Imelda May

Party like it's 1959...

"My brother was a mad Elvis fan, and I found a tape in his room of Elvis, Eddie Cochran and Gene Vincent. I thought the music was fantastic." It's this moment that explains how, when her school pals were swooning over posters of A-ha and Wet Wet Wet's Marti Pellow, a nine-year-old Irish girl became instantly obsessed by the Fifties and its soundtrack of rock'n'roll and rockabilly. And, back then, Imelda May wouldn't have imagined that that obsession would be turned into an enviable career, one whose peak thus far has been to perform at this year's Grammys. With a look that defines the word 'retro' (well-lubricated quiff and de rigeur leopard-skin print threads), her music matches it - sultry torch songs and razor-sharp rockabilly. And Imelda doesn't forget her homeland in this otherwise all-out celebration of a past America. She's the only rockabilly musician using a bodhran to add extra weight to her swaggering sound.
(Biography by Nige Tassell 2010)

www.imeldamay.com