I was brought up with old-fashioned values. I wasn’t allowed to have a boyfriend until I finished school. I wasn’t allowed to wear make-up: the nuns would scrub your face if they saw it. – Imelda May
I worry about people who sell out to chase fame because when they get it, it might not be so satisfying. – Imelda May
I lost a boyfriend over Elmore James. You know that moment when you send mixtapes at fifteen? He sent me pop hits, and I sent him Elmore James, and I never heard from him again. – Imelda May
Don’t lie – when you are 105 years of age – on your deathbed, thinking, ‘I should have done a few things!’ I would like to think I tried as much as I could. – Imelda May
I’m in no hurry to get old. But when I do, I’ll be out to enjoy every last minute. I see myself at 90 in some nursing home, waving my walking stick about as I jive to Gene Vincent records. – Imelda May
For me, rockabilly is very, very exciting music. It’s electric and kind of wild, you know? It’s ‘make your hairs stand up on the back of your neck’ kind of music. – Imelda May
I am not musically educated yet. I don’t read – I make my own language that works for myself. But I play by ear. – Imelda May
I like to escape; I like to write when I go on a walk – I’m kind of very fairy that way. I get inspired by the wind. Or when I daydream, that’s when I write. – Imelda May
I’m a normal consumer but try to do the best I can. I try to buy locally, and I mostly avoid supermarkets. – Imelda May
With great artists like Elvis, sometimes the songs weren’t the greatest thing about him. When I tried to perform some of the songs, I noticed some of the tunes weren’t all that brilliant, but it was the performance that sold them. – Imelda May
The Spanish and the American audiences are lunatics. They are very passionate and, like the Irish, they don’t have as many inhibitions. If you are playing somewhere like Austria or Sweden, it takes them a little while to come out of themselves. – Imelda May
I couldn’t think of anything worse than hating your own music and having to play it every night. It would be a nightmare. – Imelda May
I’m not saying that women shouldn’t pursue careers, but if it is going to be equal in the workplace, it should certainly pan out to be a little bit more equal in the home, too. – Imelda May
In 2008, I was in a London park when I came across a fledgling crow that had fallen from the top of an oak tree. A woman happened to be passing, and she said that she rescued animals, so she invited me back to her house. It turned out she was the wife of Jeff Beck. Jeff was there, and we ended up jamming together. – Imelda May
I had a big time punk-rock phase and psychobilly phase. I used to go mad for the Guana Batz. – Imelda May
I was brought up with beautiful music – Nat King Cole and Glen Miller from my dad, and my mum loved Judy Garland and Doris Day – brilliant stuff. Through my brothers and sisters I heard David Bowie and The Specials, The Carpenters, Meatloaf and The Rolling Stones. – Imelda May
I never miss a vote; I think that’s the power of the people. A lot of people fought and died for us to have votes, for women to have votes in particular – your vote is your one weapon. – Imelda May
I know exactly what it’s like to not have a penny. I know exactly what it’s like trying to get a job. I know exactly what it’s like having bloody one tin of Ambrosia left in the cupboard. But I know I can survive. – Imelda May
I don’t tend to set out on huge world domination goals or have anything in mind. I just like to play. I like to gig a lot; I like to write music. – Imelda May
I’m lucky to come from a very musical family. If you put a record on and turn the volume up, there’s a pretty good chance you’ll have a lot of people dancing very quickly. – Imelda May
I’ve used a stylist twice, and that was when I didn’t have time to go shopping or pick up an outfit for a photo shoot. I think you should dress yourself, have fun with it – it’s only clothes. – Imelda May
I never got formal training in music. I would just sit with my ear to the speaker and my hand on the needle. I’d listen to Wanda Jackson and think, ‘How did she do that?,’ and lift the needle and try it myself. – Imelda May
At school, I’d refuse to take part in biology lessons when animals were being dissected. One time, the teacher announced that we would be gassing worms. So I ran around the room, gathered up all the worms and set them free in the fields. I just loved animals and couldn’t bear the thought of them suffering. – Imelda May
