Amy Wadge on motherhood and music

Apr 18 2008 by Karen Price, Western Mail

Singer-songwriter Amy Wadge is back on the road this week after taking time out to concentrate on being a new mum. She shares tales with Karen Price about her baby daughter, her new album – and her time in prison

THERE’S a slight sound of gurgling in the background when Amy Wadge picks up the phone.

“It’s OK, she’s settled,” says the singer-songwriter. “I don’t think she’ll cry.”

Wadge is referring to the new light of her life – her 11-week-old daughter Mali.

Motherhood is obviously something she is clearly relishing and she sounds besotted with her little girl as she tells me that Mali’s a “dream” baby.

Since giving birth in January, Wadge has been introduced to a whole new world of baby sign language classes, Welsh-language nursery rhymes and, of course, changing dirty nappies.

But two days ago she was thrown back into her “other world” as a musician when she launched her new tour.

It’s been a while since Wadge has been on the road as a solo performer and the new tour will include a show at Cardiff’s St David’s Hall, which will be one of her biggest Welsh gigs to date.

Her last show was in Winchester in December when she was eight months pregnant, although she did a short outside broadcast for BBC Radio Wales in Dolgellau when Mali was seven weeks old.

“It was fab, although I rang my mum about 25 times to check on Mali and expressed enough milk for a nuclear war,” laughs the 32-year-old, who lives in Pontypridd with her actor husband Alun ap Brinley, who has been filming for the S4C drama Con Passionate, and their new daughter.

“For me, it’s the longest time I’ve had off. But within three weeks of her being born I started practising singing again.

“With a C-section they cut your abdominal muscles so I lost the strength in my voice. It had not occurred to me that would happen and I almost had to go back to basics.

“She (Mali) sits in her chair and I sing to her for an hour-and-a-half each day.”

The tour is also a chance for Wadge to introduce audiences to songs from her fourth album – entitled Bump as she recorded it while pregnant.

Copies will be available at gigs and she’s in talks with a record label about an official release, which will probably happen in June.

There are 12 tracks and it was recorded with her band – former Catatonia musician Aled Richards (drums), Bobby Kewley of The Christians (bass) and Robbie McIntosh, who’s worked with Paul McCartney and Norah Jones (guitar).

“It goes back to my early days. It’s quite acoustic. It’s a gentler album and is reflective of that period of my life last year.”

One of the tracks, Clean, is about her time working with inmates, many of whom were multiple murderers, at a category A prison in Evesham.

Her friend is a governor at Long Lartin and asked her if she would lead some workshops.

“I liked it so much I said I would go in every week so for a year-and-a-half I did songwriting workshops and put together a band from the inmates,” says Wadge.

“We were supposed to be recording an album but then the floods were really bad in the area so I couldn’t get there, and then I was pregnant.

“But as soon as I can, I want to go back and pick it up again.

“For me, it was one of the most rewarding things I have ever done. Some of the guys were later moved to lower grade prisons and I think having an outlet through music really helped with their rehabilitation.”

Wadge’s family will be joining her on tour, which includes dates in Blackpool, London and her home city of Bristol.

She’s clearly taking motherhood and music in her stride – but she admits that a few weeks ago she wasn’t feeling quite so positive.

“During the first month I thought, ‘Oh my God, I can’t go outside.’ It’s such a life change,” says Wadge, who also has a 15-year-old stepdaughter.

“But things have got much easier.”

As for the birth itself, Wadge admits that it was “a bit hairy”.

“I had a 19-hour labour and then an emergency C-section but I would do it all again in a heartbeat,” she says.

“She was five days late but I expected her to be early as I was ginormous, but she was only 6lbs 12ozs.

“When she came out she was the spit of Al but I think she’s a pretty good mix of us both. She definitely has my blue eyes and lots of hair which is curly.

“She’s a dream. She’s exactly like Al – very chilled out. She sleeps from 11pm to 8am and she’s pretty much slept through from the first week.”

While Wadge was pregnant she was involved with another musical collaboration, the all-female trio Hummingbird with Cathy Burton and Edwina Hayes.

“We did quite a lot of festivals, including Glastonbury, which is when I was at the height of my morning sickness.

“It was the most dreadful scenario you could imagine. We only went in and out in one day but it was so muddy. I just stayed by the toilets in the VIP section.”

But now she is keen to work as a solo artist once more.

“Hummingbird was cool. I wanted to do it for a year as it was something different and I enjoyed it. But now it’s come to an end and I’m ready to get back and do my own thing.

“I was juggling the radio show, my solo career, Hummingbird and the baby so something had to give and that was Hummingbird.”

The radio show in question is her Sunday night show for BBC Radio Wales, I’ll Show You Mine, in which she and Frank Hennessey talk about their record collections.

Wadge had the difficult task of replacing much-loved former Welsh rugby international Ray Gravell, who died last year.

“I covered for Grav when he was ill and the week before I was due to hand the show back over to him he died, which was awful,” she says.

“Frank and the head of BBC Wales asked if I would continue. I didn’t give an immediate ‘yes’ because I wondered how I could replace Grav. But everyone’s just been brilliant. I’m really proud of the show and I think Frank Hennessey is a really wonderful bloke – we have a great laugh.”

Another of Wadge’s projects is writing songs for other people.

“It’s quite liberating writing for someone else. When I write for myself I will bin stuff really quickly but for someone else you just write it and it leaves you – you are working to a brief. And I get money coming in without leaving my house.”

Like most people, she is a huge fan of Welsh chart-topper Duffy.

“I think she’s amazing. I’ve been aware of her for a while and think she’s the real deal.

“I will be really interested to see what she does with the second album. Her voice is absolutely phenomenal. I think it’s a really exciting time and if she’s at the forefront of Welsh music it’s brilliant for anyone else who’s coming through.”

Amy Wadge plays St David’s Hall, Cardiff, on May 27 and Torch Theatre, Milford Haven on May 30. For full tour details, visit www.amywadge.com