Imelda May

“I'm the youngest of five - three girls and two boys. There was one record player for the seven of us. It was good for me, because I got to hear everyone else's music.”

“If you ask me, rockabilly has had a raw deal for far too long. People never shunned the blues or jazz the way they do rockabilly. But it's the original punk-rock, and it changed the way people looked at music for ever.”

“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.”

“I worry about people who sell out to chase fame because when they get it, it might not be so satisfying.”

“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.”

“I got my first leopard print coat when I was 15. I nearly got beat up, but I was happy with it.”

“I wash my face and put moisturiser on; I've never had a facial, and I don't get my hair or my nails done. I just do it all myself.”

“I don't see why women have to get naked to sell an album. It's crazy.”

“I love to look back, but I don't want my music to be nostalgic. I want it to have the same vibrancy that the music I love had when it came out. I'm trying to get that electricity.”

“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.”

“In a way, I'm lucky that I was never classically trained and never went to a music college. I'm just from a normal working class family and happened to get obsessed with music as a teenager.”

“There have never been so many women in the music industry, but they're doing ballads and pop. Where's the new Joan Jetts and the Wanda Jacksons and the Debbie Harrys, all these strong women? I wanna be the woman that rocks.”

“I love festivals in that people seem to let their hair down more. I love that people run from stage to stage. I love going as a performer because you get to see band that you wouldn't necessarily go see.”

“I would love to work with Leonard Cohen, Tom Waits, B.B. King. I'd love to do something with Arctic Monkeys, Miles Kane, and The Last Shadow Puppets. If I got a call from Juliette Lewis or PJ Harvey, or Chrissie Hynde, that'd be a thrill.”

“In my head, I consider 'No Turning Back' my 'dipping the toe in the water' album. It was mostly covers of favorite songs, and there were three originals in there. So, it feels like it was just my album to see what the temperature of the water was.”

“I started singing in church with my sister Maria when I was four, and I've been pretty much singing ever since. There's never been anything else for me to do.”

“Up-tempo or slow tempo, I don't feel that one is better than the other.”

“I love the shape of '50s fashion: the clothes are very flattering; they let you out in the right places. I love high heels, too, as I'm only five foot three, although I always tell people I'm five foot five.”

“Music was always part of my life - my mother says I came out singing. I wanted to be Gene Kelly - or Judy Garland.”

“When I heard Elvis and his 'Sun Sessions,' I went mad for it. I was about thirteen.”