44 ............... Friday, February 12, 2016 1SM

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thescottishsun.co.uk

MUSIC MEETSELTONJOHNss f t wNEWMUSICBy JimGellatly

LAURENCEMADEME CRY

WHERE:GlasgowFOR FANS OF: John Grant,Róisín Murphy, James BlakeJIM SAYS: Though based inGlasgow, singer-songwriterJo Whitby, 32, is well trav-elled. Originally from Bristol,she adopted the LaurenceMade Me Cry moniker as astudent in Cardiff, releasingher first EP in 2010.

The multi-instrumentalistsaid: “It was meant to be asmall creative project, just anoutlet for these old songs andI hadn’t really looked muchfurther than that.”

Jo says the name LaurenceMade Me Cry was lifted from anewspaper headline aboutLaurence Llewelyn-Bowenturning “a woman’s nice livingroom into something horrific”on TV’s Changing Rooms.

She added: “I thought theheadline would make a greatband name. That’s as deepand meaningful as the storygets!”

While in Cardiff Jo releasedher 2013 debut album TheDiary Of Me, which was nomi-nated for the Welsh MusicPrize.

She said: “It’s chosen bylots of folks from the Welshmusic scene and press. I wasincredibly chuffed to beshortlisted.

“To have your art recog-nised and celebrated by yourpeers is a great feeling. I thinkthe prize nomination hasacted like a seal of approval, I

guess. People tend to takeme a bit more seriously.”

Jo first got sucked into theScottish scene when gigginghere.

She explained: “I did a smalltour of Scotland in 2013, tak-ing in Edinburgh, Aberdeen,Inverness and Glasgow. It wasmy first experience of Scot-land and the country totallywon me over especially as thetour was proving to be a night-mare! There was such a lovelywarmth from everyone wemet.”

First moving to Inverness,and releasing a live EP namedafter the Highland capital, shesettled in Glasgow.

Originally planning anotheralbum, she’s instead splittingit into two EPs. The first,Titan’s Daughters, featuresthe stunning single Melete. Itreminds me of Everything ButThe Girl and Massive Attack,with subtle electronicsaccompanying her hauntingvocals. The EP also includescontributions from Scotssingers Chrissy Barnacle andRachel Sermanni.

Laurence Made Me Cryplays the Tchai-Ovna teahouse in Glasgow on March 10.Titan’s Daughters is launchedwith a gig at the Glasgow’s13th Note on April 10.MORE: laurencemademe-cry.comlJim presents a weekly showcaseof New Music on Amazing RadioSundays 2-4pm. amazingra-dio.com jimgellatly.com

ON: BERNIETAUPIN

My first bigmate. We’venever argued

ON: THE PETSHOP BOYS

I’m collectingthem on vinyl

By SIMON COSYNS

HE loves life. He loveshis family. He loveshis designer shades.And he loves music.

So Elton, how do you wish tobe remembered?

“I’m not finished yet!” heretorts, quick as a flash. “I’mmore interested in keeping going.I have so much more to do.

“I’m not nostalgic. I don’t thinkabout my place in music historyat all.

“I know my own worth as amusician. And if I know that I’ma good musician and a goodwriter and a good artist, that’s allthat matters to me.

“It’s up to others to judge mebut I know the piano playing onmy new record is pretty f***ingspecial!

“You have to keep trying toimprove as you get older. Look atLeonard Cohen. That comebackat 75 was astonishing.”

I’m meeting the irrepressibleSir Elton John, flamboyant knightof this realm (or dame as somewould have it), to talk about hisrollicking album Wonderful CrazyNight and we quickly come to anagreement . . .

. . . that it’s time to remind theGreat British public about hisabiding passion for his craft.

Behind all the showbizheadlines, it’s still music thatnourishes his beating heart along,of course, with his beloved boysZachary and Elijah and husband/manager David Furnish.

‘Music has been mylovely companion’

All right, I guess his dogs, hislovely houses in the UK, Franceand US, his priceless art collec-tion and his clothes must all help.

But whether it’s vibrant newsongs or consummate live showsor simply digging out a vinyl copyof an album by one of his favour-ite artists, the Rocket Man is stillstanding — and still obsessed withthe day and night job.

He admits: “I’ve been so luckyto be involved in music. It’s beenmy lovely companion.”

If Elton hadn’t sold more than300 million records in a storiedcareer spanning five decades, hecould still have sold, er, records.

Only these would have beenover the counter at a recordshop.

As we sit at the kitchen tablein his West London home besidea bowl of perfect white roses, heimagines how things might havebeen had success not beckoned.

“Even in 1970 when I started tomake it, I used to go toMusicland in Berwick Street andwork on a Saturday for nothing,”he tells me during a misty-eyedanecdote about a long defunctshop in London’s Soho.

“I was fascinated by whatpeople would buy and I justloved it. It was the job I mighthave done.”

He remembers shifting a fewcopies of bedsit troubadourCohen’s latest and something byjazzy prog rockers Soft Machine.

I can’t help wondering if heturned customers on to his self-titled second album with break-through hit Your Song or, laterthat same year, the follow-up,Tumbleweed Connection.

All these years later in 2016,I’m happy to report 68-year-oldElton is thrilled by the vinylrevival. He says: “Unless I’m in acar, I only play records on vinyl.I sold my record collection in1991 but now I’m collecting again.

“I have a record player inWoodside (his Windsor estate)and one in Vegas when I playthere. There’s a place in Vegas

called Wax Trax Records, ownedby this guy Rich Rosen and hiswife Sunny.

“It’s one of the best old recordstores, just vinyl, and has every-thing you want. I spent threehours there the other Sunday andcame out covered in dust.

“I’ve never lost the excitementof seeing something I haven’t gotor something repackaged likeUnderworld’s Second Toughest inthe Infants, one of my favouritealbums.

“Now I’m collecting Pet ShopBoys on vinyl, not easy because alot of it is from the Eighties andNineties. Their artwork is alwaysthe best

“I love the ritual. Turning therecord over mid-way and lookingat the sleeve notes to find somuch information.”

Next, Elton turns his infectiousenthusiasm to his new album, itsupbeat mood and carefree South-

ern rock sound in sharp contrastto darker, more reflective previ-ous album The Diving Board.

“For me, The Diving Board wasa true portrait of who I can beand this one shows my otherside,” he explains.

“You’ve got the dichotomy ofElton John. The serious, sad,plaintive, sometimes self-destructiveside and then the joyous side.

“They’re both part of my char-acter and I’m so happy I’m notsinging f***ing Motown records atthis stage of my career.”

As well as his rich baritone,Elton lets his piano fingers dothe talking on Wonderful CrazyNight, ripping into rockers suchas the exuberant title track or thepounding Claw Hammer or thelife-affirming Looking Up whileadding a soulful edge to heartfeltballads such as Blue Wonderfulor The Open Chord.

“It’s very Southern,” he says.

“I’m a Southern boy at heart. Ilive in Atlanta some of the timeand I love the South.

“The South really is where allthe great music started, blues,gospel, jazz, country, soul and allthose five elements infiltrateother music.

“So when you listen to an oldLynyrd Skynyrd record, it’sf***ing amazing. Wow, these guysrock out!” He also cites the musicof Little Feat, The Allman Broth-ers and The Black Crowes withgreat affection in this context.

Once again, the new albumreunites Elton with lyricist BernieTaupin, the latest chapter of anastonishing relationship, uniquein music, that stretches backnearly 50 years. He says: “Thealbum came together because ofthe good place I’m in.

“Bernie finds it harder to writeup-tempo lyrics but I said, ‘I’msorry to tell you, I know you’re a

I try tokeepupwithTomOdell,SamSmithandJamesBlake...I’vehadall threeoverfor lunch

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ON: JUSTINBIEBER

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ON:MICKJAGGER

He’s the mostprofessionalman in music