to the New York Post of “So what!” was turned into works
of art by Andy Warhol and Keith Haring in 1985. Years
later she published erotic photos on her own terms in her
1992 book Sex. “That ethos is why I am like I am,” she says
of her sexual reclamation. “I’ll do it before you can.”
Now, four drinks in, it seems like the right time to ask
her the question I’ve wanted to ask since I first listened
to I Do This All the Time with tears running down
my cheeks. It feels like Self Esteem — with this open-
hearted album of 13 miniature memoirs — is confronting
her past, looking it in the eye and healing right in front of
us. Her music make us want to join her. What does she
think we’re healing from? “I don’t think equality was even
a thing for us, at all,” she says almost immediately. She is
disheartened by how revolutionary she is made to feel by
simply documenting who she is. “I shouldn’t be radical.I’m not that clever. I’m just telling you what life is.” What
was Fleabag doing? It was just a woman enjoying sex and
being funny and a bit of a mess. The fact that Fleabag was
radical TV is kind of depressing. That’s what we’re healing
from,” she says. “I think we’re healing from the fact that it’s
only just started.”
I ask her, hopefully, if this just makes her want to keep
making music. “F*** yeah, I’ve got to now. That’s me
done. By the time my next album comes out I’ll be nearly
40, probably. And that’s a whole new thing isn’t it? The
drum I’ve got to f ***ing bang about that,” she smiles and
takes a gulp of whisky. “I don’t want to but I’m going to.” ■Self Esteem’s album Prioritise Pleasure is out now, and her
UK tour begins on February 28. Self Esteem is nominated for
best new artist at the Brit awards, Tuesday, at 8pm on ITV20 • The Sunday Times Style