Imelda May 'had to fight tooth and nail' to bring her poetry to the masses

After five albums, three of them number ones, some musicians would be content to stick to the tried and tested formula. But Imelda May isn’t one of them.

The Irish star has been a consistent presence on the charts since the breakout success of her second album Love Tattoo in 2008, and is one of the country’s most successful and beloved musical exports with her takes on rockabilly, jazz, soft rock and acoustic music as she seamlessly moved through genres over the years. 

But for her latest record, she has taken the risky move of ditching her signature vocals altogether. 

Imelda’s new EP, Slip Of The Tongue, is a collection of spoken word poetry that presents May’s emotional writing without melody. There’s explorations of heartbreak and abuse, love on Home, and female sexuality on GBH, an ode to vibrators and pleasure without involving a disinterested spouse. 

And it’s been a long time coming for the 45-year-old, who has been writing poetry, as well as songs, for years.

‘When I took a break from the last album tour, I was writing more poetry than ever – more poetry than songs for a while,’ the Dubliner told Metro.co.uk. 

‘In the last couple of years I’ve written over 100 poems, and I was thinking of maybe putting them into a book. I’ve been reciting them to my friends for ages, and my friends and family encouraged me and said “other people need to hear these”. I still want to release a book – I have in my head this beautiful book, I can picture it in my head exactly how I want it.’

The idea for the EP began when Imelda created a performance art piece alongside artistic director Ami Cadillac for last year’s Latitude Festival, for which she sat in an illuminated glass box and wrote a poem live, a different one every night, for three nights. People were allowed come in and write their own poetry during the performance, called Hallowed, and Imelda was keen to show her creative process, and that of others. 

Showcasing the talents of others is something of great importance to Imelda. Throughout our interview, the star made sure to cite her collaborations with other artists in the background, whether that was with Cadillac (‘my partner in crime’), designer Sorcha O’Reilly, who provided the cape and crown she wears on the cover of Slip Of The Tongue, or Tim Varlow, who created the videos for the poems (‘He’s hand building them, it’s an unbelievable piece of artistry. He’s painstakingly taken hours to do the lyrics videos. And on the last one, GBH, he listened to it very carefully – it’s about female sexual pleasures, and when I’m talking about her batteries expired, at the right time, a little bunny rabbit goes by.’) She said: ‘It’s not just me. I’m sitting here writing them on my own, but then other people get involved, and I don’t want to leave them out.’

And the process of creativity laid bare in Hallowed made Imelda want to bring her music-less words to the public. ‘The creative side is as much the artistry, even more, as the end result. The birth of anything is beautiful. 

‘Music is my love, and I’d like to match music with the poetry. It feels right, and it feels like I didn’t need to add melody – the words are enough, with the beautiful music.’

Thus Slip Of The Tongue was born, and being one of the most well respected names in Irish music, you may assume that Imelda is in the easiest position to work on something entirely new. But that’s far from the case. 

‘Do you know what, I have had to fight tooth and nail for this. I’ve been told that I was mad for doing it, I’ve also got a bit of “Oh your poetry? Oh that’s nice, do your little bit of poetry”. I’ve had more of that than I’d like. That’s like putting a red rag to a bull for me. 

‘That made me do it more – not in spite, but it magnified how much I believed in it. You know that horrible feeling you get when somebody belittles you, and before you didn’t think so deeply about it but then you go “no, actually, I do believe in this, it’s worth more than that – it’s certainly worth more than a bloody pat on the head”.’

And it’s not just poetry that Imelda has had to fight for. Despite her standing in the industry, she continues to be faced with sexism in the studio from men who don’t believe she writes her own music.

‘I’ve had many years of my abilities as a writer being questioned, and the only thing I can take from that is that I’m female,’ she said. 

‘I’ve thought about it a lot, and I’ve had a lot of questions about it over the years – who helps you write your stuff. I’ve co-written with songwriters and I’ll turn up and they’ll go, “oh, you actually write!” Are you kidding me? I’ve actually purposefully not worked with people like that – immediately, the chemistry is not going to work, so I’ve just flung something together not to be rude and then gone, “oh, is that the time?”’

Despite all the opposition (with Imelda stressing that there’s been equal amounts of support) Imelda’s latest baby is almost out in the world, and while many artists have struggled with record releases during lockdown, choosing to push back schedules instead, the teaser tracks from the EP, such as Home, seem to have gained an extra resonance in the current climate.

‘Isn’t it lovely that we’re all taking a minute?’ she said. ‘I think we needed… not saying we needed a pandemic, but I certainly think we needed something to wake us up a little. We all take things for granted. We put so much value into productivity. 

‘I’m delighted people are connecting with [the EP]. I mean, that’s the whole point of any art, is to connect with people, or somebody sees something in it that you didn’t. Like when you go see a painting, you get what you need out of it. And I’m hoping people get what they need out of my poems.’

Slip Of The Tongue is out on 12 June.