On Tuesday 22 February 2005 Barbara spoke to Gary Fisher of 'Inside Aberdeenshire' magazine. The interview appears in the March 2005 issue (see below for contact details).
FULL CIRCLE
Barbara Dickson is probably one of the busiest performers in the UK. Born in Dunfermline, she started her career singing folk songs in the Dunfermline Folk Song club, The Howff and now juggles her time between theatre roles in shows such as Blood Brothers and Fame and touring the country, as she is at the moment, in her current concert tour, 'Full Circle.' We caught up with her to find out more about her life.
For those who had never heard of Barbara Dickson before, her overnight television success with appearances on shows such as The Two Ronnies would change all that. In 1976 she enjoyed huge success with 'Answer Me,' her first UK hit single. 'Another Suitcase in Another Hall' from Evita, became another hit the following year. Her television roles are varied, including appearances in Taggart and Band of Gold, the much-acclaimed TV drama series in which she played the character of Anita Braithwaite. The story, about the lives of a group of Bradford prostitutes, won Barbara high praise. She went on to present her own award-winning one-woman show, 'The 7 Ages Of Woman.' In 1999 Barbara took the lead role of Viv Nicholson in the musical Spend, Spend, Spend and won an Olivier award for her stirring performance. Barbara has also received numerous awards including, in 1984, The Society Of West End Theatres Award for Best Actress In A Musical, for her role as Mrs. Johnstone in Willy Russell's incredible musical, Blood Brothers. In 1985, Daily Record readers named Barbara 'Scot Of The Year' and in 2001 Her Majesty The Queen made her an OBE for 'Services To Music and Drama' in the New Year's Honours List.
Your current tour, 'Full Circle', is also the name of your latest album and is your first new recording in nine years. Can you tell us a little about it?
"I am very proud of this album. It contains a mixture of contemporary, folk and classical music. Troy Donockley, produced and arranged the music and he is an amazing talent, who has helped make this album incredibly special. He is also a wonderful musician in his own right. If you get the chance you should listen to his music, he is a fabulous uilleann pipe player."
There are twenty-one dates on your tour over 25 days. That must be tiring.
"It's not as bad as you'd think. I wouldn't tour if I didn't really love it, I suppose. It's strange; I've been very fortunate with my career. Every day and every concert is different. I adore working in theatre but it's a constant worry doing stage shows for nine months at a time. I love concerts; singing live is so intimate. Every single one I do is fabulous fun."
What do you miss the most when you're on the road?
"Definitely my own bed. I always say to my husband that the worst part of staying away is hotel pillows! Those polyester ones you seem to get everywhere make my blood run cold. Give me a good feather down pillow and I'm happy. I always try and get as much sleep as I can, but it can be difficult in hotels, because sometimes they can be too hot to be comfortable. Most of all I miss my family. I'll finish this tour in time for Easter and we'll all be together again. That'll be good."
You started singing at school, is that right?
"Yes, my music teacher, a man by the name of Sandy Sadler, encouraged me immensely. When I was at school, he once said to me, 'Barbara, you may not have the best voice, but you've certainly got the loudest.' He always comes to see me when I perform in Carnegie Hall and I always give him a huge mention. He gets quite embarrassed when I tell everyone what he said! He was the one who got me into folk music. He introduced me to John Watt at Dunfermline's Folk Song club, The Howff, who in turn introduced me to American folk music. He encouraged me to be myself and sing my own music. I won a prize at school once and it was a book of 'One Hundred and One Songs' by Norman Buchan, which was great. I knew that Sandy was behind it and it was very special. Sandy is a great man, he should be knighted."
You obviously adore your music, but how has it changed for you over the years?
"I don't party like I used to when I was twenty-five. I suppose I take more care of myself now. My voice is so susceptible to tiredness. I think it's because your voice is like a muscle, you have to keep fit to keep it working well. It's amazing how one late night makes me feel the next day and how it affects my singing. I hardly ever stay up late and I don't drink or smoke anymore. The most exciting it gets is if I have a sparkling mineral water! Normally, I just slope off to bed. I don't like crowded rooms either. Some people are good at that kind of thing. You know, chatting away, glass in hand. Not me, I look at the likes of Nicole Kidman and think, no I couldn't do that. That must be high maintenance, to go to all those parties and still look that good. I certainly couldn't do it, not even if I was her age again."
You have been living away from Scotland for some time now. Do you miss it?
"I've lived in England since the 70's and never came back. I didn't have to be in London, but I just stayed. We moved to Lincolnshire in the nineties, which is very handy for my husband, who is a director in television. So, all in all, it's much easier for us to be here. I do miss Scotland a lot though. I'd love to live in a wee Scottish cottage some day."
You first came to Aberdeenshire in 1964. What brought you here?
I spent three weeks singing at the summer music festival. I loved it; the northeast is a glorious place. I camped out at Arthur Argo's house while performing every night at The Music Hall. We sang a lot of Scots songs and I met some fantastic people like Jack Beck and Jimmy McBeath. Jimmy was from Portsoy and was like a great actor, sometimes serious and sometimes hilariously funny. His singing repertoire included a wide range of traditional songs of the northeast and he was famed for his renditions of comic songs and bothy ballads. But it was his humour that got me every time. I remember once he referred to a not so glamorous woman he saw as, 'a sack o' tatties tied ugly.' Arthur was great fun to be around too and was a very caring and sensitive man. They were both extremely encouraging of my music. I keep telling my husband that he'll have to come and visit with me; he's never even been north of Perthshire. My children were born in London. I have brought them up knowing all about Scottish history and what it means to be a Scot. They wear Scottish rugby shirts at their English school, which is hilarious. They think it's great and so do I.
Can you tell us bit about your life in Scotland?
"My father was a Fifer and my mother a Scouser, so you can imagine what that combination was like. My mother was always the type who would not be silenced, which was very funny, as my father would never stick his head above the parapet. I still have an idyllic view of Scotland, but it's difficult when everything else seems to revolve around the type of life portrayed in Eastenders. The Scottish people are like most cultures in the Northern hemisphere, very warm and hospitable. We want people going about feeling happy. I think most Scots are like that. When I'm touring in particular, I always love coming north, over the border, because I always get that lovely feeling that everything will be alright. There's a certain comfort in that."
So what does the future have in store, any more TV work or theatre?
I cringe when people refer to me as an 80's pop star. I think they forget I was a singer way before then. I've been singing for forty years now. I love Blood Brothers. Mrs Johnstone is a wonderful part to play and I am so very proud to have been the first to portray her back in 1983. I enjoy re-visiting the part, as I did last year. The show sees her spanning a long time in her life, from young woman to older mother. It's a wonderful show with great balance and I've loved performing it. Willy Russell has a great ability and everything he does is very truthful. I'd love to do more television, but I haven't been offered anything that I really like to be honest. What I'd really love to do is be in a Scottish film, something with character. Yes, that would be really good."
With thanks to Gary Fisher
