InterviewbySAMRICHARDS
JULY 2019 • UNCUT• 15
Arnoldin
1965 a n d
(inset)her
firsttwo
soloLPsArnold, is finally here. Touching on all
aspects of her career, it features songs
written with or for her by Weller, Ocean
Colour Scene’s Steve Cradock and her son
Kodzo, as well as covers of Sandy Denny’s
“I’m A Dreamer” and, most remarkably,
Bob Dylan’s performance poem “Last
Thoughts On Woody Guthrie”, rendered
here as a close cousin of Gil Scott-Heron’s
“The Revolution Will Not Be Televised”.
In some
ways, things
have come
full circle: the
press shots
for The New
Adventures...
were taken
by Gered
Mankowitz,
who first gave
the singer
born Patricia
Ann Cole her
stage name
of PP Arnold. “He’s the culprit! I was
very young, I had never planned to
be in the music industry, let alone
as a solo artist, so I never even
thought of having a showbiz name.
We were all in Andrew Oldham’soffice brainstorming for a name, and
Gered suggested PP Arnold, so that people
wouldn’t know whether I was a guy or a
girl... and then this little woman would
appear. I tried to change it in the ’80s and
nobody was having it, so I’m stuck with it!”What was the best advice you
received from Tina Turner?
Ann Makovsky, Hartford, USA
To try to let go of my shyness. I hadn’t
really planned on being a professional
singer. I’d come out of this whole abusive
teen marriage and I was very introverted
and shy. Tina encouraged me to open up
and sing, and just be more confident in
myself. Watching her every night was
incredible. I never got a chance to finish
high school or go to college, but working
with Tina was like going to finishing
school. She’s always been so strong and
powerful, both in her performance and in
dealing with life’s adversities. She’s been
such an inspiration for me.How did you end up on Immediate
Records – is it true Mick Jagger
convincedyoupersonallytosign?
AlanBrown,Faulconbridge,Australia
Mickdefinitelyencouragedme,butI think
theinitialideacamefromIanStewart.
MickandI hadbecomereallygoodfriends
whileIke& Tinaweretouringwiththe
Stonesin1966,andwhenthetourended
wewentfora walkinRegent’sParkandhe
mademetheproposition.Andrew[Loog
Oldham] wasgoingto producehalfofthe
albumandMicktheotherhalf.I didn’t
reallyknowTheRollingStonesbeforethat
tour;I thought“Satisfaction”wasanOtis
Reddingtune!Wewerealljustkidshaving
funandMickwasmyfriend,soI didn’t
lookat himas“MickJagger”.ButMick
knewmystoryandwhatI’dbeenthrough.
Ikewasn’thappyaboutthefactthatI was
seeingMick.Hangingoutwithwhiteboys?
Youjustdidn’tdothatintheStates.MickHaving finally completed
her third solo album after
51 years of false starts,
The First Lady of Immediate
fondly recalls her days with
Tina Turner, Mick Jagger,
Nick Drake... and Altern-8!
T
He extraordinary, meandering
musical career of PP Arnold is
best summed up by the way she
answers a question about why
she moved to Spain in the late
’90s. Her fascinating response takes in
her role in Olivier Award-winning musical
Once On This Island, a chance meeting
with Chaz Jankel in the Andalucian hills,
and Roger Waters rescuing her from
financial limbo by advancing her
a deposit on a house in Salobreña.
The story is typical of the ebullient
72-year-old singer, who seems to have
crossed paths with everyone in music at
one time or another. Yet
despite the support of
big hitters such as Barry
Gibb, eric Clapton and
Paul Weller, it’s taken
51 years for Arnold
to release a proper
follow-up to the two
albums she recorded for
Andrew Loog Oldham’s
Immediate label in the
late ’60s. “I think I’m a
good singer,” she says
modestly, “but I haven’t
achieved any greatness
in the way some of my
peers have, so I’m always
trying to find a niche.” As well as
music industry politics and
ageism, Arnold wonders if her
versatility has worked against
her: “I’m a soul singer and my
roots are in gospel, but I’ve
always been seduced by
British producers.”
It’s been a circuitous
route, through soul and
rock’n’roll, psychedelia,
folk, rave, Britpop and the
odd musical, but now that
long-awaited third album,
The New Adventures Of PPI’ve always
been
determined
ANAUdIeNCeWITHPPARNoLd
gered mankowitz; tony gale/Pictorial Press ltdalamy stock Photo