Time out with
Nerina Pallot’s
Nerina Pallot, 31, is a rising star on the UK music scene.
b.there! caught up with her at her home in Brixton, London, as she prepared for her 2007 tour
Your father’s half-French and your mother is from India. Has your heritage influenced your music?
When I was growing up in India, we didn’t really have radio or TV, so the music I listened to as a child was all the Bollywood film music. The lyrics and meaning of the songs were really quite complex, metaphysical almost. So, yes, it has influenced me in the sense that now when I write a song, I always feel like I should be saving the world.
It hasn’t been an easy ride; you had to remortgage your home to finance your album Fires. How scary was that?
I’m fatalistic, so I thought this had better work. I just felt there was a lot of karma around the album and it was worth giving it a shot. If you don’t have confidence in yourself, then nobody else will.
What do you like about touring?
There’s a powerful connection between your songs and the audience. I like talking to the crowd, too – it’s like a big party. I feel I can lose myself on stage.
Which European city do you most like to visit when touring and why?
I’ve got a soft spot for Copenhagen – I love it there. I think the Danes should be a prototype for the rest of the human race. They’ve just got it together. As a city, Copenhagen is clean and nice. The people are friendly, they like to party and the food is always good. If you like cycling it’s amazing; it’s a dream city for cyclists.
What are your plans for 2007?
For the first couple of months I’ll be doing promos throughout Europe. Then I might move to the US as my boyfriend is over there.
The music Column
Dionne Warwick: My Friends and Me Dionne Warwick is celebrating 45 years in showbusiness with this blockbuster album – a series of duets with the golden oldies of yesteryear and some of today’s hottest young stars that revisits 13 of her most famous hits, all penned by Burt Bacharach and Hal David.
The likes of Cyndi Lauper, Kelis, Olivia Newton-John, Mya, Gloria Estefan and Gladys Knight all feature on tracks including Walk On By, I Say A Little Prayer and Close To You.
But it’s clear who’s the star of the show – Warwick’s pipes are as powerful as ever, and there’s no mistaking the sense of fun that’s written all over My Friends And Me. The perfect post-Christmas pick-me-up.
++ This month’s films ++
The Last King Of Scotland
Director Kevin Macdonald Starring Forest Whitaker, James McAvoy, Gillian Anderson
Celebrated documentary maker Kevin Macdonald’s first fiction effort stars James McAvoy (The Chronicles of Narnia) as Nicholas Garrigan, an adventurous but naïve young doctor who arrives in Uganda in 1971, just as Idi Amin is seizing power in a military coup. After a chance encounter with the dictator, Garrigan is taken to Amin’s palace, where he witnesses firsthand the monster beneath the statesman’s veil.
At the core of this film is a barnstorming turn from Forest
Whitaker as Idi Amin. After years playing softly-spoken characters, here at last that huge bulk is given full reign in a fiery, charismatic role that’s both charming and intimidating. Expect Whitaker to feature heavily in the upcoming Oscar hype.
The Last King of Scotland is a gripping, powerful film, lifted by a truly great lead performance.
The Pursuit Of Happyness
Director Kevin Macdonald Starring Forest Whitaker, James McAvoy, Gillian Anderson
Since Ali and The Legend of Bagger Vance failed to set the world on fire, Will Smith has spent the last few years hiking his star to stratospheric heights in sure-fire box office crowd-pleasers such as Hitch and the animated Shark Tale.
But with The Pursuit of Happyness all that could change. This is the heart-warming true story of Chris Gardner, a penniless divorced man raising his son single-handed while angling for a job as a stockbroker. With just a one-in-20 shot of making his dream come true, Gardner is reduced to living on the streets in a bid to provide for his son.
This is a cut above the usual feelgood fare, and Smith is on top form, exuding bags of charisma as Gardner without reverting to the tried-and-tested Big Willy style that would surely have sunk such a delicately balanced film.
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