IN CAMILLE'S HEELS

“I’M A big scaredy-cat,” Camille O’Sullivan declares, explaining how she first turned to singing.

Not how one might describe a woman who abandoned a safe career in architecture after a serious car accident to pursue a not so stable life as a singer.
But that’s how the Irish French singer sees herself.
Audiences who witness Camille’s stage antics –being electrocuted and burned after wrapping Christmas lights around herself, stumbling over speakers and landing on glass, teetering on the edge of tables in heels – might disagree.


The Irish-French singer may loosely inhabit the cabaret genre but to confine her to that term would do her a disservice.
She uses her wild, dark, storytelling streak, to interpret the likes of Nick Cave, Tom Waits, Jacques Brel and Arcade Fire by becoming their most vivid characters.

Snow Patrol frontman Gary Lightbody recently wrote a song for her and she’s performed with Shane MacGowan, Tim Robbins and Damien Rice.
Camille is holding a charity Q & A at the Shaw Theatre in aid of Mayor of Camden Jonathan Simpson’s chosen charity the Roundhouse Trust (March 3).

But she fears the idea may suggest she’s an “egomaniac”, saying: “As long as people know I’m not going (affects luvvie voice) “I’ve so many things to tell the theatre” – that would horrify me”. I always hoped someone could’ve guided me and I’m happy to share my experience in what is quite a closed, unstable profession. I still think I’m on that journey, it’s not authority, I spend my time worrying about the next gig.”

Camille loved singing from an early age but it wasn’t until she went to Berlin that she realised she wanted to emulate the types of characters personified in Brecht and Eisler songs.
She said: “It’s good to have good fun but it’s also nice to go to a dark place to make people have a bit of black humour....You’ve got to have a certain amount of obsession to keep singing people’s songs that aren’t your own.”

As an architect, Camille flirted with the idea of becoming a professional singer but it was a terrible accident, which changed her life: “I was on morphine and euphoric to be alive. I was like what are you doing? This is your life. I don’t want to be 80 and look back and think I didn’t try. It took a year to use my hands, walk again and hand in my notice. I didn’t have a clue what I was doing... I placed every obstacle because I was blooming nervous and not confident. I’m a big scaredy cat.”

Her days are a whirlwind of tours and Camille avoids hotels as she drags her life around.
She recently shared a flat in Soho with the rubber man (who can put his body through tennis rackets) and is currently staying in a cottage in Stratford, while working with the Royal Shakespeare Company.

She said: “I’m looking at my suitcases because I’m horrified by them. I want globetrotter luggage but I know it’d cost too much. It’s my dream that I would actually look like a cool traveller when I’m going places instead of the wheel that’s falling off the suitcase today.”

Essential items include red lipstick and perfume she said, adding: “I have to get all my costumes in first, then I might bring a candle or a toy from home, a little bear or something. It may sound ridiculous but a friend gave me a little rabbit it’s just a little thing you put on the bed so you start making the place look like it’s yours.”

She added: “I do a lot of my tax and thinking up ideas – they end up on pieces of paper – so I bring a big plastic bag of that to put on my computer. It’s trying to make sense of my life. You know when you’re at home and chaos is in your house, I just take portions of it away with me so I can solve myself when I’m gone.”

WHERE'S JOHNNY? DEPP'S STUNT DOUBLE KNOWS + LITTLE NOISE + BRAVO MOBO NOMINEES AKALA AND N-DUBS

EVER wondered what Johnny Depp’s stunt double does when not risking his life to save Hollywood’s most precious cheekbones?
Turns out Pirates of the Caribbean cast member Scott Sener is a musician. He supports Camden band Earth Prayer – fronted by Heidi Jo Hines, daughter of former Wings guitarist and Moody Blues founder member Denny Laine – at a free gig at Scars Studio, 20 Castlehaven Road, Camden Town, on Saturday.
Sener’s invited cast members so keep your eyes peeled for the genuine article – Mr Depp has been known to pop up at the odd underground gig – ask Babybird.

(Can't find a clip of Earth Prayer so here's Heidi Jo Hines on her lonesome).

• Fellow music lovers, it’s all happening. Once you’ve completed the three peaks challenge of Elton, Neil Diamond and Robert Plant at Electric Proms (Oct 28 – 30) – here’s what’s coming up.
• Regular readers will know this is my absolute fave series of gigs, Mencap Little Noise Sessions return to the Union Chapel (Nov 15 – 20) with Tom Jones, Paolo Nutini and Hurts latest headliners to be announced – my pick so far – Hurts. Be there.
• Can’t believe we’re talking about the Camden Crawl already but early bird tickets go on sale at the Bull and Gate launch gig (Oct 28) – The Chapman Family, DELS, Hook & the Twin, John & Jehn, Martyna Baker and the inevitable secret guest tba by Twitter of course!
• If you missed Tim Robbins at the Union Chapel, you can catch him supporting Paolo Nutini at the Q Awards gigs at HMV Forum (Oct 22).
Also playing are Jamiroquai (Oct 20), Chase and Status (Oct 22) and Mark Ronson & The Business INTL (+ Rose Elinor Dougal) (Oct 23).
• Bravo N-Dubz and Akala for Mobo nominations – find out if they won (Oct 20).

LADY GAGA WHO? MIDLIFE CRISIS ME? TIM ROBBINS AND THE ROGUES GALLERY BAND TAKE OVER NORTH LONDON

NOTE: I was lucky enough to interview actor Tim Robbins this weekend - here is the first of two stories to come from this. The second is below.

IT'S 5am in an airport lounge in Hawaii and actor Tim Robbins is speaking quietly into his mobile phone trying desperately not to be “that guy”.
The wedding he was at ended a couple of hours ago and Robbins just laughs when I ask if he’s merry.
“I’ll never tell,” he says heartily.

Robbins and The Rogues Gallery Band play Islington’s Union Chapel on Wednesday and the chapel fits the one criteria the Hollywood actor/director/singer requested of all venues on this tour.
“I wanted to make sure they weren't too big and that they didn't have bars actually inside the room I was playing in,” he said. “I'm all for bars but it gets noisy and the songs I'm playing are a little more intimate than that... to make sure that we have a shot at telling the stories.”
The band name should give a hint at what Robbins’ music is all about, a bit folksy, described as “rousing, raggle-taggle gypsy Americana and story telling songs”.

His debut eponymously titled album, out September 27, will be the 51-year-old actor's first.
But don’t be fooled into trying to match the lyrics to Robbins’ real life.
“The stories are about all kinds of different things, people I've run into on the road who've told me their stories, things I've read in newspapers, moments in time in my own life...I was down in New Orleans in June and I wrote a lyric about an experience I had down there...What was the experience? Oh I don't know, no comment.”

And this is Robbins' attitude if you try to get close to his personal reality.
He warns: “If you're listening to an album and you're thinking about the personal life of a person you should probably check into an institution. People that are obsessed with other people's personal life who they don’t know, it's kind of a little silly and a waste of time. I believe that as well with people you do know. Mind your own business.
“It's a real good idea to try not to get into people's personal business because it's trouble. It's true. In personal business of friend of yours if you start laying your opinions on their personal situation can only lead to bad things. Sure you can be an open hearted compassionate person and be a sounding board if a friend's in trouble but to then pry and to needle someone. You know it’s not good.”

That's not to say he doesn't pull on real-life experiences in his writing – just be warned, his songs were written well-before his much-publicised break-up with actress Susan Sarandon, a fact he wants to stress.
He said: “I would like to set the record straight. If you heard Desert Island Discs I was clearly making a joke – the “midlife crisis” thing.”

Robbins has been affronted by UK Press taking his joke and suggesting he wrote the album after the break-up. So much so that he has asked if this interview is being taped for accuracy.
He said: “For them to write a story about how I did the album as a response to recent events and then have a psychiatrist write a side article about what men go through in a midlife crisis is and compare my situation to someone who's institutionalised and on and on...it was like really? Is it that important to make some story up where there is no story. All these songs were written way before any recent events in my personal life and have to do with many, many different things and about zero to do with a midlife crisis.”


(An old clip - can't find any recent ones).

So what is he singing about then?
“When I'm inspired by something or someone, whether it's inspiration from frustration and anger or from being touched by something. 

“I've written completely sober. I've written a few late night in hotel rooms. A lot of the album is from hotel rooms. I hate hotel rooms. When I'm on the road I try to remain open to experience. It's the only way I can be away from home. You know you have to treat it as a blessing. We find ourselves in circumstances we wouldn't normally be in and oftentimes that leads to conversations or a character that is intriguing. So you go home and you write.”

So the few insights I can gather about Robbins' life away from work include his love of riding his bicycle, and working in his garden “no skydiving for me”.
His confession that Abba is his guilty pleasure: “Abba can get in my skin sometimes. I can forget myself sometimes with Abba. All of a sudden you start tapping your foot.”
His admiration for Nina Simone's Sinnerman: “It just rocks. It's just got such a great groove on it and she's just amazing. They way she performs and interprets songs is just genius.”
His thirst for learning about new music from his children: “They've introduced me to Arcade Fire, Fleet Foxes, LCD Soundsystem, I'll stop there. I just absolutely love the new Arcade Fire album.”
His choice of funeral music: “I would like a second line. It's a New Orleans tradition. The first line is the brass band that plays on the way to the cemetery and the second line is the one that plays on the way back. The first one is super slow and the second line is a kind of celebration, it’s very uplifting, danceworthy.”
And his dislike of the outside world intruding on his home life: “You know what boring very liberating thing you can do is to get rid of your answering machine. That was really a great liberation for me. So I'm trying to apply that to the cellphone and voicemail. When you get home you should be home so I try to get any business done before I get home but I’m not perfect.”

It seems like he has succeeded on this last task as when I ask what he thinks of tabloid staple Lady Gaga, he replies genuinely: “Who?
Honestly I don’t listen to hit music, I don’t listen to radio stations, I don’t have a television either so she’s kind of not landed on my lap and so I don’t have an opinion either way.”
• Tim Robbins and the Rogues Gallery Band play the Union Chapel (Sept 30) and HMV Forum, along with Paolo Nutini for the Q Awards Show (Oct 22).

OU EST LE SWIMMING POOL'S TRIBUTE CONCERT, ELECTRIC PROMS OUT FOR THE OLDIES, THE HAMPTONS SET SAIL + CARL BARAT'S MEMORY

SOME of my absolute favourite music events of the year are looming so save up your pennies. Tim Robbins plays the Union Chapel (Sept 30), Mencap Little Noise Sessions comes up in November and BBC Electric
Proms is next month.
The Union Chapel's Little Noise Sessions are the most memorable I've ever been to and always produce unique, unpredictable moments. I can not wait to see the line-up. Although the Electric Proms will be a smaller affair this year the kaliber of the stars is higher than ever.
Pleased to see Elton John and Robert Plant aready lined up to play the Roundhouse, but waiting with bated breath to hear which up and comers have been signed up.

(Here's some old footage of Elton teaming up with Guns 'n Roses)

• Mr Hudson, The Kooks, Man Like Me and Eddy Temple Morris are among the many acts signed up to celebrate the life of the late Charlie Haddon, former frontman of Ou Est Le Swimming Pool, who died last month. Chazzstock takes place at Koko (Oct 3) – a particularly poignant event for Camden.
• Charlie from The Hamptons called this week to say his band plays The Monarch (Sept 21). From what I can gather they're called The Hamptons although they've never been there and Charlie, who once sailed the Atlantic in a yacht, is from Gainsville, Florida, of Koran burning preacher fame.
• Re-Libertine Carl Barat’s written a memoir – but will there be anything in it we haven’t already heard? He plays Scala (Oct 27) to promote the book and his debut solo album.

SHIPWRECKED TIM ROBBINS SAILS INTO THE UNION CHAPEL, MORRISSEY'S CHEERY EFFECT, SHED SEVEN RAKE UP OLD MEMORIES & ANTE UP FOR M.O.P. AT THE JAZZ CAFE

HOLLYWOOD actor Tim Robbins told Desert Island Discs his mid-life crisis inspired his new album. See Tim Robbins & the Rogues Gallery Band at the Union Chapel (September 30). Incidentally, his emergency collection includes Nina Simone’s Sinnerman, Johnny Cash’s In Your Mind, and Joni Mitchell’s A Case of You and a matchbook as his book – cheating?

• The Smiths’ There is a Light That Never Goes Out has been ringing in my head ever since my landlady decided to evict me – “I never ever want to go home, because I haven’t got one anymore”, has been cheering me up. Shame Morrissey didn't turn up to The Dublin Castle on Monday like he was rumoured to.

• John Otway’s been around for some time, an old regular at The Dublin Castle. He returns on Saturday along with The Quirky.

• Shed Seven play 02 Academy Islington on Friday – I remember being a fan (pre Going for Gold – bleugh!), so revisited them on YouTube. Dolphin aside, some musical memories are best not revisited.

• Cellist and singer Izzi Dunn (Jazz Café, Friday) may have been classically trained but she won’t be pigeonholed. Her work spans hip-hop, soul and indie, and she’s collaborated with Gorillaz, Oasis, George Harrison and Mark Ronson.

• Remember the gruff vocals of hardcore rappers M.O.P., of Ante Up and Cold As Ice fame? Hear Lil’ Fame and Billy Danzenie in the flesh at the Jazz Café on Wednesday.