One more track to enjoy: Should’ve Been You, from the new album Life Love Flesh Blood
Time’s up
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ID4328099 asks:
Imelda, longtime fan. However you seem a bit ‘off’ these days, everything OK?
Guardian contributor
JohnScanlon says:
You have done it again my liberty rose. See you hmv manchester – will you sign my T-shirt again xxx Irish John in whaley xxx
Guardian contributor
I feel most at home on stage
SW71063 asks:
You really look like you are having fun when on stage, does making music ever become just a job?
Guardian contributor I love what I do, I love all the different parts of it - it's never mundane. So I love it from writing, through to recording, editing, mixing, mastering, artwork, touring, rehearsals, all of it. Interviews, I do because they're necessary. But I never think: yippee, I've got interviews today! But I don't mind doing them. It's not creative, and it gets repetitive. Part of the reason I write is so I don't have to talk about things - and then you find yourself having to talk about things. And then wondering: what the hell? How did that happen? ;-)
But on stage, it's probably where I feel most at home, performing. That's the reason to make music you want to make - I can't imagine how awful it must be to make an album to try and get a hit, hating it, and having to tour it, talk about it, and pretend you like it. The moral of the story is: always make the music you want to perform, for maybe two or three years – and maybe all your life!
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CarlBr0wn asks:
What was it like having Dylan big you up? Which of his songs do you love the most?
Guardian contributor To have my name uttered from his sweet, sweet lips made me die and go to heaven. I think I'm going to have that on my gravestone: Here lies Imelda May, Bob Dylan liked her. I can't choose between his songs, if I'm honest - I have books of his lyrics and I get completely immersed in his words. Maybe... Ballad of a Thin Man? Or maybe The Times They Are A'Changing might be a good one for the period we're living in. Just Like a Woman is a perfectly rounded song. He's just brilliant.
Claireybear asks:
Have you had any negative feedback, particularly from the rockabilly community with your change of look? I love both! Does songwriting come easy to you or is it a struggle, and is it lyrics or tune first?
Guardian contributor I always knew with this album I was going to lose fans. And possibly gain some others. I'm fine with that. I've never made music to please others, and I'm not going to start now. I've been gigging and writing for 26 years, but only known for seven of those, and I started singing blues, jazz, all kinds of roots music. I've never been 100% pure rockabilly and I've always stated that. How I got involved with it in the first place was that I mixed it with blues and jazz and punk and gospel, and was told: drop the rockabilly part. That made me want to do it more, because of the natural rebellious streak in me, and because I couldn't understand why such an influential music was so shunned. Without rockabilly, we would never have had punk, rock'n'roll, progressive rock, and most things we love today. However, I don't like being tied to anything, I don't like to feel constricted or made to feel I have to conform to any one idea of me. I still love the music, but as an artist, as a creative, I must grow, expand, and not get complacent. And hopefully progress. More than anything, I want to feel free, I want to have fun, I will always follow my heart, which is how I got into rockabilly in the first place - by not listening to others and doing what I felt was right for me at the time. And I will continue to learn, grow and enjoy myself regardless of gaining or losing fans.
Writing this album, I wanted to make all preconceived notions of me stop. I felt like I'd been put in a box with a bow around it. And possibly did that a little to myself too. I wanted it all to stop. I wanted to breathe, and write from a clean slate. And see what came out of me, rather than decide what album I was going to make. I dug deep, was very honest, and this album is the result of that.
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My approach to songwriting
8118Hillcrest asks:
Hello from Columbus, Indiana, USA. You’re fantastic! Question: Have you taken a break from writing as you promote this album? Do you have surges of inspiration where you do a lot of writing or do you write when the inspiration hits no matter how busy you are with other things? Hope to see you in Chicago!
Guardian contributor Hi! I love Indiana. I always have a notebook with me, or a collection of scraps of paper that I randomly write on. I take inspiration every day from every thing, and I might just write one word, or a chorus, or something. But I find it difficult to write in the middle of so much crazy promotion; I don't feel at my most creative when I'm on such a crazy schedule. When I write, I like to take time to let my brain wander. And I like to write specifically for each album, although I might use some things I've scribbled down during the course of a year. When I'm writing an album I go back to my notepads to get ideas and inspiration from whatever's in them. I write bits of songs when I'm walking; that lovely moment before you fall asleep. Things people say. Somebody sent me a picture of a flower this morning, my friend Jacques in Corsica, and I just replied "beauty full". I like to toy with words like that.
The joy of working with T Bone Burnett
GlimmerTwin14 asks another:
Did T Bone Burnett give you any music to listen to as templates for the album – i.e things he had done in the past? (My favourite is the Peter Case, Bo Deans, Elvis Costello purple patch on 1986.) Thanks from NZ!
Guardian contributor Absolutely not. I had the album written by the time I met him, and I'm very much about not listening to things that might sway you. And T Bone wanted to get my sound on this album, my own sound. We had many meetings before recording; I think to create a good relationship, and then we were in a great position to discuss everything. We went through every track in depth, and he wanted all the references in my brain for each song, whether it be another artist or a time, a movie... I have to admit I sometimes reference the sky, or textures. And T Bone and I luckily speak the same language. He was amazing to work with, and created the perfect vibe. And I hope I get to work with him again as soon as possible.
References-wise, there'd be maybe a David Lynch movie; I'd talk about it wanting to be a dark nightclub at the end of the night when everyone's gone home, type of vibe; or I'd say I'd want a velvet texture with a shot of whisky. Or a beautiful moon on a cold crisp night. And T Bone would say: YES! Or: I thought that would be an acoustic number? And I'd say, no, I have it in my mind as a kickass rock'n'roll track with bass and fuzz. And then another we'd be in complete agreement that a song had to be sultry, and sexy, almost like singing into one body's ear. He's brilliant - he's a very intelligent, creative man; very open minded and forward thinking, charismatic individual.
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GlimmerTwin14 asks:
The great track Black Tears is a co-write with Jeff Beck. Can you tell us how the collaboration worked on this (melody/chords etc)? Jeff does some typically great guitar throughout (no dive bombing either).
Guardian contributor I didn't write this with Jeff. I wrote this with Angelo Petraglia (he did a lot with the Kings of Leon, amongst others). I always write alone, except for the few I did on this album which were co-written. I had the title and idea for it already when I met Angelo, and we had a great afternoon - he had this beautiful riff he was playing on the guitar and I started to sing Black Tears, the title, and it really flowed from there really quickly. I'm all about the lyrics, and he took me somewhere else... I arrived at Jeff's house with the track, and he took a break from making his album Loudhailer, to record this amazing solo. My sound engineer had to run off for an emergency, and myself and the girls from Bones he was recording with did the sound engineering, and the solo that Jeff plays kills me every time. It was one of the joys of my life to later get to sit and edit that solo, out of four amazing options. Lucky me.
Terry Shaw asks:
Why oh why have you turned into Chrissie Hynde? So unnecessary...
Guardian contributor
SeanOfTheReds asks:
Hey Imelda. You look fucking fantastic. Anyway, I’ve got a spare ticket to see Depeche Mode in London this summer. Wanna go with me?
Guardian contributor
OleksandrOK asks:
Do you remember your first bodhrán?
Guardian contributor I still have it! And play it, even though it's falling apart. It's not my best bodhran, but I'll never get rid of it. I learned how to play it in a pub in Doolin, on the west coast of Ireland; I ran away there at 18 with a boy, lived in a caravan, and played in the pub. It was one of the best years of my life.
Music shouldn't be the preserve of the wealthy
ThomasRG asks:
What are your views on the disproportionate amount of privately educated/funded acts in the music industry? Is a career making music the sole reserve of the children of wealthy parents?
Guardian contributor I think it's a crying shame. I think there are very few people from working class backgrounds in music. I think if you really want to do it, and be in music, be involved, you'll find a way; I hope I'm a good example of that. That you don't have to have wealth, and you don't have to go to music college. Although I don't know anyone who does. I think if you have music in your bones, it doesn't matter your background – but it should also not discourage people from working class backgrounds. I never felt held back – I was determined to do what I loved to do. I was addicted to it almost. It was sheer graft, and knocking on doors, a lot of that.
I feel very strongly that funding should never be cut for the arts, as that seems to be the first thing to go in schools, and that schools are too focused on academics - they should be nurturing all kinds of children, including the creatives. The arts should be encouraged, not cut - I feel that's very important. It's almost seen as a frivolous extra, and I don't agree.
pinkroom asks:
Forget about all those other chumps mentioned here (Bono, Jools Holland)... tell us about the great Mike Sanchez.
Guardian contributor For those who don't know, Mike Sanchez is a great rhythm and blues singer, writer and piano player. I worked with him for five years when I first came to London, and toured with him, and I learned a lot from him. I learned stagecraft, how to connect with an audience - he taught me not to be afraid of the audience, and have fun. The first gig we did together, I just sang to him for the whole gig and had to pretend the audience wasn't there – I was terrified! He helped me move my eye contact to the audience from the band; I learned that an audience is a group of individuals, not one scary mass. He's now in Spain, and I got to work with him on Bill Wyman's 80th birthday gig, and it was so great so see him again and work with him again.
TheShiftyShadow asks:
Do you prefer building sandcastles or snowmen?
Guardian contributor Both... Ok, sandcastles if I have to pick. Because it means I must be by a beach – preferably a warm one.
katrinelund asks:
Any chance of a Costello-duet on your joint US-tour this summer?
Guardian contributor I bloody hope so! We've already sung together, for Ceiluradh, the festival in the Albert Hall, so I really hope we can do it again. I sang What's So Funny Bout Peace Love and Understanding. I'm a big fan of his and can't wait for the tour. He's a brilliant writer.
We’re off
Post your questions for Imelda May
Alongside the rather unlikely choice of Stereophonics, Bob Dylan recently named Imelda May as one of the finest musicians working today. And he’s not the only high-profile fan – May has performed with Lou Reed, Bono, Jeff Beck and Tom Jones among many others.
The Irish singer-songwriter started out playing bars in Dublin as a teenager, and began honing her twist on blues and rockabilly. In 2008 her album Love Tattoo went to No 1 in Ireland and broke the UK thanks in part to the patronage of Jools Holland. Her next two records both hit the UK Top 10. New album Life. Love. Flesh. Blood, written in the wake of a divorce, sees her take a left turn into country soul aided by producer T Bone Burnett.
With the album out now, she joins us to answer your questions in a live webchat from 1pm BST on Monday 24 April – post them in the comments below, and she’ll answer as many as possible.
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Thank you very much to everyone for taking the time to send your questions. I wish I had more time to answer them all, but I'm on the way to film an interview for Turkish Airlines! Yippee! And then to HMV Oxford Street, for a live performance at 6pm. I noticed quite a few of you from many gigs past, and I'm thrilled to see you're still with me. Can't wait to see you all at the gigs soon. I'd like to thank the Guardian for letting us do this, and Doug for setting it up, and Ben for his lightning bolt typing fingers. Otherwise this would have taken days! Have a great day.