"Blues will never go away, it may fade but it will always be at the root of all music."

Connie Lush: No feeling, no blues

Connie Lush is widely recognised as one of the finest blues singers that the United Kingdom has ever produced.

That indisputable fact was acknowledged when she was voted Best UK Female Vocalist by readers of Blues In Britain for 5 separate years, earning a richly deserved place in the Gallery of the Greats.

She is also increasingly recognised on the continent, particularly in France, where she was honoured in the French Blues Trophies awards as European Singer of the Year for 2002. There are no separate awards for male & female singers in the European category, so Connie defeated all challengers. 

It is less appreciated that Connie’s musical talents go beyond singing. She is a highly accomplished songwriter, confirmed by many excellent self-penned songs that form the content of her live & recorded repertoire. She has also written TV themes and featured as a DJ on Jazz FM.

Interview by Michael Limnios

Connie, when was your first desire to become involved in the music & who were your first idols?
I never wanted to become a singer!  I sang all my life, from age 5yrs old in the school and church choir and did so until I was 16yrs old.  I sang at all the family parties and weddings as did everyone in our family.  It wasn’t until I met my husband Terry, bass player, that it happened.  He had a band and one day he was auditioning in our house for a new band and asked me to stand in for a few numbers....the new guys said they would join if the singer (me!) was in the band...Terry laughed and said” she’s not a singer she’s my wife!” and thats how I started to sing. So it was all my husband’s fault!!!
My idols have always been, Ray Charles, Aretha Franklin, Ella Fitzgerald, John Lee Hooker, Bonnie Raitt,Maggie Bell....and later on Billie Holliday.

What was the first gig you ever went to & what were the first songs you learned?
My first gig and important one was Maggie Bell from Stone the Crows, simply because she was the first woman I had seen live on stage and I have sang with her recently which was the biggest thrill ever...she knocked me off my feet with her crazy walk across the stage and her big emotional voice.  Maggie had such a stage presence and a voice that I love to this day.  I can’t remember the first song I ever learnt but I can remember one of the first songs I learnt for my first gig...it was “Roll em Easy” Little Feat.

What does the BLUES mean to you & what does music offered you?
Blues to me is my first love.  Ray Charles gave me that love and made me search out other artists.  People think blues music is so simple but in face it’s the hardest because you have to give it 100% feeling.  No feeling, no blues.  I love every kind of music there is in the world...music makes the world go around.  Blues makes me happy, blues makes me sad and thats ok with me!

Which is the most interesting period in your life and why?
I suppose at the beginning because everything is so new!  It’s exciting discovering your music and playing it for the first time.  To be honest, I am a very lucky girl because music for me has stayed that way.....doing what you love best is the greatest gift and I thank God for it every day.

Which was the best moment of your career and which was the worst?
The worst times are always there, there is no light without dark, no dark without light, you just have to keep going and everything will pass.
The best moment, and I have had many, has to be opening the Liverpool Echo Arena, for Liverpool City of Culture.  I walked onto that stage and all Liverpool was there.  It was a very proud moment for me.  The worst moment and I have had a few...I don’t remember.....it’s just life.

Do you have any amusing tales to tell of your gigs, jams and recording time?
Well, there are lots of funny stories!  Can’t repeat any of them!  There’s an old saying “What goes on on the road, stays on the road!”

From whom have you have learned the most secrets about blues music?
It sounds corny, learnt a lot from all the bands I have worked with on the road... especially after festivals when we all get together and talk through the night. I did a concert two years ago with some of the Motown Greats and shared a dressing room with Dorothy Moore, who sang “Misty Blue” and we talked and talked...even now I am still learning...she had some great stories to tell.

What mistakes of the blues business would you want to correct?
Mistakes in the business is what life is all about.....you learn from them, whether it be blues music or selling mobile phones!  At the end of the day unfortunately it involves business.

I wonder if you could tell me a few things about your experience from Jazz FM.
Radio is my favourite thing!  So I loved it when they asked me to do some radio shows on Jazz Fm.  I had already done some local Liverpool shows and was thrilled to do it.  It was at their Manchester base.  It was a great experience, talking about blues over the radio and picking out the music for the shows...I love talking as much as singing !!!  I especially loved sharing the music that I listen to.  It was something that I wish I could do more of......

What are you thinking when you guys are on stage, how would you describe your contact to people when you are on stage?
Sometimes when I hit the first note, I am right into everything that I am singing about, so I don’t think about anything except what I am singing...there are other times when for whatever reason it takes me a couple of numbers to settle into the music, so I have to relax myself and let go...for me, I can never predict what will happen.  When I get on stage, there is nothing in my head except the music and doing what I do.  It’s the one time when I am completely alone and free...of course the guys are used to me now and let me go!  I have certain habits, which is normal...certain things I say to the audience.....if the audience is with me straight away then I will get a huge rapport with them.  The audience don’t really know what an important part they play in the gig.  They are as important as us!  I can usually feel after a few numbers how they are feeling....

What advice would you give to aspiring musicians thinking of pursuing a career in the craft?
The advice I would give to musicians who want to make a career out of music is to think carefully about it.  It is a hard life but one filled with joy not money!  You have to do it out of love and not fame and money.  It’s a lifestyle that you choose.   It’s not an easy way out.  There are many people who follow their dreams...be prepared for the down times but the ups far outweigh those times....go for it!

What is the “think” you miss most from Memphis and New York?
Memphis and New York are like two different planets!! Both equally wonderful.  New York is “in your face” and Memphis is “so laid back”  Black and White.  So I loved both cities for their differences but they have the same thread running through them which is their love for music.   We actually got held up in New York at 3 in the morning!  Terry drank a bottle of vodka shared my me and the guitarist when we got back to our apartment!  Now thats a story!  In Memphis we got to hang out with the guys and the “Memphis Horns” took us out on a gig with them. I would love to go back to either of them.

Are there any memories from BB King’s open act, which you’d like to share with us?
Well, BB King was the King of Cool thats for sure!  The first gig of the tour was The Royal Albert Hall in London...so not only were we playing with the greatest Blues Legend but also on the gig The Royal Albert Hall the most famous gig in the world!  His band were amazing with us and we shared stories of music.  He was also surrounded by members of his family who did jobs for him, to keep them employed.  He had his cousin, I think, who would check his clothes at the side of the stage every night before he went on.   Me and Terry spent a couple of times in his dressing room after the gigs........he was so laid back and happy...wonderful times!

Which of historical blues personalities would you like to meet? What is your “secret” music DREAM?
John Lee Hooker..would love to have met him and of course Ray Charles!  Etta James is another! Jimmy Reed...Big Momma Thornton, Esther Phillips and of course Billie Holliday.  There are too many to mention I’m glad to say.

Some music styles can be fads but the blues is always with us.  Why do think that is? Give one wish for the BLUES
Blues will never go away, it may fade but it will always be at the root of all music.  My wish for Blues is that it would become more mainstream, that would be perfect!

Are there any memories of all these GREAT MUSICIANS which you’d like to share with us?
Memories of great musicians...I am lucky I have many......but I really remember the most with luv is my time in Memphis with Teenie Hodges (Al Green, Sly and the Family stone, Anne Peebles) and the Hodges Bros.  We recorded some numbers in the famous Cotton Row Studio in Memphis. They all took me and Terry to meet Al Green after his Sunday sermon. The whole service was accompanied by a full gospel choir and full band.  Then there was the laying of hands on the congregation...at which point Terry had to leave, he found it too much!.......Al Green shook my hand and gave me one of the most dazzling smiles ever and then we all went off fishing!  We then took off on a gig bus with the brothers and The Memphis Horns to play at Budweiser Beer private house party on the lake.....we were all buzzing and I got up and sang with them all and later Terry jammed along on the bass.  It was the perfect day!  We also got to meet Yvonne Mitchell, Willie Mitchell daughter, on Beale Street and I sang with Queen B at BB Kings Club on Beal Street, it was the most perfect time for us......

How you would spend a day with Little Feat? What would you say to Bonnie Raitt? What would you like to ask Aretha Franklin?
If I met any of my idols, I probably would be dumb struck and all questions would fly away.....Just to be able to be in the same room and close by and hear them play would be a gift.  I would especially like to sing with Bonnie Raitt......her slide guitar is formidable, I would just stand next to her and sing my heart out...one slow and one fast number and then leave the stage........a very happy bunny I would be!!!!!

Connie Lush - Official website