pennyb

A Little More Sonic

Penny Broadhurst is a UK based writer, spoken word performer, actor, songwriter and musician. She has performed as part of Robin Ince's Book Club, compered the Theatre stage at Truck festival (introducing Simon Amstell to a packed tent) and recently recorded a performance for Radio 4's 28 Acts In 28 Minutes. Penny has acted in drama, musical theatre and student films and appeared all over the UK at music gigs, festivals and literary events. Penny has played Wireless, Latitude, Truck, Moor Music and Glastonbury festivals and been played on BBC Radio 1, BBC 6 Music, Radio Magnetic etc as well as local and internet radio stations.

Penny's first CD, a spoken word CD with some music, came out in 2005 - Blue Bank. That Way Out, a book of lyrics and poetry, was published in 2006. Her one woman show of music and spoken word, A Little More Sonic - Live, debuted in Leeds in April and is touring the UK. Penny is currently recording a pop album, also titled A Little More Sonic, for release hopefully later in the year. I caught up with her recently;

So, Penny, what’s happening in your world?
I’m fiddling about with various projects – working on my pop album, slowly, playing gigs and festivals, writing new material. Planning a novel that may never be written. Finding good people to work with and trying to get the word out about what I’m doing. That sort of thing.

Tell me a bit about your background.........you`ve have a wide and varied view in your rear mirror......
In short, I began writing at a very young age, because I enjoyed it and was good at it. I fell into performing spoken word because it was easier to finish poems than anything longer and I found that I was reasonably adept at performing my own words. I didn’t enjoy the poetry circuit, it not being something I was particularly inspired by or interested in. I had been to poetry events, but never thought "hey, I want to do that”. It happened by accident because I was reading out everything I wrote at open mics, and the stuff I found it easiest to write was verse. I found my niche when performing at the sort of gigs I actually would want to go to as a punter, namely music and comedy events. I had rubbish jobs for years and then got made redundant for the second time and dedicated myself to writing and performing full time.

And when did the music bug start to itch?
Last summer I discovered that I could write choruses, melodies and therefore the stumbling blocks that stopped me writing songs were removed. I also got my confidence back in terms of my own voice and singing on stage. Music was my first love – I sang in choirs, took exams in singing, passed theory of music at the age of ten – so getting back to it now, along with still doing bits of spoken word, fiction and comedy writing, makes me happy.

What has happened to the protest movement in this country? Nobody riots anymore do they?
The older folk are stuck in the ‘80s, the younger lot are stuck in a queue for Hunter wellies and a bad open mic session. Stop The War is allied with far too many dodgy concerns, witness the We Are All Hezbollah Now signs and the way the SWP inveigle their way into everything. The anti-new Labour extremists fall down when shown the positive things that did happen under the Blair administration, of which there were many, so they’re stuck with bleating about Iraq and lies and the lack of any real mainstream party alternative. I’m not a Blairite, and disagree with ID cards and other Nu-Lab policies, but to equate the past ten years to Thatcherism is ridiculous when we now have a minimum wage, Working Tax Credits and so on which would never have happened under a Conservative government.

The political terrain often seems so fragmented......
There’s no clear black and white situation for people to get their teeth into, unlike when we were stuck with the Tories. The environmental movement is faring better, as normal folks get on board with recycling and organic and fair trade and things, though some people seem to think that closing down power stations is not akin to closing down the mines, even though both destroy entire communities if no decent form of employment is put in its place. In short, a lot of shouting and not a lot of real solutions.

Should heroin be legalised?
All drugs should be legalised, taxed and controlled. I don’t take any, or drink, or smoke, but given the number of people in my family who have died thanks to alcohol abuse…I don’t think other drugs are much worse. They just turn you into different variants of twat. The main problem with heroin addiction is what people do to get the stuff (steal, lie, screw up their families, commit other crimes), what people do to get the stuff into the country, and what the stuff is cut with rather than what the drug does to people physically. Many rich and sane folk “manage” heroin addictions just as they manage their alcoholism and the like. Legalisation would mean people would know what they were getting and remove much of the criminal element. It’s funny how many right on people take drugs they haven’t grown or made themselves. So we’re boycotting Nestle and Tesco, but supporting people who murder, steal, rape, force kids to be soldiers, rip people off and commit every moral and legal crime in the book is alright?

Thats very well put Penny, as a recovering alcoholic myself, the damage stings and hurts. Could a government be trusted with the job? What about another cornerstone of UK life, drugs and bigotry aside. The Royal family : Useless, outdated bunch of inbred buffoons, or glorious flag bearers for all that is beautifully British?
Both, clearly. Keep them for the tourists, but make them pay for themselves. And never, ever let Charles be King. The Queen sort of works because she’s an excellent diplomat. You’d have to be, living with old Phil.

What is the strangest party you have ever been to, and why?
I hate parties. They’re all strange to me.

Who or what are your inspirations?
People: Kate Bush. Billy Bragg. Robin Ince. I’ve met two out of three, and consider one to be a friend, which is nice. I write about identity and interaction. I steal from all of popular culture, and some unpopular culture. It’s all in the interpretation and presentation, not in the origination. Great artists pilfer, filter and collage to make something good.

Where are you performing over the coming months?
Glasgow, Ilkley, Leicester, Leeds, Bolton, possibly some dates in support of another artist. Gig listings when confirmed are at my website and my Myspace for the curious.

Any records coming our way?
I’m putting out a very limited edition EP, “Allons-y”, on September 24th. I’m still unsigned and have no manager. I have a production deal, so I get to record.

How did you and singer/songwriter Charles Stuart get to know each other?
I went on a Prince’s Trust residential course for young musicians in 2006. I just about qualified on the young front, scraping through by a couple of months. Charles was the vocal tutor and without him I would not have regained confidence in my voice and the ability to write songs. We stayed in touch afterwards, he came to a gig and we chat online. It’d be good to do a gig with him soon – his solo album is fantastic, I reckon.

Yeah, his album is cool and he is a sound fella in my book. How did the Radio XFM thing go?
Clint Boon said I sounded like an established artist and he could see why I called myself the Queen of Pop. That sounds alright to me. Let’s see what comes of it. I’m not a lad or a band or a foxy 18 year old, so I’m hard to place.

What is your next major project?
Finishing the album and finding the right label and team to really push it. I know that doesn’t sound very punk, but although I have a background in DIY art and my favourite gigs to play and attend are DIY gigs, I make the “wrong” sort of music for that crowd to give me any real support and I want to communicate with the widest possible audience. Pop was my first love, that’s what I make and that’s where my audience is. I just need to reach them. I’ve a strong enough mind and work ethic not to be drawn into all the bullshit.

Check Penny`s websites for news on gigs, recording, releases and more.
The Allons-y! EP is out on September 24th on Killer Disc Records.
General and Music , Writing and Poetry and her dot com.
Warm thanks to Penny...........undertaken with a bakelite radiogram and a slack jawline by Paul Hawkins

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"tactical guerilla facilitation within the (+/-)pop culture Dow Seng"