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After an epic pheasant-plucking quest, we finally had the chance to catch up with fan favourite and Ultimate Planet Community Award winner Lucy Spraggan in person at this year's Pride in London - and she did not disappoint!
Lucy performed an acoustic set at the Women's Stage to massive applause and revelry - flying in from Egypt early on the morning of Pride and pulling off a massive crowd-pleasing 20 minute set.
With the ability to weave authentic stories and uptempo folk-hip-hop guitar, it's no wonder the girls go wild for this down to earth Sheffield-born lass.
Planet London (PL): How are you?
Lucy Spraggan (LS): Very well thanks (A bit tired)... just back from holiday
PL: Adventurous Travels?
LS: Well yes, it was interesting, there was an incident where we were staying with 15 armed police officers and a machine gun...
PL: There's a song in there somewhere...
PL: How are Pride events different from any other that you perform at?
LS: I think they are always a bit more mad and a bit more fun... it's not that gay people are more fun. But gay people are more fun.
PL: What are you working on at the moment? We saw you released a sneak peak of a new track earlier in the year
LS: Yes, that was Papercuts, one of the new songs. I'm doing new songs for the second album, and I'm straying out of the box a little bit - doing some things people wouldn't expect, I hope
PL: We are looking forward to that
PL: What's been your favourite experience on stage so far?
LS: Playing all the big festivals like V and T in the Park has been really special because they're the things you don't really ever think you'll get to play and where you are playing them it's amazing.
PL: and you are packing the tents out at those festivals as well
LS: It's a bit mad, yes!
PL: What is your favourite karaoke song?
LS: 'English Man in New York' (Sting) or Goldie Looking Chain 'Guns Don't Kill' which I can do without even looking at the screen!
PL: Who'd be your ideal duet?
LS: Dolly Parton
PL: What's your favourite sound?
LS: My dog Steve makes this noise. When I say "Sing me the song of your people" he meows like a cat [Lucy's impression was pretty close to it!]
PL: Would you rather be a frisbee or a space hopper?
LS: Spacehopper. Always.
 |
| Um, can anybody tell me the drinks in (Last Night) #BeerFear? |
PL: What's your favourite drink?
LS: It changes from day to day but at the moment it's....
[Editor's note: At this point we got distracted by how many songs there are in Last Night (Beer Fear). We didn't know - but Lucy this this list just for you:
Vodka
Tequila
Brandy
Bells Fine Whisky
Baileys
Rose
Sailor Jerry's
Flamin' Sambuca]
PL: What is your best or worse beer fear moment?
LS: I woke up, and the back of my head had been glued together with a glue stitch and I couldn't remember how. All I had was a picture on my phone of me and a reindeer. That's a true story.
PL: What biscuit best describes your personality?
LS: I'm gonna have to say my favourite - chocolate digestive with caramel inside. Because it's full of calories. And so am I.
PL: What's your favourite monster munch flavour?
LS: Everyone knows it's got to be pickled onion.
 |
| Watch out for those duck sized horses! |
PL: Would you rather be attacked by a horse sized duck or a dozen duck sized horses?
LS: Obviously a horse sized duck.
PL: But it could eat you in one go. You could run away from the horses.
LS: Or climb up away from them. Or ride them.
[Editor's note: inconclusive.]
More photos of Lucy from Pride in London
By Katie
When the name Heather Peace is uttered, it always creates a flutter in the lesbian population.
Since gracing our screens in London's Burning, (probably something about a woman in uniform) and then as the highly popular Sam in BBC 2's lesbian drama Lip Service (2010-12), plus a four season stint on BBC1's Waterloo Road, Heather Peace has made waves amongst her LGBT fanbase.
However it's now time for the music as Peace is set to launch her second album The Thin Line - since her music debut in 2012 - followed by a UK tour.
Recently, Peace toured Australia including a performance at the renowned Sydney Mardi Gras, which she thoroughly enjoyed, as well as presenting the parade for the Australian TV (BBC2 equivalent) coverage.
Peace's decision to leave Waterloo Road, and concentrate on the second album now was driven by a desire to give the fans what they want. Following the success of the first album and the growing dedicated fan base, whom Peace credits as very "sweet, generous, respectful and the reason I get to do a job I love", she did not want to keep them hanging on too long.
And she says, it was the "right time" to give up working in Glasgow for 9 months of the year after celebrating her civil partnership in 2013.
The album is supported by a UK tour, which Peace is looking forward to, helped by the fact she "loves performing". There will be a number of Pride dates (York, Glasgow and "home city" Brighton) as well as a mix of Academy venues and one of her most enjoyable "incredible" venues, the Smooth Radio Waterfront event in Liverpool. Peace still enjoys the chance to support charity Leukaemia and Lymphoma Research and the opportunity to sing a solo at a packed Royal Albert Hall in aid of the organisation is a career highlight.
In response to the obligatory Lip Service question, and her reaction to the cliff hanger ending, Peace said that she's still surprised her role in Lip Service continues to attract interest in the media and from fans (it's three years since she finished filming the final episode). In particular she's pleased to see LGBT characters become much more part of mainstream TV, with characters in the major soaps. She's proud that Lip Service paved the way for more visibility on our screens. Peace does admit she wishes there could have been some viewer-satisfying conclusion to the unduly short lived show.
The second album is a blend of the intense, evocative songs one might expect from Peace, alongside some more upbeat sounds including the anthemic, uplifting summer tune We Can Change which will be the first single off the album, chosen for its "catchy" sing-a-long-ability.
Catch Heather at Stokey Stop on Tuesday 10 June.
The new album The Thin Line and first single We Can Change are released on 9th June. Go to www.heatherpeace.com for more info, to get your hands on a copy, and for full tour updates.
By Katie
Beer Fear, Boobs & Pride
Following a short-lived appearance on X-Factor, something which she is clear to acknowledge was a spring board to all that's happened in her career throughout 2013, Lucy Spraggan has rocketed onto the pop music scene. No stranger to writing, gigging, recording, with her quirky, extremely likeable, original acoustic-folk-hip-hop style, it's fantastic to see this young musician take off in a scene that has been dominated by boys with their guitars for the last few years.
And she's stayed as humble as she came across in those early X-Factor audition days, still stating she's just a girl who likes to play her guitar.
She lists her influences amongst the likes of Dolly Parton, Taylor Swift, Judy Garland, Petula Clark, Offspring, Limp Bizkit and Kirsty McColl - an ecclectic mix of styles that reflect her songs - beautiful lyrically told stories, that often pierce deep down or express humour of situations her fans will surely be familiar with.
Lucy says that she appreciates her loyal fans, and that "Its really nice to be able to hear from the young gay people around the
world and when they say that I inspire them it's amazing." There aren't many young, out gay singers in the charts, so Lucy is carrying the flag.
It's great to see her keeping a strong connection to the LGBT scene, playing numerous Pride events this summer, she says "it's great to be playing Pride on bigger stages than I have done before. I’ve played Manchester Pride since 2009 so it's always been really important to me."
And the fans appreciate that Lucy is out there gigging and performing. Some show their appreciation more than others, and Lucy describes her best reaction from a fan at the V Festival, when an audience member flashed the singer mid-song - "and they were great tits!" she reports.
As well as the live performances, it's been a successful year in the studio too - Lucy's favourite moment of the year was getting signed to Columbia Records (Beyonce's label Lucy's always proud to state). The first single from the forthcoming album Join the Club, Lighthouse, charted in July, and the popular Last Night the song that introduced Lucy to the ears of many eager fans, is being released next week. Lucy is "really looking forward" to the album release. [And so are we!]
Happily the new album is followed by a tour, of venues around the country, with the highlight being what will be Lucy's biggest gig to date at the Shepherd's Bush Empire on October 30. For that, Lucy says she "Can’t bloody wait!". [Ditto].
For more...
- Keep up to date via the very active Facebook page, on there you will find links to the music videos, and the weekly album update, and dates of all the upcoming gigs and album signings
- Lucy's new album Join the Club is out on Monday 7 October, and you can pre-order from Itunes it here
- Lucy's next single Last Night (Beer Fear) is out on Monday 30 September, view the music video
By Katie
