Show Info

Jools Holland is excitable by nature, but when he spots a new artist who has what he considers “it,” his enthusiasm goes off the scale. To go by his reaction to Imelda May, she has “it” in spades. “I’ve got to have you on the show,” he told her after seeing her play live – and so, a couple of months ago, she duly found herself on “Later With Jools Holland,” wowing an audience who included Jeff Beck, Elbow and Roots Manuva.

Having fallen in love with rockabilly and the blues as a nine-year-old in Dublin, she’s turned them into a cool, swinging fusion that’s both classic and oddly modern.  Though her musical heart lies in early rock’n’roll, she puts a 21st century spin on things. Her debut album, Love Tattoo, is lusciously retro, but as fresh as 2009, and her live gigs, where she sings and plays bodhran, are fierce.

Imelda May has shared stages with everyone from Van Morrison to the Scissor Sisters, but by 2006 she was itching to go solo, and formed her own band. 'We started out jazzy, but it needed balls and roughing up which it got’.

Her shows got a reputation for being impassioned, all-or-nothing events. Love Tattoo, which is almost entirely self-written, has the same unbridled feel, whether she’s getting her teeth into a massive rockabilly party track or a sleazy after-midnight torch number.  

Her own favourites are the delicate Falling in Love with You Again, the bluesy, sultry Knock 123 and Johnny Got a Boom-Boom, a big, bawdy stomper.

The prestigious Irish World Newspaper Awards crowned Imelda 2008’s Best Female Newcomer. It’s not much of a stretch to see more acclaim ahead in 2009.

With support

www.imeldamay.com

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Tickets: £17