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Fresh Off the
Lillith Tour and About to Embark on Her Own, Billie Myers is on the Road to
Stardom. THERE'S SOMETHING ABOUT BILLIE ! 
 Billie Myers is an up and coming superstar. After wowing huge crowds
at Lilith Fair '98 and stealing the show from Savage Garden this past August,
Myers is about to embark on her own headlining tour in the US. With her smash
hit singles 'Kiss The Rain' and 'Tell Me', which hit both Top 20 in Europe and
the UK, Myers heads towards US success with vim and vigor. All this success has
taken Billie Myers by surprise. Formerly a nursing student before she was
discovered at a popular dancing club in London, what makes Billie Myers special
is her infectious animated antics while on stage, whether climbing the staging
or squirting water on her audience during her 'Kiss The Rain' hit, or dancing
seductively with her sexy female back-up singer, there is something kinetic
about Billie Myers.LN: how was touring with the Lilith Fair? Billie Myers: it was one of the nicest tours I've ever done. Who was your favourite artist to see or watch? Sarah. Definitely Sarah. And Queen Latifah, she was great. Did you get a chance to sing or play with any other artists? No, not really. I got to sing with Sarah which was nice when everyone went on stage with her. I also got to sing with the Indigo Girls, which was pretty cool. I read that you were discovered dancing in a London club? Yes, I was dancing with some friends in London at some club and we were dancing and acting really silly. A chap came up to me and asked me if I could sing as well as I could dance. It was sort of a bit flaky but that's exactly how it happened. |  Are you
based out of London? Do you still call London your home?I am but I'm based all over, really. I consider England my home. I have my flat in England but when I'm here I'm based in Miami or New York. I was reading that you're of Jamaican and English descent? Yes, my father is Jamaican and my mother is English. Do you carry any Jamaican influence in your music or life today? No, not really. I haven't had locks and I don't sing Reggae really. I am just Jamaican by blood and I'm proud to be but it hasn't come into my music specifically. I also read in your bio that you have a lot of sexual ambiguity. Do you consider yourself to be bisexual? I consider myself to be non-gender specific. If I'm going to fall in love with someone it's going to be for who they are not what sex they are. So, you dont like being labelled? I think people overuse labels, to be honest...I think that it's a way of making people feel safe. it's not that I have aspirations to be one thing or the other, but I feel that when you go on to say you are 'straight' or 'bi' or 'gay' or 'anything' you are simply defined by the label and not the person you fall in love with. Does that make sense? I have as
much of a problem with people being heterophobic as much as homophobic. I don't
care who you sleep with, you know, I'm gender non-specific. People always want
to get up in arms about that. I'm open to what people want to do or what I want
to doAre you in a relationship right now? I'm trying to be! Maybe, I don't know yet. I'm not sure. When you're on the road so much, you don't know if you are or not! Your album encompasses a lot of messages about diversity and tolerance. I hope it does. I hope it has an optimistic air as far as opposites attract and getting on with your life much like in my song, 'The Shark and the Mermaid'. Ummm...yeah, I guess it is diverse and hopeful! 'The Shark and the Mermaid' is one of my favourite tracks off your album. Can you tell me more about what this song is really about? Its kind of like a modern day parable about , you know, how people are so into looks and what people do and how they look and the car they drive and the jobs they have..Before I wrote this I was seeing somebody. Compared to them, I was the ugly duckling! I had no money, no great car, no great flat or anything. I guess I was the shark in this case! It's almost like being poor and going out with someone really wealthy and you are told by people that it's never going to work because you're going out with someone on the wrong side of the tracks and so on. Its a modern day parable. The song is saying that it doesn't matter who you are. In this song, the shark and the mermaid represent two people that wouldn't naturally get on, but do and they found each other profoundly perfect. Does that make sense? Yes, it makes a lot of sense. |
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| 'Kiss The Rain', your hit
song on the radio, was co-written by Erik Bazilian who wrote Joan Osborne's
'One of Us'. How did this songwriting collaberation come about? It came about through Desmond Child, my producer, who suggested I write with Erik. Erik flew into London. That's how it happened. It was a combination of three things; the guitar work by Erik, the song title by Desmond and a poem that I had written. All these things emerged into one that became 'Kiss The Rain'. Were you familar with Erik's huge writing credentials before you met him, in particular his success with Joan? Did that intimidate you? Well, yeah, I was kind of wary about it all. Your latest single 'Tell me' is a very sexual song, isn't it. I guess it is. It is more of an exploration out in terms of what it would be like to be the other person. I always wonder what it would be like to be the other person. Joking with some friends one day, I said if i was going to be a guy for one day I wouldn't want to rule the world. I would want to feel what mere mortals feel like. I wonder what a guy feels. I wonder if a guy wants to be a woman inside? Gender sexploitation. The video for 'Tell Me' has been noted as being risque by VH1 standards. Now, I don't think my video is risque! I dont know but I think the people who think the video is risque aren't doing enough of the right things in bed! What's in the video that makes it so risque? What it is really, it's kind of like taking..its like sex on an acid trip. You jump into this world of lost souls and within this world of lost souls we have a degree of androgyny. It's all about me endangered in different sexual fantasies I may have had or not had. In one of the scenes, I am a dominatrix and in another scene I'm submissive to these sort of vampires..the idea is that I'm influenced by the Indian god, Kali, who was a very sexual goddess, but not necessarily a nice goddess. She survived on the blood of her victims. You have to see the video to really understand it. It's a hallucinogenic trip on role-changing and diversity. What would you consider to be one of your best attributes? My sense of humour. Some of the musical inspirations you've mentioned in the past are Joan Armatrading, Tracy Chapman... The majority of my life I wasn't a musician or anything similar to that. I just listened to the radio like everyone else so I didn't just listen to Joan Armatrading and Tracy Chapman. As much as what I don't like is as important to what I do like. I listen to Al. B Sure to the Cramps and Ani DiFranco thrown in the middle for good measure. I have a very eclectic musical taste. |
Do you get compared a lot to
Crissy Hynde.? I have noticed in a few reviews people have said that. I think it has more to do with my vocal tone rather than my vocal ability, however, I hope I am different. Can you recommed any good women's clubs in London? Heaven is a great club. Its a mixed club, though. Its not straightforward gay. The first stage is more gay guys. Its three floors of dancing. Downstairs is a bit too hard for me - hard-core industrial techno. I like going to the middle floor because it's house-mix, kind of groovy. I like that one. I might get killed for saying this (she laughs) but I don't know if there are many good clubs in London for women. Most good clubs that Ive come across are for gay men which is sort of a sad fact really. I dont know if thats the same worldwide. Have you been to any womens clubs in LA? I havent really. Can you suggest any? A lot of good clubs in LA are primarily gay mens clubs as well but a few nights a week, they feature womens nights such as Axis, Love Lounge and Fuel. Also, the Gardening Club is a good one in London. Can you recommend any other gay hotspots in London? You know, I havent been back to London in 18 months so I can't. As you probably know, most gay clubs close every 5 minutes because they lose their popularity overnight. Do you miss anything about London right now? The coffee shops on old Compton Street. Just going down to Bar Italia, wandering around and drinking coffee at five o'clock with my pals. We have just a short time to enjoy good weather in London, as you might imagine, especially in the summer. Whats one of your favourite cities you've toured so far? San Francisco is a very big favourite of mine right now. Why is that? Its very bohemian and very relaxed. I also really like Miami. I go to South Beach a lot. I also like Rome a lot. Ive read in several articles that people really believe you have this natural star quality about you. I think people are just being very kind. But thankyou anyway. Are you on tour right now? Yes, I'm doing a support for Savage Garden. One last question: who's your favourite Spice Girl? It would have to be Scary. - article by Heidi Hudson, Lesbian News,September '98, photo's by Kate Garner (see www.LesbianNews.com) |
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