I really want to write a football chant. That is


my mission. Not to get a Grammy or a Brit award, but to write a football


chant and have 40,000 people sing it.


continued from page 15 It has cemented Nadine’s place as one of the great


singer-songwriters of our age. No mean feat in an industry that is still male dominated and where lone females can struggle to be taken seriously and get their voice heard. What is it about Nadine that has helped her stand


out from the crowd? “I think my heritage and what I write about has made


people’s ears prick up. I’m a young female who is half Pakistani and half Norwegian and writes about things like mental health. I also give very passionate, often quite harrowing performances.” She pauses. It’s not the whole story. While being dif-


ferent may open doors, you still need talent to thrive and survive in the music industry. Te path to stardom is sadly littered with the lost hopes of those who never managed to jump the final hurdle or, worse, found themselves dragged down into the dissolute rock ‘n roll mire. Nadine has thankfully managed to distance herself


from the worst excesses of the industry. But the conver- sation inevitably turns to Amy Winehouse, who died at the age of just 27 from alcohol poisoning. Te pair were no longer close friends at the time of


Amy’s death. But Nadine says: “We all saw that hap- pening. I really hate the way that being a tortured artiste gets romanticised. It’s not romantic. It is much better to be a healthy, well artiste. “It poses the question of what can the music industry


do to stop it happening again? Tere are still too many people in the industry who need help. One of the issues is the way it revolves around nightlife and all the vices that come with that. I can’t think of any other job where people are encouraged to drink as they work.” She concedes that the music industry is improving.


Where music festivals and tours were once notorious for their backstage drink and drug-fuelled parties, nowadays Nadine says you’re just as likely to find the performers and their VIP guests drinking bottled water, dining on hummus and Skyping their loved ones. But for all its pitfalls, she would never discourage


others from turning their dreams into reality – one of the reasons she is so keen to give something back by nurturing young musicians. She is a believer, however, that “if somebody is truly brilliant they will be heard.” She could be talking about herself, but is too modest


to say so. A fellow North Easterner she admires is folk musi-


cian Richard Dawson. “He has a powerful voice and super clever lyrics. Slowly, but surely, his name is get- ting out there.” After 16 years living in London, she is finding her


thoughts turning more frequently to her home region. While she isn’t yet finished with the capital, she is seri- ously thinking about returning to live in the North East. It was right for her, she says, to move to London to


further her career, but she is uncomfortable with “the brain drain that is happening, where all the creative types are leaving places like Newcastle. I think it is important that people return to their home areas and bring back the skills they have learnt.” She hankers after building her own studio and work-


ing with new musicians in the North East. She is also keen to introduce her partner to her home


16 ELITE - SPRING


region. She is reluctant to say too much about him, but reveals he is a “suit in the music industry” who was born in London to American parents. Nadine is looking forward to showing him around Newcastle’s Grainger Market and acquainting him with the delights of a Greggs’ pasty! She would like to go to America and play, but in the


current politically charged climate has had visas declined. Her only hope is to get an ‘Alien of Extraordinary Tal-


ent’ visa, offered to someone who can demonstrate they have remarkable abilities in the sciences, arts, education, business or athletics. It conjures up a crazy image of little green men from


outer space being interviewed by stony-faced govern- ment officials at an intergalactic border control. Luckily, Nadine can see the humour in the situation.


“I’m going to get Alien of Extraordinary Talent put on a T-shirt and say ‘look at me!’ if I ever manage to get into America.” Or she could just write a song about it…


Holiday Destination


latest album:


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