Imelda May

Imelda May (born 10 July 1974 in Dublin; real name Imelda Mary Higham née Clabby) is an Irish singer and musician. Her music can be described as a mixture of neo-rockabilly, blues and jazz.

Musical career

Imelda May began her career as a professional musician in 2003, forming her first band under her birth name Imelda Clabby and releasing her first album, No Turning Back. Performing in May's signature rockabilly style, she later re-recorded the album and released it on her own label - now under her stage name Imelda May. In 2007, she was signed to Ambassador Records, a sub-label of Universal Music Group.

The same year saw the release of their second album, Love Tattoo, which went straight to number one in the Irish music charts. Love Tattoo received some rave reviews. The album also caught the attention of British bandleader and TV presenter Jools Holland. Holland supported May on live tours and promoted her on his TV show Later with Jools Holland, a BBC contemporary music show, individual episodes of which are also repeated on ZDFtheaterkanal. In early 2009, the two singles Johnny Got A Boom Boom and Big Bad Handsome Man were released. In the same year, the musician received the industry award Female Artist of the Year. She also toured the United States in 2009 supporting Jamie Cullum. As part of the music show Other Voices, the Irish television station RTÉ broadcast unplugged recordings of the two single tracks on 14 August 2009. In autumn 2010, Imelda May performed three concerts in Germany - in Berlin, Hamburg and Cologne. In September of the same year, Mayhem, her third studio album, was released and reached number one in the Irish charts.

As part of TV shows and live concerts, Imelda May has performed extensively with other musicians - including Alison Moyet, Dionne Warwick, Bryan Ferry, Anastacia, the Supremes, Sister Sledge, the Scissor Sisters, the Dubliners, Madeleine Peyroux, Matt Bianco, Elvis Costello, Jools Holland, Jeff Beck, Jeff Goldblum, Elton John and Tom Jones. In addition to her band work, she regularly sings at the Candy Box Burlesque Club in Birmingham. From 1998 to 2018, she was married to rockabilly musician Darrel Higham, who also left their band together after they separated. May's musical style changed significantly from the following album Life.Love.Flesh.Blood.

In an April 2009 interview with the music weblog Totallydublin, she stated that she was a vegetarian.

Style and reviews

The style of singer and band is recognizably based on rock'n'roll and rockabilly elements. However, the fusion with other styles, especially jazz, blues, pop and folk song elements, is regularly emphasized in the media. Strong attention is also paid to the styling: the way of performing including the incorporation of style elements from pin-up design and neoburlesque as well as the staging of the attitude towards life of the rock'n'roll era of the 1950s and 1960s. The weblog Popversammlung.de announced the singer's Cologne appearance in autumn 2010 as follows: (...) "Imelda May reaches people not only through her music. Her eye-catching style and distinctly cool but also quirky 50s look has already landed her on the cover of the 'Irish Sunday Times Style'. (...) On her new album 'Mayhem' Imelda May continues to develop her unusually fresh blend of classic musical styles, plus it superbly showcases her outstanding songwriting qualities."

The web portal Promiflash.de also focused on the singer's play with the accessories of the fifties: "It seems as if Imelda has the Fifties rock to herself and can thus easily sing the Baseballs to the wall. Her powerful voice is unique and has a high recognition value, just like her stylish rockabilly look, which consists of great clothes and turned-in quiff."

Mayhem, the third album, also received positive reviews. Musikwoche.de summed it up as follows: "The word 'Mayhem' certainly doesn't just mean chaos with Imelda May. She rather distinguishes herself as a mood cannon for higher demands, but who can also pull the emotional trump card at any time, as for example with the 'Kentish Town Waltz'. The fact that she brings the classic 'Tainted Love' back to its soul essence also speaks for the fact that Imelda May knows exactly what she is doing. And what she does here is good."