Sandi Thom talks about her appearance at the Nantwich Jazz, Blues & Music Festival

Apr 9 2009 by Will Harris, Flintshire Chronicle

Scottish singer-songwriter Sandi Thom is looking forward to a “homecoming” gig in South Cheshire.

The Aberdeenshire-born artist is the star attraction at this year’s Nantwich Jazz, Blues and Music Festival where she will play in The Crown ballroom on Easter Monday, April 13.

But while the 27-year-old is firmly rooted in Scotland and lives in Brighton, Cheshire is very much a second home for her because of her boyfriend and producer Jake Field.

“It’s a great festival because my boyfriend is from there,” she says.

“He was born in Crewe and his family live there. I spend a lot of time there with his family. It’s one of those places which will be like doing homecoming gigs in Scotland.

“It’s a lovely festival and it’s pretty cool to be doing it. A few years ago I was meant to do it but was forced to cancel, so I’m really looking forward to it this time round.”

The pair were a signature away from buying a house near Nantwich last year before it fell through at the last minute.

Sandi says: “It was a really lovely one. We were all set to buy it and discovered there was a big problem with a landfill site nearby.

“We realised that if we went ahead and bought this site we could have major problems selling it later on. So we found another house in Brighton and moved there. It was very much set in stone but it probably wasn’t meant to be.”

Sandi’s rise to fame was meteoric. Her debut single I Wish I Was a Punk Rocker (With Flowers in My Hair) shot to number one in the charts on its re-release in 2006, which was followed by What If I’m Right, both of which were on her album Smile...It Confuses People – also hitting number one, and which was recorded in Jake’s dad’s barn in Blakenhall.

She says: “I was 24 when the song came out. It’s a few years ago now and it’s pretty mad to look back on it now. It feels like only yesterday and you don’t realise that much time has gone by.”

For Sandi, music started from an early age. Her family were all very supportive and she gradually came to realise singing was something she could do as a career.

She joined a covers band called The Residents when she was 14, playing gigs in pubs and clubs and travelling round Scotland.

She said: “I was only 14 and I was playing with guys who were in their 30s and 40s. I think because of that they were playing a lot of music from their generation so in a unintentional way I became accustomed to the sounds of the 70s.

“At that point I really got into 70s music and started to write along those lines. I was with them for three years and had a lot of good times and got used to the rock and roll elements, the drinking and smoking and driving for miles.

“It wasn’t a glamorous introduction. It was a hardcore, realistic one, not a sudden rise to glory. I’ve been in all the dives and dingy venues and I suppose from all that I appreciated the breakthrough so much more and stayed grounded.”

But rapid success was followed by an equally rapid downturn. Her second album The Pink and The Lily charted at number 25, before dropping out of the Top 75 two weeks later, and The Devil’s Beat was the only single from that album to chart at all, at number 58.

“I wouldn’t say the second album went wrong as such. The one downside to having a huge first album is that anything after is likely to pale into insignificance. The way I look at it is that if that album had been my first I would have been chuffed.

“I’ve got to keep a bit of perspective. A lot of artists have experienced the same kind of dip like KT Tunstall and James Blunt.”

Sandi flew out to the USA last week to play the prestigious South by Southwest festival, and plans to tour the States more to forge herself a greater reputation.

“I think the second album is really suited to the American market,” she says.

“I’m now more likely to explore the bluesy side of music and playing the Nantwich festival is great because it’s an opportunity to meet up with artists of that ilk.”

Sandi Thom plays the Nantwich Jazz, Blues and Music Festival on Monday, April 13, at The Crown Hotel ballroom. Tickets are £16.50, available from the Crown Hotel, High Street, Nantwich (01270 625283), Nantwich Tourist Information Centre, Market Street (01270 610983) or by visiting www.nantwichjazz.com.