Currently working on a unique picture-disc project, the former Transvision Vamp-turned-solo artist talks Ian Peel through her eight most-treasured LPs…
The Stooges – Funhouse 1970
“The Stooges are my touchstone sound, my barometer of performance. They were so ahead of their time and the sounds they got together, informed by all band members being fans of the history of rock ’n’ roll and transmitted through their own world of Ann Arbor in the mid 60s… Perfect, and the look too! The ultimate.”
The Velvet Underground – Loaded 1970
“Every song is so damn good. Lou Reed’s songwriting is in my blood. I get his timing, I get his delivery. Once again, the Velvets are so ahead of their time and, in their case, channelling their complete fandom and fascination with so many types of music – but through the prism of their East Coast lives.”
Bob Dylan – Blonde on Blonde 1966
“How many nights did I listen to this vinyl go around as a young teenager, late into the night, lights out in my bedroom, just listening to the sweet sound of Bob Dylan’s perfect melancholy? Bob’s music calms me completely… It’s impossible to pick one album being superior to than another, but Blonde On Blonde is visceral for me.”
Sex Pistols – Never Mind The Bollocks, Here’s The Sex Pistols – 1977
“Anytime I hear this, my excitement and adrenaline speed up, I can taste it… and the knowledge of the London that caused the Sex Pistols to happen – and happen how they did and when they did and why they did – makes it all the sweeter.”
Jay-Z – The Black Album 2003
“The production of hip-hop has so far surpassed rock ’n’ roll music… the rhyming, the poetry, the social commentary. The Black Album represents me living in NYC and feeling like I owned the streets, walking home at 2am in the morning with my headphones on tight, striding out in time with the rhythm of it.”
Nina Simone – The Very Best Of… 2006
“What a woman, what a voice, what a musician. What a revolutionary. Though I wish Pirate Jenny was on this compilation. I love Nina Simone and I love her interviews, too. I love the way she looks, I love the way she performs. This compilation contains some truly magnificent work.”