there. I didn’t need to look for drama, that’s the thing: I’ve talked to a few of my friends about this, and I think for your first few albums you think you need to live this incredibly dramatic life and never be happy in your relationships, but then you get to the point where you’re like, no, I just have to be creative. Tis period of having just put the record out before I tour has been incredibly creative, because I’ve been very free and I’ve been travelling a lot. My head has been filled with songs and new places. I think what it is, is that I didn’t need to have a new horrifying experience, I just had to see a lot of new things.
As someone that studied journalism, I know you’ll understand the research part of the job, but the line was completely crossed by News of the World though and you’ve been outspoken on that, but where do you think the line is? It’s a difficult thing writing articles because people don’t talk how you want people to read it. I just think it’s a flawed process. It’s easy to lose your humanity when you’re in the middle of a machine. People are really frail and it’s easy to get caught up in what you do. But I think if you say something about a person that they haven’t signed off themselves, then that’s crossing a line.
and because everyone was safe in the morning – we knew we’d be safe in the light – everyone came out onto the streets, not just the clean-up people, but people were coming out of their houses. I went to this one pub which had been smashed up and as I was talking to him, this woman came out of her house and said, ‘I saw what happened, it was awful. We were scared in our house.’ Everyone was talking about it and the general attitude was fuck these people; this is our area and we’re not just gonna stand here and take this. Te pubs were cleaned up and they were full of people, not just volunteers or people working there. Tere was this sense of defiance, but not ugly defiance.
As an artist, you could have addressed these issues through song, but you’re much more hands on – is this something in your temperament? Yeah, I don’t know where it comes from. My family always wonder at it because they don’t do it! I think I picked it up in girl scouts or something. I was trying to work it out, but I think Kate Nash went to girl scouts as well, ‘cause she was there cleaning up.
I THINK KATE NASH WENT TO GIRL SCOUTS AS WELL, ‘CAUSE SHE WAS THERE CLEANING UP
I was warmed to read your stories about your involvement in the London Clean- Ups. Tell us a bit more about the atmosphere there that day… Oh it was amazing, I think. It was strange because it was the worst thing I’ve ever been in the midst of, I mean, I’ve never been a street away from rioting, but then the next day, because the sun was shining
Emmy the Great comes to the Norwich Arts Centre on September 27th. For tickets, go to
www.norwichartscentre.co.uk. To read this interview in full, go to
Outlineonline.co.uk
outlineonline.co.uk / September 2011 / 39
She’s just got that kind of air. I kinda made a pact with myself that because my job is my hobby, and I get a lot of time, I’d fill my spare time doing good things, or helpful things as much as I can. I don’t do it as a musician though, or someone with a following; it was only recently that I realised I could get the message out to people that way. It’s not Big Society by the way – it’s just US doing this stuff, and it’s not something the government has engineered, it’s just something they’ve necessitated by taking away so many of our services. I can just imagine you and Kate Nash with your Girl Guides Riot Clean-Up badge now. I would actually really
love that. Emma
Garwood
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