Siddy Bennett has recently made it to the finalists for PETA's Hottest Vegan 2016 competition. We caught up with her to talk about why she went vegan and how it affects her job as a singer.
Siddy Bennett
You've been vegan for four years after watching Earthlings- how did you hear about the documentary and how did you feel while and after you watched it?
Prior to watching Earthlings, I had actually been trying to be vegan for a few years, but pizza on a hangover was my weakness, and because we were always touring with my band, I was hung-over quite a lot! My sister was the same; we were both always-starting veganism, then going on massive hung-over cheese binges, so we decided it had to end. My mum (who we like to call The Vegan Warrior) suggested Earthlings. I had been vegetarian my whole life, so it was very traumatic to watch because I have always loved all animals. We wept throughout a lot of it, and at times felt physically sick. It's hard-core! We had to take a break half way through because it was so disturbing. After the film ended, I felt a little broken thinking about all the animals in the world that are subjected to it, but I was instantly vegan. Pizza with dairy cheese will never ever look the same.
You love to use your HappyCow app while touring- so do you always manage to locate somewhere you can eat or have you ever struggled?
Ha, yes, I love Happy Cow! It's great because you find really quirky places that you would never normally come across. Like this mad little Jamaican place in Amsterdam which just had VEGAN scruffily painted on the window in red paint. Happy Cow took me there and I had vegan jerk chicken! It was amazing. Me and my sister have a blog called Wild Vegan, which is all about our lifestyle, including life on the road, so we make an effort to support vegan businesses and promote them to our fans. I really think there is a vegan revolution happening, because I can't remember struggling once!
What has been your favourite meal on the road?
CAFÉ ROYA in Beeston, Nottingham - I can quite honestly say it is the best food I have ever tasted. Roya, the woman who runs it is ultra-cool, and goes travelling around the world learning how to cook specialist dishes from locals, and then comes back and adapts them in to what I can only describe as a vegan art form. When we were there she had just come back from Sri Lanka and I had barbecued tofu steaks. Every time I think about them my mouth waters, she is incredibly talented. Ok I need to stop going on about this now…but seriously, everyone go there.
You are lead singer in your band Wildflowers, so do your band members support your decision?
They do indeed. My sister who I mentioned before, is also vegan and in the band, so we kick-started it, but slowly over time, James, our guitarist, has gotten really into veganism. He prefers vegan cheese to dairy cheese now. We actually put together a UK acoustic tour of vegan cafés last summer, called the Great British Fake Off Tour. Each café put forward a vegan dessert and we announced the winner at the end. It basically meant we got to eat a lot of free cake!
What are your favourite cruelty free make-up products to use while you're on stage?
I am a big fan of dramatic eyes, so my go-to brand for that is Pacifica, who do a great smouldering eye gel, which I apply with Eco Tools brushes. I also love Pacifica's "Stella Gaze" mascara. Lush have great liquid eyeliners, I particularly like the navy blue one called "Control". For foundation, I use a mineral liquid foundation by Inika. It is quite expensive but it leaves a lovely natural finish and really lasts. Sonia Kashuk does amazing bold lipsticks, which are great for the stage, as do Axiology. Oh and for anyone who needs help going platinum blonde, I recommend Bleach London for hair dye. They are the only cruelty-free brand I can find that actually makes it super-white. They also have loads of wicked semi-permanent colours to mess around with too, that completely fade out, so they don't mess with your colour. Really fun for onstage!
Does vegan food sustain you for long days of performing?
Definitely, I have way more energy and can survive on less sleep. I wake up feeling more alert, have far more stamina on stage and can party until the early hours, then get up the next day and do radio straight away. Before being vegan this would have broken me.
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