I don't see why women have to get naked to sell an album. It's crazy.
Imelda May
I'm sorry, but Juicy Couture tracksuits and Ugg boots don't move me in any way, shape or form. I refuse to wear them. Modern fashion doesn't appeal to me; the 1950s were better in every way, don't you think?
I'm a big believer in 'pick yourself up, dust yourself off, and start again.'
There have never been so many women in the music industry, but they're doing ballads and pop. Where's the new Joan Jetts and the Wanda Jacksons and the Debbie Harrys, all these strong women? I wanna be the woman that rocks.
If you ask me, rockabilly has had a raw deal for far too long. People never shunned the blues or jazz the way they do rockabilly. But it's the original punk-rock, and it changed the way people looked at music for ever.
When I heard Elvis and his 'Sun Sessions,' I went mad for it. I was about thirteen.
I was brought up with old-fashioned values. I wasn't allowed to have a boyfriend until I finished school. I wasn't allowed to wear make-up: the nuns would scrub your face if they saw it.
One thing that did get me into a lot of different types of music was when I was very young, the local record store went out of business and they were selling off all the vinyl. I remember going in - I was probably 16 or 17 and I'd just gotten a record player as a present. It was like hitting the jackpot: all these records for $3 apiece.
I wash my face and put moisturiser on; I've never had a facial, and I don't get my hair or my nails done. I just do it all myself.
With great artists like Elvis, sometimes the songs weren't the greatest thing about him. When I tried to perform some of the songs, I noticed some of the tunes weren't all that brilliant, but it was the performance that sold them.
I never miss a vote; I think that's the power of the people. A lot of people fought and died for us to have votes, for women to have votes in particular - your vote is your one weapon.
Ooooh, I love Nashville! It seems like everywhere you walk, there's great music coming out of every wall.
I got my first leopard print coat when I was 15. I nearly got beat up, but I was happy with it.
When I was a teenager, I had a record company after me. They wanted me to be a pop act. They said they wanted me to be the next Sonia. I was 16 at the time. I said, 'No thank you.'
I'm not comparing myself at all to him, but I like the idea that Ernest Hemingway always wrote about certain things he knew, he knew the ins and outs, back to fronts of what he was talking about. I love that as an inspiration for myself, to keep it true to what you know.
At school, I'd refuse to take part in biology lessons when animals were being dissected. One time, the teacher announced that we would be gassing worms. So I ran around the room, gathered up all the worms and set them free in the fields. I just loved animals and couldn't bear the thought of them suffering.
For me, rockabilly is very, very exciting music. It's electric and kind of wild, you know? It's 'make your hairs stand up on the back of your neck' kind of music.
I was brought up with beautiful music - Nat King Cole and Glen Miller from my dad, and my mum loved Judy Garland and Doris Day - brilliant stuff. Through my brothers and sisters I heard David Bowie and The Specials, The Carpenters, Meatloaf and The Rolling Stones.
I'm not a feminist that hates men by any means.
I love to cook. I love having friends over and family. I am definitely a feeder - I feed everybody. I am jumping around the kitchen like a crazy woman.
Music rules a lot of my life - I was bitten by the bug young.
I would love to work with Leonard Cohen, Tom Waits, B.B. King. I'd love to do something with Arctic Monkeys, Miles Kane, and The Last Shadow Puppets. If I got a call from Juliette Lewis or PJ Harvey, or Chrissie Hynde, that'd be a thrill.
Music was always part of my life - my mother says I came out singing. I wanted to be Gene Kelly - or Judy Garland.
I got a great kick being in the Warner Bros. studios - that was really cool. I kept singing the 'Looney Tunes' theme song all day. I'm sure they haven't heard that one before.
I'm on the road earning my money. I didn't get any million pound record deals. Not unless you're Jedward! I'm doing very well, but I still have a mortgage to pay off. So I'm on the road.
I was from a tough neighborhood, and we didn't have a lot of money, but my dad worked hard, and my mom is good at budgeting things. That made me appreciate things.
I've used a stylist twice, and that was when I didn't have time to go shopping or pick up an outfit for a photo shoot. I think you should dress yourself, have fun with it - it's only clothes.
'Love Tattoo' I recorded without a record company. I'd gotten turned down by the record companies - they said they didn't get me, which is fine, I suppose.
You have to change your life for yourself, and it's about the fun of getting there - sitting in the tour van, breaking down on the side of the road, you know, having a laugh with the guys in the band, making mistakes with nobody watching.
I couldn't live on the singing at first, so I worked as a cleaner, in a launderette, in a garage, face painting and doing the windows of shops at Christmas, 'cause I had been to art college.
I couldn't think of anything worse than hating your own music and having to play it every night. It would be a nightmare.
I love people with strong convictions, because we are living in a very PC world. You can't crack a joke without it being in the headlines.
I worry about people who sell out to chase fame because when they get it, it might not be so satisfying.
I never got formal training in music. I would just sit with my ear to the speaker and my hand on the needle. I'd listen to Wanda Jackson and think, 'How did she do that?,' and lift the needle and try it myself.
I remember once doing a gig in Ireland, and there was a woman jumping around and screaming, 'I don't know what this is but I love it!' I thought that was a nice compliment.
I like to escape; I like to write when I go on a walk - I'm kind of very fairy that way. I get inspired by the wind. Or when I daydream, that's when I write.
I'd watch old movies with Judy Garland, Shirley Temple and Bette Davis and long to be part of that glamorous world. A lot of that glamour is gone now. In my own small way, I hope I'm bringing some of it back. But it would be great if I could inspire women to dress up.
I'm in no hurry to get old. But when I do, I'll be out to enjoy every last minute. I see myself at 90 in some nursing home, waving my walking stick about as I jive to Gene Vincent records.
I tried to be a goth for a while. I'd pour baby powder on my face and paint my lips black, but that didn't last long. I thought I looked cool at the time. But then you look back and wonder, 'Why did anyone let me out of the house looking like that?'
I am not musically educated yet. I don't read - I make my own language that works for myself. But I play by ear.
I love to look back, but I don't want my music to be nostalgic. I want it to have the same vibrancy that the music I love had when it came out. I'm trying to get that electricity.
My parents never told me to get a real job. They always said, 'Go for it! If this is what you want to do, work hard.' They were always very supportive.
When I tell people that I lost my baby weight through breastfeeding, they think I'm exaggerating. But it was brilliant for that. It is great for bonding with your baby. It is hard when no one else can feed her, but it was worth it for me. I loved it.
Everybody told me that if I insisted on doing rockabilly music, I'd never have a chance of selling any records. In fact, I lost count of how many people told me to ditch it all together, in favour, I guess, of sounding like everybody else.
I was one of those annoying kids that loves singing and entertaining.
I love the shape of '50s fashion: the clothes are very flattering; they let you out in the right places. I love high heels, too, as I'm only five foot three, although I always tell people I'm five foot five.
I enjoy music so much; it's such a passion in my life, and I hope that comes across.
Ireland and America, music-wise, are very closely related. The Irish came over with their fiddles in hand, and you can hear it in the bluegrass and rockabilly. I love it when music from different countries combine.
When I'm writing, I mean what I'm saying - there's a lot of me in each song.
I don't think the music that I do is nostalgic in any way; I don't think about going back to nice, old-fashioned music. I'm certainly influenced by old music, but I want to bring it slap-bang up to today.
