When I pulled up on my bike outside Madame JoJo's in Soho at
7.30pm last night the doors were already opening for the launch of
Heather Peace's debut album, Fairytales. Nervous laughter rose
above the crowd as they buzzed around outside, antsily puffing
cigarettes. Walking past Heather herself and Fiona button (Tess
from Lip Service OMG!) and trying to act cool I took my seat near
the front. The venue was packed with all sorts of familiar and
unfamiliar faces, including odd-pairing of the night, Lorraine
Kelly and Horse, sitting next to each other no less, a smokey-eyed
Alison Moyet and Claire Balding fresh from another A.A Gill clash
but looking great. Add in the usual exes of friends and 'people you
know but don't really know' etc and it was looking to be a great
albeit slightly awkward night.
Heather made a modest entrance onto the stage and looked
resplendent in a white shirt with added sparkly bits and tight (in
a good way) black trousers with some nice white boots. She gave us
a proper Northern welcome, which consists of saying 'Hello' to
everyone and was accompanied on stage by a young boy on guitar who
also did some backing singing in parts.
After a quick introduction Heather launched into Better Than
You, an emotional powerhouse of a ballad which truly showed the
strength of Heather's voice and the emotion she can impart into her
work. I was transfixed and accepted I was a HP convert after
initially overlooking the extremely talented artist. Her voice live
is much stronger and impressive than on any YouTube clips or such
that you might find on the internet and she also showcased some
impressive keyboard and guitar solos during the five tracks she
previewed for us.
Heather was extremely good at bantering with the audience and
explained that her album has been entirely funded by her tour last
year as she has not yet landed that elusive record deal with a
label but her grit and determination could be seen by all and she
also thanked Waterloo Road for enabling her to eat during the
making of the album. She also managed to nick a bottle of water
from a girl sitting near the front to whet her whistle halfway
through the set. It'll probably be on e-bay now.
The whole event was quite the emotional roller coaster with some
really heart-breaking songs including Fight For and Sabotage which
Heather would then break up with some comic relief which, although
very endearing, occasionally I found a little frustrating as I felt
it detracted somewhat from how talented she is and I ended up
thinking perhaps Heather should take herself more seriously as she
has a seriously great voice and stage presence. I was shocked by
the difference between Heather herself and her character in Lip
Service DC Sam Murray but I suppose that's all to do with that
business we call show and of course she is y'know, acting, in Lip
Service. She came across as cheeky, warm and charming, constantly
smiling out at the audience and you could feel how important these
songs and this album as a whole is to her. I will definitely be
buying it when it is released on 21 May on her own label,
Kaleidoscope records.
PS Want to be the first to listen to the title track
'Fairytales'? Buy the June issue of DIVA from the App Store or on
the Android Market and hear the track exclusively before the album
goes on sale
