. Everybody was in tears when we read that because that’s what it’s all about: women reaching out to other women.

There’s been so many! Everybody has got something different about them and I’ve always taken something different away. I performed a big concert with The Moody Blues, and I remember when I was a kid I used to sing along to Nights in White Satin and play it over and over again. I used to think it was the most amazing thing I had ever heard, but little did I know that a few years later I would be performing at a massive concert actually singing Nights in White Satin with The Moody Blues!  I just thought, “wait a minute, this can’t be real!”. And Gloria Gaynor, we used to dance at the school disco to I Will Survive, so I would never have thought in a million years that I would ever end up touring with her. It was like I was on another planet. I just couldn’t believe it! It was the same with Top of The Pops; I remember watching it every week when I was a kid and I never thought that I would actually be on it. I’ve appeared on that show two or three times now. It’s like, “hang on a minute, I’m actually on Top of The Pops!”. It’s like a constant row of surprises.

I’m proud of all of it because it has all been such an amazing journey and each thing is makes me think ,‘What am I doing? He or she’s a legend!’ But I’m actually most proud of the things I’ve done on my own.

Well I’m certainly 100% behind the Band of Sisters project, so wherever that goes I will be on board, as I know all the ‘Sisters,’ because we are all very much for it. I’ve made some fantastic friends, too.

I’ve got my own material, my own songs that I’m recording, and I’m also involved in a writing project with Ray Russell. I’ve also got some live things planned for 2014. I’m gigging and recording all the time.

Bridie Rose, a fourteen year old non-professional singer, heard about the album through social networking. David loved the vulnerability in Bridie’s voice and believed she could capture the innocence of the song on the album about bullying, called 'When They Don't Make Me Cry’.