DESPITE its inclusive nature, there’s admittedly an Ivy League in the Irish folk scene, and Dublin-born Eleanor McEvoy is top of the class with peers like Mary Black, Sharon Shannon and Frances Black — all of whom performed together under the title track of McEvoy’s breakthrough song, Only A Woman’s Heart.
When the female collective’s album was released in 1992, it was the biggest-selling Irish album of all time, and with that impressive start, McEvoy quickly forged a strong solo career, building on her years in Ireland’s National Symphony Orchestra.
Twenty-three years later, she's going stronger than ever, with her latest album, Stuff, confirming her as a celebrated talent to fans and critics across the globe.
2014 was a busy year with the 10th album release on her independent label, a packed touring schedule including a sold-out six-week stint in Australia, festivals aplenty and extra-curricular collaborations with revered musicians like Dave Rotheray (ex of the Beautiful South) adding to her already- impressive CV.
You’ve just turned 48 — how do you feel?
It’s pretty great. Life’s got better as I’ve gotten older — my 20s were troublesome, 30s were a lot better, and 40s have been really great. I guess it has to go down at some point, but I think I’ll embrace my eccentricities when I’m in my 80s. If I live that long. I’ll down the sherry and have a good time.
How often are you in Britain?
I’m back and forth all the time — I live in Wexford but I always have trips to the UK planned, sometimes for promo, sometimes to record, sometimes to tour.
You’re playing interesting venues in unusual places in Wales and England on your upcoming tour — why?
My agent knows not to just book the obvious choices — I’m interested in other places too. In the past I’ve take a notion to play the Scottish islands, which is financially really stupid, but my curiosity led me there. I’d ask if there were places to play, and if not, could we find a hall where we can get where we can get insurance and put a sound system in. I go into a town and I read the noticeboards and go into the libraries and try and get the flavour of the place. It feels like I'm going to them, to play a gig in their communities rather than the other way around. I love that- it has more integrity to it.
Talking of the ‘f’ word, feminism that is, Bjork recently expressed anger that she wasn’t given due credit for creating her songs, and her male guests’ contributions were overplayed — has this happened to you?
Yes she’s right, it’s astonishing. I was the producer of A Woman’s Heart, but I wasn’t even credited as such. There’s the idea that a bloke must be behind the scenes doing it.
I won’t name names, but I was doing a radio tour last year and the guy asked me ‘who helped you write the songs?’ 'I’m thinking, I’m 48, I have 13 albums out, an honours degree in music from Trinity College, Dublin, I played in the National Symphony Orchestra for five years...who helps me write the songs?'
Would they really ask the same question to a bloke? It happened in the States too, with a DJ who just couldn’t get his head around the fact I wrote my songs myself no matter how much I repeated it.
How does that type of attitude make you feel?
It makes me laugh.The musicians and producers I work with on a one-to-one level aren’t like that — maybe initially, but once they’ve seen you do what you do, they know you know your stuff. But I have to be honest and say there are a few instances where being female helps, like it’s easier to get your picture in the paper. I try and be fair and see when it advantages you and when it doesn’t.
Any favourite venues off the beaten track?
There’s a place in the Blue Mountains, Australia called The Clarendon. It’s a tiny guesthouse with nothing else around, and is a fantastic place to play. I got an audience of 150-200 the last time I was there. The Thekla in Bristol is also interesting — that’s the boat with a Banksy painting on the front that’s probably worth more than the boat. It’s leaky and it’s cold but it’s great.
Do you still tour in a hearse?
I do, but I think this coming tour is going to be the last. I’ve done it for a few years, and it was never supposed to be a big thing—it started off as a bit of a laugh. It’s still going strong, but I’d like to go onto the next thing.
What are your plans for the tour?
I change what I do from time to time, and at the moment I’m doing a solo tour but I have a lot of instruments with me — an acoustic guitar, electric guitar, violin, piano... I take the audience on a musical journey around what I do.
Do you have an idea of the set-list?
It’s mostly my own songs, but I’ve done a number of other people’s songs. I’ve done a version of Chuck Berry’s Memphis Tennessee, because people think it’s a love song, but it’s actually a song about a father who can’t see his child, and that’s a subject that’s precious to me. In Ireland, there are awful laws — unmarried fathers have no rights to their children, they’re not even their legal guardians. So if the mother died, her family can claim the baby, even if he’s been involved in the child’s life from the beginning.
Is the issue of paternal rights important to you because it’s affected you personally, or is it the general injustice?
A bit of both. I’ve seen it in action, and it’s not pleasant. You ask any parent what the worst thing in the world is, and it’s not being able to see their child, and it happens as a matter of course to fathers. I’m a feminist in a major way, and where are the feminist voices in this issue? Feminists aren’t interested in having more rights than anybody, but we should all have the same rights.
Has the nature of sexism changed since you started?
I think it has. Overt sexism is easier to deal with...What I find much harder is the more subtle sexism. There’s a belligerence there against the person, and someone might attribute certain characteristics to you because you’re a woman. That said, sometimes it’s not nasty — just a stereotype.
I used to drive a van, and when I’d get out, people would do a double take because they’d seen woman. I’d think ‘tsk, sexist!’ but once I was at a petrol station when another van pulled up beside me and a woman came out, and I did a double take! Stereotypes often exist because they’re true, but the trick is not to let yourself get swayed by it.
Do you take your daughter, 13-year-old Sarah-Jane, on tour?
I don’t take my daughter out of school anymore but she comes with me when she’s on holiday. I won’t lie, it puts a strain on the tour, but it can be brilliant fun. Last year she was in Australia, Singapore, France, Spain and England — she’s been all over the world, you should see her passport.
I’m lucky she’s a great little traveller, and I’m lucky that her father [partner Mick O’Gorman] is there for her during school.
One of your side projects involves writing musical plays with science fiction writer Eoin Cofler — how is he to work with?
He’s fantastic — he’s very humourous, which is perfect because I live a world which is serious a lot of the time. The last show we worked on together, The Belle Bottoms, is a disco comedy about two young girls out on the town, which touches on darker issues, but is really good fun. I’m writing a new show with him hopefully — I loved doing musical theatre and would love to do more in the future.
What are your other plans for the rest of the year?
I’m touring Stuff on this tour, all over Wales and England now, and then Scotland and Wales in May. I’m also thinking about a new album — I had an album a couple of years ago called Lull, which was just me and one instrument, and it did really well. So in the middle of this tour, I’m going into The Grange, a studio in Norfolk which specialises in analogue recording. At the end of the sessions we’ll see what they sound like — there might be a Lull 2.
Eleanor McEvoy is on tour until Sunday March 22. See www.eleanormcevoy.com for full dates.
