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60 SECOND INTERVIEW
Sheena Easton, 41, was born
and raised near Glasgow and spent weekends
singing at dancehalls until Esther Rantzen's
show, The Big Time, lifted her from obscurity and
gave her a hit - 9 To 5. The singer, who now
lives in L.A., has just released a new album of
disco covers, Fabulous.
Interview by Victoria Moore
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| How are you enjoying what
is being billed here as a comeback? |
| Every time I show up to do
something here it's considered a comeback. If I came into
town and they didn't call it that, I'd be disappointed. |
| Your album sounds fun or, a
'spandex-shrinking glitterball of an album', as your
press release calls it |
| That's
what it is, a lot of party-assed fun. I've done things
before that are personal statements and can be
emotionally revealing. This is just a big old fluffy
dance record. It's the sort of album you can stick on at
a party - you can crank it up and you don't have to skip
tracks. |
| Does it bring back
memories? |
| Oh
hell, yeah. The single Giving Up Giving In, I remember
watching the Three Degrees on Top Of The Pops doing it. |
| What brings back the 1980's
for you? |
| Reagonomics
is the first thing that comes to mind - what with the
presidential election just now. The thought we might have
George W. Bush! Reagonomics was horrendous. I hope that
part of the 1980's doesn't come back. Politics aside, I
think of big, fun, ugly, over-the-top fashion. It wasn't
exactly the most tasteful or flattering but at least you
could have a good time. And I think of larger-than-life.
It was an expansive decade. Big was better. |
| And now you're back in
disco-heaven? |
| Disco
is just pop music you can dance to. I'm definitely a pop
artist at heart. If I was still at school, I'd be looking
at Britney Spears and dying to be her. I would be looking
at her thinking: 'She's so fabulous'. I'd be worrying
about not being able to dance, though. |
| What do you mean, not being
able to dance? |
| I'm
a terrible dancer. The worst. I've been really lucky to
have been a pop star and gotten away with a twenty year
career of flicking and wiggling. That's my style of
dancing. I wiggle my hips, flick my hair, and surround
myself with fabulous dancers who are doing all the hard
work. I just don't have the talent. I wiggle around and
I'm grooving but I don't look good. I don't look cool.
When I was younger, the hip-hop style of dancing came in.
Oh geez. That just confounded me because it was steps.
And break dancing...and all that Michael Jackson
moonwalking. When I look at Michael or Janet Jackson
videos - I do love to watch her videos. I think they have
such a fabulous talent. I don't have that. Thankfully I
was able to sing. |
| If you could choose to be
able to do one thing that you can't, is that what you'd
pick? |
| No,
I'd like to be able to play an instrument fabulously. Or
painting. Dancing would be pretty far down the list. |
| Do you feel more American
than Scottish? |
| I
was born in Scotland but left there when I was 20. I have
lived in the United States for half of my life, my entire
adult life. I am an American citizen. So I feel an
amalgum of both. I chose L.A. as my adult home. I have my
two small children who were born and raised there and
where my babies are is my home. |
| Describe yourself in three
words |
| Mother, grateful and blessed. |
| Motherhood must have turned
your life on it's head |
| I
became a different person. I was not interested in having
kids in my 20s. If I'd suddenly become a mother I'd have
been horribly dismayed. Once I wanted to be a mother it
was all I wanted to be. That part of my psyche kicked in
and that was it. It completely transforms you. It's the
most amazing, deep love. I'm just passionately in love
with my kids. |
| Do you get excited about
seeing them? |
| Oh
yes. People always say in films and novels:'Sometimes
when I look at you it's painful.' I used to wonder what
that meant. Now I understand because I look at my kids
and it hurts my heart. Sometimes, I just have to go over
and touch them. It's like I would die that minute if I
couldn't put my hands on them. I'm a survivor. I'll
survive anything. It's how I'm genetically programmed.
And there's nothing I couldn't cope with - loss of
possessions, loss of my voice - anything. But I would
never survive losing my children. What would be the point
of living? If I have no children what would be the point
of living. I don't need to be here. It sure puts things
in perspective. |
