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At Guide2Bournemouth we like to showcase local talent... and came across 27 year old Sophie Rhodes, whose amazing vocal talent caught our attention when she was performing at the "Slug & Lettuce" Bar in Bournemouth.

We interviewed her and found that not only does she have a great voice, but she is a lovely and bubbly person too!

Sophie was born in Banbury (near Oxford) but has been living in Bournemouth since the age of 11.

Here's what she had to say....

How did you get into singing and how old were you?

When I moved to Bournemouth at the age of 11 I was a keen singer anyway, just in my spare time. Then one day someone told my mum that there was an amazing choir in Highcliff, called Highcliff Junior Choir, and said I should go for an audition, so I did. I got in and I was in the choir for 7 years. It was quite intense with weekly singing lessons and choir practice plus loads of competitions. I really owe everything to the lady that ran the choir, as she trained me as a classical soprano, so I can sing classically as well. We did things like "Songs of Praise", "Sainsbury’s Choir of the Year" and we went on the radio. I got to do all sorts of things I would never had the chance to do otherwise.

 

18 is the age that you leave the choir, so when I left I applied to go to uni, but all I really wanted to do was sing... so I thought if I go to uni, I will be doing something else for 3 years, but really all I want to do is sing. So I followed my heart, found a guitarist and went out and gigged instead!

That is a very brave thing to do...

Yes it was quite scary to start with, as I was actually only 17 when I found this guitarist, and he was in his forties. Plus he had worked with Sinead O’Connor before.

How did you find him?

He was advertising in the window of a music shop on a bit of cardboard that said "Singer wanted", so I lied and said that I was 18. I really wanted to do it, so I just told a little white lie. When we became a bit closer, I did actually tell him. We worked together for a while, about a year and a half.

And since then?

I have worked with a lot of different guitarists since, I couldn't name them all. I worked with loads of different people, and have done gigs everywhere you can think of - from nursing homes to the Royal Albert Hall. I’ve sung outdoors, I’ve sung at parties, I’ve reinacted a scene from the film Love Actually at a wedding as a surprise - I’ve done it all and I’ve been doing it nine years now.

Did your parents support and and actively encourage you?

Very much so, even as a really small child I knew I could sing and knew I was a bit different, but I didn't know what it meant. I remember when I was at ‘little school’ going round a church singing carols at Christmas, and one thing that sticks in my mind is that I was louder than everyone else. I knew there was something... but I didn’t know what it was. Then getting into the choir was fate, in a way, because it meant that I got that guidance.

With regards to encouragement, I’m lucky that my mum is and always has been quite supportive. All she wants is that I am happy. If she knows it is making me happy then she wants me to do it.

Is there any other musical talent in your family, do you know where you might have got it from?

Not really... my dad can sing a bit, but my mum is tone deaf. It is weird, I don’t really know where it has come from. 

Can you remember your very first gig - how did that go?

I can yes, it was at a really really rough pub in Portsmouth. I'd better not name it just in case I offend anyone, and I got paid very little – but I didn't care because I was really excited, and I really enjoyed it. The crowd gave me a good response too, which helped. I am very lucky that I haven't really had a very bad gig so far. To be honest if I did, I don’t know how I would take it. You do get the occasional person who is drunk, shouting things out, but you will find that everywhere.

 

How would you describe your style, what and who inspires you?

What you wouldn't know from watching me here (in the The Slug & Lettuce) is that I do write my own songs as well. My songs are about things that have happened to me in my life, including relationships. Things that have happened to me that have made me want to pick up a bit of paper and write it down, and think "I want this in a song".

I do enjoy singing other people’s songs, because I like to a) prove that I can and b) I enjoy other people’s music, and of course you have to sing covers to make money.

My favourite singers are Joni Mitchell and Eva Cassidy. Joni Mitchell – her album ‘Blue’ is one of my favourite albums ever. I’m not really similar to those singers in the way that I sound, but it is those types of songs that interest me the most, songs that you pour yourself into, heart and soul, and you lay yourself bear!

 

My song writing style is kinda pop/rock, no gimmicks. You get singers that put on accents that are quite popular – but I do not put on an act. I use my falsetto which means I can do that high, quiet thing, as I was trained classically.

 

Last time we met we were talking about Amy Winehouse and how she only writes about personal experience – is that something that you draw from?

 

Yes, definitely. I don’t want to generalise, but I think a lot of performers actually thrive on heartbreak. It is what makes you able to write from your heart. If you write something that has been difficult for you to write, something that has come from pain, then people can connect with that. It is worth tapping into that pain.

 

So have you produced any CDs since you have been singing professionally?

I think it is about 4 albums of songs that I have written, but I have got a lot of other stuff that I haven't recorded.

 

Do you have a favourite all time song?

I can't do that.... (long pause) I love soul & Motown, because my dad played it a lot when I was younger, and he still does. I borrow it off him, because I don't think you get songs like that nowadays. I love Otis Reading, Smoky Robinson, Al Green, Aretha Franklin and Eta James, all of the legends. I love James Brown and Prince – Prince is one of my favourite artists. I also love Mariah Carey, I have since I was a little girl. I was obsessed with singing the amount of notes that she can, in the right order. I used to lock myself in my room listening to her music, trying to get it right. I did this with Alanis Morriset as well. My music taste is very eclectic.

Do you have any embarrassing songs on your iPod?

There are loads, as I teach children how to sing...I’ve got Justin Bieber, Disney and JLS.

Where else do you perform in Bournemouth and how do you advertise yourself?

 

Facebook,YouTube and Twitter. I sing at "Greens" in Boscombe every Friday night. I do quite a lot of weddings and parties, bookings usually come through Gumtree. My facebook page is the best way for people find out what I am doing and how to book me.

Would you ever go on the X-Factor or Britain's Got Talent?

 

I think the X-factor is awful, but fascinating. I wouldn't want to become known from a show like that and I do not buy into it. I think TV is a lot of smoke and mirrors.

Are you going to continue what you are doing over the next few years?

I would like to keep doing this till I am at least 30, when life might interrupt it...

Do you mean having a family?

If my new boyfriend reads this he will be really shocked (laughs). I would like to do some open mic’s in London, performing some of my own songs. I would also like to do some more recording, I haven't done any for a while. My voice has changed, it has got stronger, I think it is important to have a catalogue of your work over the years.

And finally... what do you love about Bournemouth?

The main reason for staying in Bournemouth is that I have a very young niece and nephew and I don't want to miss them growing up. Also, I love the beach - after living by the beach for a certain amount of time you find it impossible to think about living somewhere where there would be no beach. I think we are lucky to have the O2 Academy and the BIC, they both showcase huge artists.

If you would like to hear Sophie perform live then pop into "Greens" in Boscombe on a Friday night!

For more information about Sophie's gigs and how to book her for an event just follow her on Twitter or Facebook! You can also do event bookings through Gumtree...

Alternatively, please email her at sophierhodessinging@live.co.uk

Sophie also does vocal coaching.

She is definitely a talent not to be missed....

 

Article by: Emily Clipston & Melanie Hubrig, Guide2Bournemouth