• Share |
• 
• 

It's been a long time coming but pop veterans Swing Out Sister have finally decided to swing by Thailand, playing in the Bangkok Decembery festival on Saturday along with Australian chanteuse Lenka and assorted local favourites.

Dubbed sophisti-pop, Swing Out Sister's catchy tunes and clever hooks have reeled in a modest army of fans worldwide since the '80s. The band began life in Manchester as keyboardist Andy Connnell and drummer Martin Jackson. The missing ingredient (a "Sister") turned up in the form of fashion designer Corinne Drewery, who lacked any background in music but had a voice more velvety than velvet. The trio's first offering, "Blue Mood", shuffled into the record-shop remainder bin but their second, the signature "Breakout", broke into the Top Ten singles chart in the UK and Japan in 1986. A string of infectiously jazzy follow-ups guaranteed more success, before Jackson decided to hang up his drumsticks in 1992.

A duo once more, SOS continued to create music "in our own stubborn way", totting up nine studio albums including last year's "Beautiful Mess" - their latest. Other hits to listen out for on Saturday are "Surrender", "Where In the World", "Am I the Same Girl", "La-La (Means I Love You)" and "Love Won't Let You Down".

Drewery took a few minutes out from rehearsing for the Asian tour for a chat on the phone.

So, what took you so long to get to Bangkok?

I don't know [laughs]. I suppose we were always busy when the request came in - Thailand somehow got missed out. But we'll be there in a couple of days, after the show in Singapore. Saving the best 'til last, I hope.

'Beautiful Mess' -was a landmark for you, right?

That's right. [It] sounds more intimate and confident because it's the first time we've produced an album ourselves. We started out working with great producers and arrangers, and lots of great musicians. As the years have gone by, we've really got [musically] inside our own heads. We just wanted to see if we could [produce], and we did it.

How have you changed through the 20 years in the industry?

I started when I was 23 and I knew what I wanted to do. It can be difficult for people who start younger because they can be manipulated. I was a late starter and I was more confident about sticking to my guns. We had our visions and ideas, and we stuck to them. We're still as stubborn as ever.

Did you ever think you would get this far?

No, not at all. I was trying to be a fashion designer. And with this singing job, I thought it was going to be over by the time I was 30. Because, like a footballer, you need youth and stamina. No one is more surprised than me and Andy that 20 years later we're still having a good time being creative and doing the thing that we love.

Then how did you survive in music for two decades?

Because we're stubborn, and honest. When it comes down to making music, we only do things because we love them. We don't have our minds changed by people or trends. It's honesty, sincerity and the desire to recreate the joy we felt when we first started. We just love music.

You once said the '60s was the golden era of music writing. What about now?

It's difficult not to be critical about music. Writing music has become accessible to a lot more people. Anyone can write a song with technology, it's very instant now and a lot of people come to it from the technical side, not the musical side. The craft of music writing has suffered - the heart has been taken out of it. It's all about rhythm and hype now, and not enough about emotion.

What can we expect from your debut Thai show?

We're going to be showing you our more intimate side. We've got quite a jazzy line-up … a sunny acoustic jazz sound for an outdoor concert. You're going to enjoy it.

  SENDING OUT   AN S-O-S

- Swing Out Sister are performing in the Bangkok Decembery at Sanam Suapa on Saturday. Tickets are Bt1,200 at www.ThaiTicketMajor.com. Call (02) 262 3456.