The following interview with Barbara is taken from the April 2004 edition of Lincolnshire's "The Journal" magazine.
A VOCATION TO PERFORM
The Lincolnshire-based Scottish singer and actress Barbara Dickson OBE is back in the limelight with the release of a new CD, a gruelling tour and a series of TV guest slots lined up. She spoke to Pat Nurse about her work, her life and her inspiration.
Barbara Dickson's lyrical Celtic tones apologetically explain why she's kept me waiting for an extra 10 minutes for our telephone interview.
The Scottish accent is soft as she tells me with a hint of irritation in her voice that her last call was late so consequently ran over and she is so sorry to hold up a busy person like me.
I've arranged to interview her about her new CD The Platinum Collection and her current tour. She is not at all what I expected and I'm immediately charmed by her pleasant manner, professionalism, and down to earth attitude.
With a long pedigree in folk, rock and song-writing, as well as film, television and a stage career, I expected a haughty prima donna with an inflated view of her own celebrity self-importance.
But Barbara is like any other person with one notable exception -- she is extremely talented and has a deep passion to sing, which is what she enjoys doing most of all.
"My career is a vocation," she said. "It is not an easy job. I was a baby who grew up wanting to sing. It is not just about earning money. It's a mean of expressing myself and I want to continue singing as long as my voice holds out."
I ask about her Evita years and, despite the telephone, I can almost see her eyes drop and the weary smile that must have brushed across her face.
"I never did appear in Evita or Chess which is the first big misconception people tend to have about me -- but it is quite nice to have a reputation for something that I haven't actually done!" she said
She did, however, have huge hits with songs from both musicals. I Know Him So Well, which she performed with Elaine Paige, and Another Suitcase, Another Hall propelled the girl from Dunfermline to global fame.
Both tracks appear on the new CD along with a host of other favourites, such as Answer Me, her first hit single, Caravan Song, taken from the film Caravans, and January February. Clearly stamped with her own inimitable style, the CD also features some new tracks.
"I would have to say that my favourite song on the album is Wayfaring Stranger," she says.
"It was interesting to do, and was specially recorded for this album. It was very nice to add something new to my repertoire."
Barbara performed the song on the Radio Two Folk Awards. It was the first time other commitments had allowed her to take up the invitation from the organisers, who had been after her unique style for three years.
The song is well-known in folk circles, and is part of the soundtrack for the award-winning film Cold Mountain. It has been recorded by many different people but Barbara says she is often inspired by other people's work.
"I am not snobby about where a song comes from. If a song speaks to me, it appeals and I think I can have a go at that. The lyric content is important but the best are those with a combination of a good tune and good lyrics.
"One of my favourites is I'll Be Seeing You by Liberace. I associate it with the Second World War and it has great resonance. It's a truly great song."
Surprisingly for such a gentle singer, she tells me that one of the songs she most dislikes is Frank Sinatra's classic My Way -- but she adores the version by the Sex Pistols.
"It is not a song that I would cover," she says. "I never really liked it.
"It is rather a self-indulgent song but to hear a young boy like Sid Vicious sing it who then died is real poignancy. I think there is an element of irony there and that is why I like it."
She felt humble when she was honoured with the OBE in the Queen's Jubilee Year. The other recipients were people who should be an inspiration to us all, she said.
"All I am is an entertainer.
"If people have served their communities and are really good citizens then it is right that they should be put forward for the award.
"I'm not like that but a lot of people say that I have brought a lot of pleasure over they years and I suppose that is good service too, and I'm very proud of that," she said.
Taking pleasure to the masses is something she has been doing during a hectic tour earlier this year, which started in Cheltenham and ended at Aberdare.
Now her three children are older she admits that it is not quite as difficult to leave the family behind in Lincolnshire as it was when they were small and work was always away.
"Lincolnshire is God's own country," she said. "I love it here. It is quiet, I don't get hassle, life is good and I get left alone. Privacy is what I most like."
Barbara bought her first house in the Wolds in 1992. Her manager is from Tealby and serves on the local council.
She left Scotland for London in the 1970s to further her career and she enjoys every facet of it. She has been on stage and in front of the camera with shows like Blood Brothers and Spend, Spend, Spend and has recorded a host of albums as well as undertaking many tours.
"The things I have done have been so different and every experience has been different. It is great to be associated with something like Blood Brothers but I see all of my work as part of the tapestry which goes up to make my career," she said.
While the past has been great, she is constantly looking forward and her ambitions for the future are those shared by many of us.
"I see myself as being busy and happy. I have a wonderful husband, my children are growing up healthy and my 86 year-old mother is very much around," she said.
"I look at life like that. I count my blessings and I don't take anything for granted. As far as my career is concerned, it's great.
"What more could I want? I have my own identity, my family and my life and I'm very, very, lucky."
