You wrote Bring Me to Life when you were 19. When you perform it now, how do you relate to the younger you? becgoldsmith
I was in an abusive relationship, so Bring Me to Life was partly about processing the reality of that abuse and asking myself, what are you gonna do about it? Like, pick yourself up. I wrote it when I was crushing on my 1787233242 husband, but the theme is about a quest for something bigger: opening your heart, finding more depth. It’s very empowering to perform it now in huge places; I’m very proud of the 19-year-old me that wrote it.
Artists often reveal their influences through the songs they choose to cover. You’ve performed both It’s a Fire and Glory Box by Portishead. What drew you to those songs? VerulamiumParkRanger
Beth Gibbons was one of my greatest vocal and musical inspirations. In the 90s when I was a young teen really feeling music I loved Portishead, Massive Attack and the whole trip-hop vibe. It was dark and cool, really different. Beth’s vocals have a way of teetering on an emotional crack, on the edge of wild, barely restrained emotion but never belting, which I always thought was so cool and enticing. I could happily do an entire album of nothing but Portishead covers.
Your new album, Sanctuary, feels delicately balanced between healing and reflection, but also anger about what is going on in the world right now. How did you manage that balance and how do you feel about using your voice to stand up against what’s wrong? Amlou7
I hate politics, but our existence is political. Most of us don’t want anything to do with the atrocities that are going on today, but as human beings with hearts and souls we must rise to the occasion. I’m done with letting people make me feel I should be quiet or making me feel uncomfortable speaking about what we’re now calling politics, which is life and death, rape, genocide, stealing from people. Music has always been an outlet for whatever’s in my heart, so now the music is an outlet for those big things. I meet so many people around the world with different beliefs, and we’re not that different. Most people are good human beings who would help you if you were injured, and that goodness is precious and worth fighting for. We have to be strong and keep calling things out and not back down to fascism.
Can you share any funny stories of things that have happened during the current Sanctuary tour? Andrew_Cleveland
There’s so many, we could make a blooper reel of all the mistakes. When you put yourself out there with a big production inevitably there’s more potential for things to go wrong. We have a moment where a kabuki [Japanese theatre] curtain drops down dramatically behind me. It’s beautiful, but in windy amphitheatres there’s been a couple of funny moments where it’s come down in the wrong place and dropped right on my head. It’s been great touring with Spiritbox and Nova Twins and we do a song together, Fight Like a Girl. One night, I sang entirely the wrong thing. Spinal Tap is totally like reality. I’ve experienced that scene of walking round in circles not being able to find the stage more times than I can count.
What are your thoughts on Nathan Fielder’s use of Bring Me to Life in The Rehearsal season two [he speculates that Captain Chesley ‘Sully’ Sullenberger listened to the song before successfully landing a passenger plane on the Hudson River]? thunderponce
It’s amazing to me that the song has reached so far, but that was just one of those surreal moments where you really think, “Wow, this is wild.” I thought it was strange and brilliant, like Nathan Fielder is. I had tears in my eyes by the end. It was so beautiful. I’m not saying Bring Me to Life helped land the plane, but it’s a cool way to demonstrate how music inspires people in stressful or big moments. Bring Me to Life has been used in all sorts of things and it took me a long time to get past the cynicism of “I don’t know about this … ” but I feel safe in it now.
I recently lost my 14-year-old dog and five-year-old cat, and listening to the Secret Door has been one of the only things helping me lately. The lyrics are beautiful and eerie, the background melodies reminiscent of a dream. What inspired those words? Feistj1
I’m sorry for your loss. I had my amazing Maine Coon [cat] for 18 years before he passed away a couple of years ago. They became part of your life so it’s like letting go of a whole chapter. It’s interesting that you’ve mentioned dreams. I’m a very vivid dreamer and I have recurring places that only exist in my dreams. Sometimes music comes at me in dreams and it feels as if I’m tuned into some other channel. Once in a while I wake and think, “I’ve got to write this down”, or record it on my phone. Secret Door was one of those. I had a recurring dream where I’d go through a secret door in the woods and experience a feeling of beautiful love. The vibe came from the dream, the 3/4 time was in my head, and the bridge section came out as soon as I woke up and ran straight upstairs to work on it. A lot happens in those last moments of sleep when your mind is functional but you’re not yet in reality. It feels like a gift when that happens.
I’ve been listening to you since the beginning of your career. I wanted to be a rock singer, too, but I’ve always been told I am ugly. Show business’s obsession with beauty and sexualization to boost sales horrifies me. You make amazing music and don’t try to sell it using sexual gimmicks. Is there even the slightest chance for an unattractive woman to be a rock singer? SerbianPerson
That question makes me so sad. First of all, I would hope that whoever told you that you are ugly is not anyone you would call a friend. Don’t think of yourself that way and don’t listen to those people. They’re probably just jealous. Beauty is the deep stuff: being an artist, making music. That’s where the gold is, and beauty comes out through the inside, so focus on the inside and making something great for people to experience. Selling your product and being an Instagram star is not the important part. Anybody can make great music if it’s in your soul: that’s the most beautiful thing about you.
What is the coolest or most thoughtful gift that you have received from a fan? EvCollector87
There’s been so many, but one is really special. In 2005 or so I saw this beautiful art that someone had done on the internet, a picture based on our song Imaginary. It took the lyric “in my field of paper flowers” and created a visual depiction of the song, with me laying in a field. It was just so beautiful. I managed to get in touch with them and asked if I could buy it. They told me it was a digital rendering, not a painting, but I commissioned them to paint it for me – a big version, 5ft tall or something – and it’s gorgeous. It still hangs in my space.
With the likes of Elton John, Stevie Nicks and Bruce Springsteen in mind, do you think you’ll still be recording and performing live in your 60s and 70s? ChrisDLord
If you had asked me that when we were starting out and I was in my early 20s, I would have said, hell, no. I wouldn’t have predicted we’d be here this long, but now I turn 45 in December, and 44 definitely doesn’t feel like I’d imagined – it’s better. Turning 60 is only 15 years away, which doesn’t feel that long. I don’t know if we’ll be touring hard then, but they say use it or lose it, so I’m not ruling it out. It gives you so much life to be able to bring people together and share music, so it breaks my heart to imagine that we can’t do that any more for whatever reason. I’d have to be still making music or creating in some way. It doesn’t make sense to stop.
