Entertainment

Emily Barker on Aretha Franklin, Loretta Lynn and Ursula Le Guin

Jenny Lee puts performers and artists on the spot about what really matters to them. This week, Australian singer-songwriter Emily Barker

Australian-born singer Emily Barker will be singing songs from her forthcoming album Sweet Kind Of Blue in Belfast on May 6
Australian-born singer Emily Barker will be singing songs from her forthcoming album Sweet Kind Of Blue in Belfast on May 6 Australian-born singer Emily Barker will be singing songs from her forthcoming album Sweet Kind Of Blue in Belfast on May 6

1. When did you think about music as a career and what were your first steps into it?

I started singing publicly when I was a teenager, but I didn’t really consider it as a career option until I was in my mid-20s, having dropped out of university with a determination to give music a proper go. I moved back to the UK where I’d done a stint of travelling and followed up on several opportunities that had come my way through performing at open mic nights in Cambridge and London. One of the first and most significant of these was having John Peel play my eight-minute recorded version of Oh Susanna on his Radio 1 show.

2. Best gig you've been to?

Loretta Lynn at The Ryman, Nashville, opening the AMA Awards Ceremony in a purple sequin ball gown singing Coal Miner's Daughter. She was 82 years old and sang the hell out of it.

3. Fantasy wedding/birthday party band?

Aretha Franklin, Carole King, Levon Helm, Neil Young, Donald 'Duck' Dunn, Booker T, Garth Hudson and The Memphis Horns.

4. The record you'd take to a desert island?

Aretha Franklin’s I Never Loved a Man the Way I Love You.

5. And the book?

Ursula Le Guin's The Dispossessed.

6. Top three films?

The Straight Story (David Lynch), Paris, Texas (Wim Wenders) and To Kill a Mockingbird (Robert Mulligan).

7. Worst film you've seen?

I don't have time to waste by watching bad films.

8. Favourite authors?

Jeanette Winterson, Margaret Atwood and Patti Smith.

9. Sport you most enjoy and top team?

Running and Pilates for myself. I don't follow any teams any more but I used to love the Chicago Bulls when Michael Jordan was in his prime.

10. Ideal holiday destination?

South West Australia where I grew up. Either by the Blackwood River or by the Indian Ocean near Margaret River.

11. Pet hate?

Instant coffee and people who crack their knuckles.

12. What’s your favourite:

Dinner? I love Thai food a lot. But anything vegetarian and gluten free suits me.

Dessert? Anything chocolately and gooey.

Drink? Coffee (freshly ground, well-made and black).

13. Who is your best friend and how do you know each other?

My boyfriend. We met on a ferry on the way to the Channel Island of Sark to play a music festival.

14. Is there a God?

There is for some people.

:: Emily Barker plays Belfast's Black Box on May 6 as part of the Cathedral Quarter Arts Festival. Tickets and full programme at Cqaf.com. Emily's new album Sweet Kind Of Blue is released on May 19.