Interview with Siobhan Donaghy (Part 2)

In the second and final part of my interview with Siobhan Donaghy, the singer talks more about the importance of her gay fans, her love for Elisabeth Fraser of The Cocteau Twins, being a songwriter, having superpowers and much more. (Read Part 1)

A special thanks to Siobhan for taking so much time to talk with me. "Ghosts" is a remarkable pop record and Siobhan spoke very candidly about the personal journey and inspirations that led to this very special album. If you haven't heard it, make sure to stream samples and download it HERE at 7Digital.com.

You talked a lot about how isolated you felt while recording this record. This is a feeling a lot of your gay fans in particular might relate to. How important is your gay following?
I have quite a big gay following in the U.K.. I have performed at a few alternative gay nights here in London and it has been loads of fun. My gay fans have really come on board with this new record. One very good friend of mine runs a party here called Trannyshack and I go there and DJ every once in a while. My gay fans have really been among my most loyal fans and continue to buy my records. It’s fantastic.

Are you a religious person?
Not really. I was raised as a Catholic but I'm at odds with a lot of things the church preaches. Maybe there's a higher being, but I don't believe in the church.

Were there specific artists or bands that inspired you musically for this album?
One of the biggest influences musically for this record was a band called The Cocteau Twins and their lead singer was a woman called Elizabeth Fraser. She’s one of my favorite singers. Her voice was one of the biggest inspirations for this record. It is instantly emotive and she picks such unusual melodies.

Did you feel a lot of pressure to make a very commercial record and were you influenced by any current musical trends?
In France I was far away from that. It is interesting because when you make a record in London it is very easy to have cross-pollination. You hear stuff on the radio, there are people all around you with all kinds of opinions, and while I was in France I wasn't distracted by all those rules. I was able to go a bit further left-field and chose things that were a bit more abstract. And that’s how I want to make a record. Hopefully, people will get it and it is not too weird. [Laughs]

But if you make a pop record, you have to think how it is going to work commercially, right? I mean you can't ignore it.
You have to come up with a mix of songs. The actual essence of this album are songs that will never be singles, like “Ghosts.” Obviously, I’m fully aware that I'm signed to a major label and that I need to make hits. And also, I did not make this record for myself. I want people to hear it so I had to come up with some songs that do well on radio too. “So You Say” is a song that came up quite coincidentally and I am so pleased that it turned out to be very radio-friendly. Quite honestly, I don't think I am a good enough songwriter to write according to a certain formula and say 'now I'm going to write a radio-friendly song.' That's a really difficult job. All I can do is my best.

What artists in the chart right now do you think have gone left-field and are still very commercial?
Mmm. Let me think. Well, Amy Winehouse is the best example. She hits notes that are really unusual. She has the most fantastic voice. She has her own sound and is very successful with it. She's coming from a very left-field direction. She is sort of an inspiration for other artists. And she is completely herself and she wears her heart on her sleeve. It is brilliant that people can fall in love with that.

Do you have a favorite lyric on "Ghosts"?
I love the chorus of "Halcyon Days." It goes, "In a stream of purest thought. Nothing's lost that can be caught. It's tender to behold." I really love that song. It is a good example of the ethereal stuff on the record and it has a bit of a summer vibe. I can sort of imagine sitting on Ibiza and listening to that during the day. [Laughs]

What’s the best and worst thing about being a pop star?
Worst thing is that you become a public property and people think it is their god-given right to give you their worst opinion of you. If people don’t like me, they are sort of happy to say it me. In real life, people don’t talk to each other like that and they are not as frank with their family or friends or colleagues as they are with people in music or film.

The upside is that I have a fantastic record label that supports me and lets me make whatever record I want to make. I find that incredibly fulfilling and can’t imagine a life without it.

If you could ever lend a hand to a charity organization, which one would you chose?
My grand pa had very bad Parkinson disease. There is medication that could be made available but it is too expensive so governments don’t make it available to patients. So I would probably do something with that. I have also been invited to be part of an anti-bullying campaign here in London that I’m going to take part in. That's a good one. There are many causes I could choose from, but I can't really come up with more from the top of my head right now.

If you could have any superpower, what power would you like to have?
It is probably very cliché and a boring answer, but I'd quite like to fly. [Laughs]

Are you in touch with any of The Sugababes?
I am still in touch with Mutya, the other girl who also left. We wish each other well. There's aren't any hard feelings. There's now two new girls in the band that I've never worked with so obviously I can't really have any problems with them. I wish them luck actually. some people get upset when I say that what I do is completely different than what they do now. But it is true, I have gone into a completely different direction. But that doesn't mean I don't enjoy their music.

Will "Ghosts" be released in the United States?
I am honestly not sure. If you work with a big record company there is so much going on. The first step is the U.K., then it will be Europe, then it will be Asia, and then we'll get to America. It seems British artists are doing so well in America right now that there's a much higher possibility. We shall see. The album will definitely be released, but I don't know when and what type of promotion they will do. Hopefully, I can come out and do some shows and everybody will love it. [Laughs]