- Title: UK: NEW BRITISH SOUL SENSATION HINDA HICKS PERFORMS AT LONDON'S CAFE DE PARIS
- Date: 22nd January 1998
- Summary: ( SOUNDBITE ENGLISH) HINDA SAYING, "MY MAIN INFLUENCES COME FROM JAZZ AND BLUES MUSIC. ELLA FITZERGERALD, ETTA JAMES, BILLIE HOLIDAY, NINA SIMONE, RANDY CRAWFORD, STEVIE WONDER WHICH MY MUM INTRODUCED ME TO. THE BLUES/JAZZ SIDE OF THINGS WAS A LOT OF MY FRIENDS PARENTS WHO LISTENED TO IT. I WAS ALWAYS A LONER ANYWAY...IT'S ALL I KNEW. I LOVE WHAT THEY WERE SAYING, HOW THEY SUNG IT. THERE WAS SO MUCH PASSION IN THE WAY THAT THEY SUNG IT AND I COULD RELATE TO IT SO MUCH AND THE BLUES, WHEN YOU'RE A LONER THE BLUES ARE A PERFECT THING TO SING."
- Embargoed: 6th February 1998 12:00
- Keywords:
- Location: LONDON, ENGLAND, UNITED KINGDOM
- Country: United Kingdom
- Topics: Entertainment
- Reuters ID: LVA9M25V8GYCOI9J8CBRR1QOBUZ
- Story Text: - At 21 years of age, Island Records' newest soul signing says she's already realised some of her biggest dreams.
Hinda Hicks, the Tunisian-born and English-bred singer, has a record label, her own band, a forthcoming debut album and the attention of the British R and B community.
At London's Cafe de Paris, Hicks performed the last of a run of media showcases across England.
The singer unveiled six songs off her forthcoming album, including her first single, "I Wanna Be Your Lady".
The song, a mid tempo piece in the tradition of Mary J Blige and Faith Evans, was launched specifically at the R and B community when it was released last December.
Her second single "If You Want Me" will be released next month (February 23) and marks the start of a push for cross-over success.
It's a strategy backed by Hicks' mentor and manager Jazz Black.
She auditioned for Black with covers of an Aretha Franklin and Randy Crawford song. He was expecting Mary J Blige.
But this singer wants to get back to the roots of soul and jazz and takes her inspiration from singers like Billie Holiday, Nina Simone, Ella Fitzgerald and Stevie Wonder.
"I want to get back to the classics. Ella Fitzgerland, Billie, they all covered the same sort of songs ... they all did their own versions though and you always knew which version was who's because they all had their unique style of singing," she said.
"Ella Fitzgerald's voice is like velvet and Billie, you just feel the pain. They've all got a story to tell." Hinda's story starts in Tunisia. She moved to the West Sussex countryside when she was four and began her musical diet of blues, jazz and soul.
She dreamed of being a singer when she was a little girl but thought "they grew them on another planet and dropped them off ready made".
A friend overheard her singing years later and revived her childhood ambitions.
Over the next couple of years, she honed her vocal and songwriting skills.
Hicks came to London after performing in two bands in Sussex to try and have a crack at the big time.
She was introduced to Black who promised a record label within a week. He delivered. Now, Hicks is putting the final touches on the tentatively-titled "Hinda" album.
Hicks co-wrote seven of the 13 songs on the album, working with US producer/writers like Motown legend Leon Ware and Tommy Farragher -- the former who descrined Hick's voice as "a voice I can make love to".
The line-up of songs on the debut include the uptempo Seventies-inspired "You Think You Own Me" and the powerful "Child".
A third single, "Truly" will be released shortly.
The album is expected to follow in the spring. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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