Hello darlings. Firstly, please let me apologise for slacking on my blog page. Why do we all have SO MUCH to do these days? How did it get that crazy? It’s the bloody Internet. We got connected and we got busy. I love having stuff to do but not when it starts to drive me doolally. So, a major task for me is to find a way to get things done and try to make it funky, make it cool and stress free. Is that possible?
What’s been happening in my life? Well let’s see… it’s been 6 weeks since my last blog.
A year ago (July 8) I ran into my dear friend Miriam. We'd lost contact after our stint in Finland (Turku) as DJ/Singers and hadn’t seen one another in 17 years! As luck would have it, we met up again in the middle of a field at the LoveSupreme festival in Glynde last year.
It was a wonderful moment we'll never forget. Some believe, as I do, that the ‘script is already written’. We're not losing contact again, no way. And guess what? We’re both getting married within a few months of one another. YAYEE!
Miri and I went back to the festival this summer to celebrate our first anniversary. Unlike last year, this time it was hot and sunny. Perfect. Who wants to wear winter clothes in July? We had a wonderful weekend – CandiStaton, LisaStansfield and VanMorrison were fantastic. But the band that really blew us away was the incredible LarryGrahamCentralStation. I fell in love with this band years ago, while I was on tour with Eikichi Yazawa (Japanese rock god). Someone in the band introduced me to Larry’s music. I had his album ‘The Best Of Larry Graham and Graham Central Station Vol.1’ on repeat for the entire tour. Been hooked ever since. Amazing to finally see them live. Now I’m an even more massive fan. I hope to see them again soon.
The fabulous IanShaw has been playing my single “WhateverThisIs” on the Ronnie Scott’s Radio Show with a passion for the past few months. I really wanted to meet the lovely Ian and thank him for spreading the word. He was playing at CrazyCoqs so Paul and I went along to meet him and catch one of his shows. He was great— go and see him! He has a monthly residency at CrazyCoqs. Also check out the adjoining restaurant, Brasserie Zedel, for sheer fabulousness. Formerly known as the AtlanticBar&Grill, it was a wicked place back in the day. I spent a lot of time there.
My big gig of the year was at the Hippodrome in Leicester Square on 15 July. I was a bit nervous because it’s such a massive place. But then as I always do, I stop looking at the booking numbers and just believed that we will get a good house and sure enough, that’s exactly what happened. Lots of wonderful friends came to support me including two of my dearest friends the fabulous Angie Brown and Beverley Skeete. I met some lovely new people who’ve become fans too. It was great meeting Jimmy Thomas, the owner of the Hippodrome. I was thrilled to know that he’d been watching most of my show.
July was full of wonderment. The day after my gig, we went back again to the Hippodrome to see Sarah-Jane Morris doing her thing with her wicked band. It was another great night. I was already flying from my gig the night before and Sarah-Jane took me to a higher high. Thank you SJ! Carol and Steve (Paul’s sister-in-law and brother) celebrated their 40th anniversary of togetherness. Steve asked if I would play for them with the band. The party was going to be an outdoors, so I prayed for sunshine all week. Lucky for us the rain stayed away and it turned out lovely. Another great gig, and the sound was amazing thanks to Dan Barnard of Event Sound Solutions, a fantastic sound engineer. A few days later, I went to see IanShaw and Sarah-Jane performing together at St. James Theatre near Buckingham Palace. I get an enormous pleasure from seeing other artists do their thing. They keep me buzzing until my next gig.
Paul and I spent last weekend in Germany. We went to Köln (my second home) to see some friends. I wanted to introduce them to the man who’s going to be my husband very soon. Again we were lucky with the weather. It couldn’t have been better. Big smile. Now I’m preparing myself for Miri’s wedding, which will take place at the end of August, and for my next gig at PizzaExpressJazzClub in Soho.
So far 2015 has been quite a year. But a sad one too, as we lost some of our greatest artists along the way… including our Cilla, who died just a few days ago. I still can’t believe it. She’s been here my whole life and now she’s gone. I grew up watching her on the TV and I felt, as so many others did, that she was my friend. May her soul rest in peace.
Let’s remember to live life to the full because we never know when it’s going to be our time to check out. So enjoy the rest of the summer!
Love
Zeeteah xxx