Calendar An icon of a desk calendar. Cancel An icon of a circle with a diagonal line across. Caret An icon of a block arrow pointing to the right. Email An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of the Facebook "f" mark. Google An icon of the Google "G" mark. Linked In An icon of the Linked In "in" mark. Logout An icon representing logout. Profile An icon that resembles human head and shoulders. Telephone An icon of a traditional telephone receiver. Tick An icon of a tick mark. Is Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes. Is Not Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes with a diagonal line through it. Pause Icon A two-lined pause icon for stopping interactions. Quote Mark A opening quote mark. Quote Mark A closing quote mark. Arrow An icon of an arrow. Folder An icon of a paper folder. Breaking An icon of an exclamation mark on a circular background. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Caret An icon of a caret arrow. Clock An icon of a clock face. Close An icon of the an X shape. Close Icon An icon used to represent where to interact to collapse or dismiss a component Comment An icon of a speech bubble. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Ellipsis An icon of 3 horizontal dots. Envelope An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Home An icon of a house. Instagram An icon of the Instagram logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. Magnifying Glass An icon of a magnifying glass. Search Icon A magnifying glass icon that is used to represent the function of searching. Menu An icon of 3 horizontal lines. Hamburger Menu Icon An icon used to represent a collapsed menu. Next An icon of an arrow pointing to the right. Notice An explanation mark centred inside a circle. Previous An icon of an arrow pointing to the left. Rating An icon of a star. Tag An icon of a tag. Twitter An icon of the Twitter logo. Video Camera An icon of a video camera shape. Speech Bubble Icon A icon displaying a speech bubble WhatsApp An icon of the WhatsApp logo. Information An icon of an information logo. Plus A mathematical 'plus' symbol. Duration An icon indicating Time. Success Tick An icon of a green tick. Success Tick Timeout An icon of a greyed out success tick. Loading Spinner An icon of a loading spinner. Facebook Messenger An icon of the facebook messenger app logo. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Facebook Messenger An icon of the Twitter app logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. WhatsApp Messenger An icon of the Whatsapp messenger app logo. Email An icon of an mail envelope. Copy link A decentered black square over a white square.

Q&A: KT Tunstall

Post Thumbnail

KT Tunstall has been one of Britain’s most successful singer-songwriters of the last 15 years and is continuing to blaze a trail in the music industry.

The 43-year-old Scot, who was nominated for the Mercury Prize in 2005, burst into the spotlight with such songs as Suddenly I See, which helped her win a string of Brit, Grammy and Ivor Novello awards.

Indeed, it made such a big impression on global audiences that it was featured in the film The Devil Wears Prada and the TV series Ugly Betty and Grey’s Anatomy and was Hillary Clinton’s election campaign song in 2008.

Ms Tunstall is currently on tour with Simple Minds and The Pretenders, the latter featuring the iconic Chrissie Hynde, and they will all perform at the Northern Meeting Park in Inverness on Saturday September 8.

She spoke to Your Weekend about her life on the road with some of rock music’s most famous bands.

How exciting is it to be on tour?

It’s a fantastic feeling to be part of this experience with these incredible bands. Even after all this time, they are still exploring new things and creating different sounds, rather than simply playing the old hits. I sometimes have to rub my eyes when I look around me, but the bands all work so well together the concerts are a joy. These people are driven, they’re very hard-working, and are still pushing boundaries. The new Pretenders record is terrific and the response from the audience has shown how much they like the new material as well as the hit songs.

What’s your opinion of Chrissie Hynde?

She’s the number one, and I mean that 100%. She’s a genuine rock icon and somebody who has tasted so much success, but she is so down to earth about it. I have watched her on stage every night and when I hear her telling the crowds that I’m incredible… well, nothing else matters. If she believes it, who am I to disagree! I grew up admiring her immensely and I am still a huge fan.

You have a new album coming out?

Yes, and it’s really exciting. I know, whenever an artist releases a new record they always say it’s the best thing they have ever done. But we’ve made a rock record and I honestly believe it is the best thing I’ve ever done.

It was produced by Nick McCarthy, of Franz Ferdinand, and we laid down tracks at his garage studio and the whole thing has a live feel to it. Recording it was madness and chaos, but there was also a huge buzz. People have told me: “I like your records, but your live shows are incredible.” Well, this is as close to a live show as I’ve ever put on a record.

Would you encourage young people to take an interest in music?

Yes, and it’s more important than ever, because kids are under so much more pressure than they used to be when I was growing up. When I was 10, I was still playing with my toys and I was able to go to music lessons and nobody was expecting me to make hard decisions about my future.

Nowadays, there are so many more tests at school and youngsters are beset with social media, and the political situation in Britain is crazy at the moment. So it’s vital that kids are able to express themselves and we get away from this idea they have to conform and be like everybody else. Don’t do that! Pick up an instrument and play whatever you like. Don’t worry about making hits, do it for yourself and enjoy it.

How much are you looking forward to the show in Inverness?

Very much, because the reaction we have got from audiences so far has been terrific and I am sure that will be the case in the Highlands. There’s something for everyone.

Gates to the Northern Meeting Park, Inverness open at 4pm on Saturday, September 8. For tickets visit various agencies including www.ticketmaster.co.uk and https://simplemindsshop.com