My Interview with Carol Grimes

Last November I had the absolute pleasure and privilege to interview my dear friend and vocal powerhouse, Carol Grimes.

In this interview we explore her decades spanning career paying particular attention to her broad range of singing styles and genres. The following, which I took from the Ronnie Scott’s Jazz Club website in London, gives you a bit more of an inkling of her stature as a singer and the deep respect she commands as a vocalist, especially in the UK music scene. 

Enjoy!

Carol Grimes is one of the finest singers in British music. Her deeply personal project, 'The Singer's Tale', is an autobiographical show combining theatre, music and a grooving band!  The show weaves its stories, sometimes shady, mad and bad, but with music and song at their heart. Street Busker to Ronnie Scotts, from Notting Hill to Nashville and Memphis to San Francisco from Hackney to Texas and Eastern Europe but always returning to London. This raw, in your face, sublime performer takes you with her on a musical journey through her extraordinary life.

 

CAROL GRIMES A much-loved performer infusing folk, blues and jazz, came to the notice of the public when she joined the band Delivery in 1969 and recorded one album before departing for a solo career. Her debut solo album, Warm Blood (1974), was recorded with members of Area Code 615 and the Average White Band. She recorded her second album in Memphis, Tennessee, with the Brecker Brothers, Donald "Duck" Dunn, and The Memphis Horns. She founded the band Eyes Wide Open in 1984. Her career expanded into teaching and working in musical theatre. In the 1990s, she worked with the choir The Shout. As you can see below, in Carol’s own words, she has been, and continues to be so much more:

 

“My name is Carol Grimes. I have been singing for my supper since the late 1960s. I began as a young, nervous Busker and fell in love with singing. Over time I became a Singer-Songwriter, Performance Poet, Voice Movement Therapist and Musical Director, founding the Sing for Joy Choirs in London, for people with neurological and other conditions and directed them for many years. I have recorded in the UK, USA, Sweden, The Isle of Jura and Poland. I became angry, seeing injustice, poverty and cruelty all around me and became an activist. The first Musician to step up for Rock against Racism, Sexism, Reclaim the night, singing for the striking Miners, the fire service, the Brunswick Women and refugee centres. In my life, I performed both in the UK and Internationally with my own Music with wonderful musicians and for Contemporary composers such as Orlando Gough, who directed The Shout, a contemporary opera, theatre company touring internationally with them for 12 years. From Japan to South Africa Canada and the USA and beyond, including performing at the Albert Hall in the Proms as a soloist - Blimey! I had my first book ‘The Singers Tale,’ published in 2018 and many songs and poems published, recorded and performed over the years. I love writing as much as I love music. For more information, click on my Blog. The Singers Tale https://wordpress.com/posts/carolgrimes.com  also on Amazon Carol Grimes The Singers Tale, where there are some lovely reviews. Thank you.”

https://soundcloud.com/user1698211

For full show notes and link to all the music played here go to www.yourfreevoice.com/podcast/episode28