Sheffield lass HELEN BOULDING doesn't know the meaning of the word 'busy'. Not only is she diligently working on a quietly successful solo career, but she's also written chart-toppers and critically acclaimed tunes for everyone from Natalie Imbruglia through to The Orb along the way.
That would be more than enough to knacker most folk, but she feels it's quite reasonable to cram architectural restoration and being Managing Director of her own record label (Maid In Sheffield) into a CV that that would already have most would-be employers salivating uncontrollably.
Indeed, armed with such mind-boggling information, the poor hapless journo might wonder what sort of mad, Ab Fab-style “where's the window in my schedule to talk to you, darling?” attitude might be lurking on the end of the 'phone from a character with such media-networking potential. But the great thing is that our Helen's an absolute trooper and one of the loveliest, least egocentric people you could ever hope to speak with. In fact, what was intended as a little chat relating to the release of her new single 'It's You' becomes a fascinating, near hour-long discussion wherein W&H learn the reasons why toting a piano on an intimate solo tour is not for the faint-hearted and why knowing a friendly face from the Gas Board can be every bit as crucial as a circle of celebrity friends.
Helen, it's hard to know where to start, such is the whirlwind of (mostly thoroughly realised) projects your life is. But how about that new single? I'm led to believe you wrote it during your recent acoustic tour of the UK, where you literally played coffee houses up and down the land. Is this true and how did you become Caffe Nero's Artist Of The Month anyway?
“Yes, it's true I wrote the song during the tour, which was fantastic,” Helen confirms. “But getting the tour was one of those great things that came from the blue,” she says, too modestly.
“Basically, Pablo (the Caffe Nero managing director) saw me play at the Regal Room in London and he loved it – he asked me for a copy of my new album for his coffee shop...though I didn't know he meant he was MD of a huge chain of cafes at the time,” she finishes, laughing.
“Anyway, a few weeks later I get an e-mail on MySpace and it's from Pablo telling me I'm their Album Of The Week and that he wants to book me to play in all his coffee shops the length and breadth of the UK.”
Amazing. And, thus begins Helen Boulding's Land's End to John O'Groats journey...with a piano for company. It's not quite yer average travelling minstrel with a battered acoustic guitar case is it, Helen?
“Yeah, that's very true,” she chuckles.
“Even though I felt a bit like Annika Rice with this itinerary laid out stretching for weeks ahead, there were some problems we didn't envisage. Like, have you tried to shove a piano around Leeds before?”
Erm, no. Can't say I've had the pleasure of late.
“Well, it's tough, I can tell you,” she says. “Because it's pedestrianised, trying to shove a piano to the door of the Caffe Nero becomes pretty stressful.”
Yeah, that I CAN imagine.
“Thankfully, Steve from Carlsbro (amplifiers and quality equipment – Techie Ed) in Sheffield helped me out by finding me – totally against the odds – a piano case on wheels.”
Result! But regardless of such logistical hassles, I should think playing in such an intimate, unmiked situation must have been quite nerve-wracking in itself?
“Yeah, it's very different,” Helen considers. “It was a bit odd because there was no P.A and people just came and pulled chairs up and sat down. A bit like doing a series of gigs in front rooms. But I got loads of great feedback and I loved the intimacy of it and I really got into it as I went on. I felt like Phileas Fogg though.. Around the UK in 80 Caffe Neros.”
It's got a ring to it, that. But let's get to the primary reason for our interview – your new single 'It's You', which – at a very different tangent – has been chosen by the Animal Hospital Charity PDSA (People Dispensary for Sick Animals). I've seen some of their ads recently and they are heartbreaking. Really, it's something anyone should support from a purely humanitarian point of view, but is this a charity especially close to your heart?
“I grew up surrounded by animals,” Helen reveals.
“We had everything: not just cats and dogs, but hamsters, rabbits...and my Dad was involved with this association bringing Highland Cattle down to graze on the Yorkshire moors.”
“So, yeah, I do have a real love of animals,” she continues. “When I wrote the song, my old labrador was very much in my head. She died a few years ago and it's true you get attached, don't you?”
A-ha. I was just the same with our cat. And they're supposed to be aloof and independent.
“Yeah, there you go,” says Helen. “But the great thing about this particular charity is that it's there to cater for people who can't afford animal care, people on benefits and so forth. They make sure the animals aren't neglected.”
Helen goes on to (pleasantly) surprise me by telling me the charity was originally instituted by a lone woman in the Victorian Era – or “19th century girl power” as she accurately describes it.
As it turns out, this news is followed by a further surprise in the shape of our discussion about the artwork – or more specifically the photograph – adorning the cover of Helen's recent album 'New Red Dress.” Who was the photographer? Oh, just some geezer called Bryan Adams.
Er, Helen, we are talking about the veteran Canadian rocker here, aren't we? 16 weeks at Number 1 with that bloody Robin Hood: Prince Of Thieves power balled and all that?
“The very same, “ Helen chuckles. “A friend of mine passed on my early demos to him and he contacted me!” she reveals, still a little incredulous.
Helen has since toured with Bryan, but photography? I didn't know about that aspect of him...
“Yeah, yeah, it's his real passion,” replies Helen.
“He's really lovely actually, really great and kind. Plus he's an artist, so he nailed a great, clean shot for the cover and he made it look good without turning it into some horrible, Girls Aloud-type thing. They're his boots in the picture too, incidentally.”
Got that, trivia fans? Turns out photographing Helen Boulding is only the tip of a major iceberg too...
“He's been active as a photographer for about the last five years,” Helen continues. “He's been getting loads of commissions...everyone from Katherine Jenkins to Italian Vogue and Breast Cancer campaigns.”
Bloody Hell. But even this doesn't prepare me for Helen's final Bryan Adams revelation.
“He's from Hull, you know,” she says, matter-of-factly.
|
Nah nah, c'mon, you're winding me up. He's Canadian born and bred, surely....isn't he?
“Well, he was born and brought up in Canada, but his parents were originally from Hull...they're Yorkshire through and through. He really relates to Northern folk. You'd be surprised.”
I am. In fact I don't know what to say. So let's move on and talk a little more about the making of 'New Red Dress'. Youth produced the album and Verve man Simon Tong contributed in terms of co-writing. I can imagine they would know each other well as Youth produced The Verve's 'Urban Hymns' but how did you link up with them?
“Youth and I were managed by the same people – Big Life, so we originally met up six or seven years ago,” says Helen.
“I was really delighted he was up for doing my album, though, because he'd just done the new Verve album, Primal Scream and so on...you know, five albums in the Top 20 or whatever. Despite that, he actually said “I thought you'd never ask” when I suggested it to him,” she laughs.
Tremendous. But it must be said that Youth's, er, rather unorthodox methods precede as well as his reputation for successful productions. The stories surrounding the recording of Crowded House's 'Together Alone' involving Neil Finn playing guitar standing in stone circles and so on are legendary and that's just one off the top of my head. What's he really like to work with Helen?
“Mmm...well it's true the technical stuff tends to be bottom of his list,” Helen muses fondly.
“His energy and the vibe he brings are very important. He has a way of getting you to take risks and do stuff you probably wouldn't do otherwise and that can really create magic. Like with the song 'I Swear' – he was insistent the whole band play on that, an idea I was initially resistant to, but then set a projector running with scenes from Africa and put a strobe on full...I can't really describe it – it was such an emotional moment. I ended up singing the song with tears running down my face.”
Emotional indeed. As was the news of Pink Floyd man Rick Wight's recent demise for Helen. The last time I had the pleasure of speaking with her, she'd told me of her songwriting weekend at Huntsham Hall in Devon, where she'd been paired off with Squeeze's Chris Difford and Mr. Wright.
“I didn't even know he'd been ill,” says Helen sadly.
“His family kept it all very private, though I did send a text to his brother-in-law. When I last saw him a few years back he seemed fit as a fiddle too. It's still hard to take in because...well someone in their mid to late 50s, it's no age at all to go these days.”
“I think Rick was one of life's real gentlemen, “ she continues. “He was quiet, gentle, very sweet and very self-effacing. He just loved his music and was happy to be in the background. He didn't get half the credit he deserved...a lot of 'Dark Side Of The Moon' came from Rick. I'll miss him.”
Indeed. But to get back to your own creative whirlwind, Helen, tell us a little more about your own Maid In Sheffield imprint. I can imagine you'd be pretty 'hands on' in your involvement?
“Yeah, you're absolutely right there,” she agrees, laughing.
“Right down to the paper work. The room I'm in now is full of it! (laughs) I need a P.A really to check these Musician's Union forms. I have a manager, but I tend to do a lot of this stuff myself. It's hard work, for sure, but it's rewarding. Besides, being an independent label, I don't have the budget the majors can offer.”
Right. But then you can make most of your own decisions, right?
“That's true, “ she agrees. “It's a great way to grow with your fanbase because it's based on passion and creative freedom rather than accountants' decisions.”
Right on! But, finally, tell us a little about how you help fund the label. It's at least partly from building restoration work you've been doing around Sheffield, isn't it?
“Partly, yeah,” she says.
“It's a combination of stuff really. The royalties I make from songwriting I put into property and that then funds the label. Some of the restoration work's really interesting and it's a real learning curve.”
Great. Tell us more.
“OK, well for example I did some work on a flat which hadn't had any work done on it since the 1930s. I made sure the amazing original stuff like the parquet floors and these amazing tiles and Art Deco stuff stayed, but it had no central heating and the ceilings had to be lowered...”
This is not exactly standard issue rock'n'roll stuff, is it, Helen? It makes a nice change from discussing the vagaries of the NME and headlining Wembley Arena. You haven't done any old water works or disused power stations, have you?
“Not quite, but I did do an old Gasworks building.”
You're kidding!?
“No, straight up, it was great too. There again, it helped that the bloke next door had worked for the gas board. He was invaluable when I needed information and in fact he really helped move the project along. It's a real challenge doing it, but I love it – it's a really creative discipline.”
And Helen Boulding sure knows a thing or three about the discipline of creativity. Let's face it, anyone who can take on the might of the Gas Board as well as the upper reaches of the charts AND rope Bryan Adams in to keep a photographic record of it all sure as hell gets my vote. This lass has sure done good by my reckoning.
(http://www.helenbouding.com )
|
