As she tunes up for the summer music festivals, the Glasgow Lass talks to Voyager about her number one album, this is the life, and her plans for the future

You turn 21 this month and already you have had a number one album. How does that feel?

I’ve always loved music and feel privileged to be making it. It’s an honour for me that people have gone out and bought my album [This Is The Life] and it’s very exciting. There’s a lot of hype surrounding some young artists and that can be a weight on their shoulders. My album was never massively hyped. It slowly went to number one via word of mouth. People bought it after they heard friends play it.

What’s been the best perk of success so far?

Meeting my musical heroes. People say, ‘Don’t meet your idols because you’ll only be disappointed’, but I haven’t been. I met Elton John when I supported him at a gig in Glasgow. He asked whether he could please say ‘hi’ to me; I said, ‘of course’! I’ve also met Paul Weller and Fran Healy from Travis, a band I love.

You’re playing at the Hydro Connect music festival in Argyll this month. Are you a festival fan?

I’ve always gone to live music festivals as a punter and now I get to play at them. There’s such an eclectic mix of bands at festivals and you can hear so many artists during a period of just a few days. Going to live music festivals was always the highlight of my year, even before I was playing them, and I think it’s a highlight of the year for everyone who goes.

Do you plan to stay in Scotland?

I decided when I got my advance from my record label that instead of frittering it away on rubbish I should look at a good investment so I’ve bought a house in Glasgow and live here. My record company has never tried to persuade me to move to London. When other musicians tell me they’ve moved there to make it easier for the work I don’t know where it comes from. You don’t need to do that. But I travel a lot and I’m away so often that sometimes I forget where I am in the world.

Is there a strong music community in Glasgow?

Definitely. There are so many great bands gigging in Glasgow and in Scotland right now, many of which are unsigned. It’s a great place for all things musical. I don’t get out to see music as much I used to but there’s a band called The Fire And I who are a bit like The White Stripes. I’m a fan of theirs.

You wrote the song Barrowland Ballroom about the Glasgow music venue of that name. What’s special about it?

You can’t really put it into words, but if you go there you get it. There’s a special atmosphere. I’ve seen so many great shows there and now I get to perform on that stage myself, and I have played that song there.

Do you think the music industry treats female performers differently than males?

I haven’t had many problems as a woman in the music industry, but one thing that can be hard is that people are always trying to get you into glamorous dresses and to get you to work with a stylist, but what if you’re just not that sort of person? I’ve had to put my foot down and say that I’ll wear what I want, and that might be scruffy clothes. No one expects a male performer to go on stage in a tuxedo.

What are your ambitions for the future?

My music is starting to get heard in America now and it would be amazing to become known there. But I take it one day a time and I don’t tend to think in terms of grand plans. I’m not the sort of person who over-thinks these things.

Amy Macdonald plays the Hydro Connect music festival, Inveraray Castle, near Loch Fyne, Argyll, Scotland, on 29-31 August; www.connectmusicfestival.com

THE LIFE OF AMY
Glaswegian Amy Macdonald is one album into her career as a singer-songwriter. Her debut record This Is The Life went to number one in the album charts in January this year. As a teenager she wrote one of her first songs about the actor Ewan McGregor, because her sister had a crush on him. Macdonald first performed live in branches of Starbucks as a 15-year-old, as part of the coffee shop’s campaign to be seen to support live music, before being signed to Vertigo. For more information see her website www.amymacdonald.co.uk