Sitting in her dressing room backstage at the world-renowned Ronnie Scott’s Jazz Club, I am fortunate to grab thirty minutes with soul singer Ruby Turner prior to her sell-out show that evening. An incredibly grounded and warm individual, she sits in front of her mirror, rollers in her hair, and does her make-up while answering my questions.
She has been performing annual residencies at Ronnie Scott’s for the past forty years. ‘Dare I say I’m a part of the DNA of Ronnie Scott’s. I think Ronnie still oversees this joint.’ She nods at the picture of the impresario hanging on the wall of her dressing room. ‘He was the man who put me here in the first place. I’m just very lucky…. I feel very blessed.’
Born in Montego Bay, Jamaica, Turner moved with her family to Birmingham at age nine. She received a solo record contract after impressing with her backing vocal work for Culture Club in the early 1980s. She released her first album – Women Hold Up Half the Sky – in 1986, featuring covers of Etta James’ ‘I’d Rather Go Blind’ and The Staple Singers ‘If You’re Ready (Come Go With Me)’. She has over twenty albums under her belt, as well as a handful of television, theatre, and film credits to her name. A long-term collaborator with musical maestro Jools Holland, she appears every year on his New Year’s Eve Hootenanny variety show. In 2016, she was appointed Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) for her contribution to music.
She is surely a key figure within British soul, although she is too humble to admit. ‘I don’t know about “key figure”… [But] I’ve been here!’ she remarks sardonically. When I ask who she regards as her contemporaries within British soul, she names Mica Paris and Beverley Knight, noting their similar gospel backgrounds.
Yet she laments that the British music ecosystem has become less accommodating of soul music. ‘This industry is so competitive. There was a time when there was a lot of soul acts, which was fantastic. But of late, there seems to be a dwindling, a change of guard. I think I’m a bit of a rarity. I’m not knocking the young generation but it’s a completely different vibe.’ True, Turner’s music and style reflects a more old-school, raw, and gospel-inspired brand of soul, compared to the neo-soul persuasions of younger, emerging artists. However, she does concede that the genre has to evolve. ‘There’s some great artists out there doing stuff. As long as people are still making music that’s what’s important.’
While there may be a dwindling of artists like her, Turner has her audience. Her residency at Ronnie Scott’s (roughly six shows every year) sells out well in advance. However, when I mention this to Turner, she is quick to make clear that she is not interested in the economics of her residencies. ‘I don’t go out expecting anything. I have a job to do. I have to do what I do. I never assume it’s going to be accepted in anyway. It ain’t about me,’ she says firmly. ‘It’s about the job and what we put out.’
Indeed, with almost four decades of experience, Turner has seen the vicissitudes of the industry and learnt not to be complacent. ‘I’ve watched a lot of my contemporaries fizzle out. I so could have easily been that. We follow our passions, we pursue our purpose, and we honour the gift we have been given. Being accepted by the masses… [It] becomes irrelevant as that will steal your joy. Therefore, you cannot rely on being picked up and thrown into the stratosphere of recognition.’
It is perhaps her commitment to the moment that makes her Ronnie Scott’s residency so special. Her show last year made The House That Soul Built’s Best Soul Gigs of 2019 countdown, marked by some home-cooked, flat-footed soul. Though her sets naturally change and fluctuate, she is particularly admired for her renditions of Etta James’ ‘I’d Rather Go Blind’ and Lorraine Ellison’s ‘Stay With Me’. The former featured on Turner’s debut album, while the latter was recorded by Turner in 1993 for the British thriller series Comics written by Lynda La Plante. Live performances of both were archived in 2007 on Turner’s Live at Ronnie Scott’s double album.
When I quiz her about her interpretations of these two searing ballads, she is reluctant to dwell and intellectualise too heavily. ‘I want it to be organic… Every time I stand in front of the microphone and the band’s behind… I’m still creating. I’m still looking for inspiration with that song; I’m waiting for that….That shooting star, that fireball that makes you sing it a little different… And for me that keeps it alive. That stops it from being pedestrianised.’
Turner’s live ‘I’d Rather Go Blind’ sees the band tapped in and out, with Turner delivering a long a cappella interlude that is truly spellbinding. ‘I’ve been singing that since I was 17, and now I’m a woman of a certain age,’ she says with a wink. Referencing her initial recording on Women Hold Up Half the Sky, she explains: ‘That version is a very different version to the version I do live. Things develop. Things evolve. Things change. Because I like that. I like when the spirit moves you in another direction, when the emotion takes you somewhere else. You don’t always want to scream; your scream could be a whisper.’
Turner’s residency also times nicely with the release of her 20th solo album, Love Was Here. Initially, she was reluctant to go back into the studio. ‘I’m happy to sing and make my music. To make an album you have to get back into the rat race [and] I have no love for that. You have to start doing business [and] I was never really good at business. Music is an art and I like to remain in the art not the business.’
The album took two years to complete, complicated by Turner’s busy touring schedule across the UK and Europe. She describes exchanging lyrics and melodies down the phone to her team and making trips down to London to lay down her vocals. The project was self-funded via Turner’s own label RTR Productions. ‘That was hard,’ she tuts, but fortunately describes being ‘extremely happy’ with the album.
As she should be. Beginning with ‘Got To Be Done’ – which sounds like a Staple Singers’ cut from the vault – the album smacks of Turner’s old soul influences, epitomising the classic, raw sound which is lacking nowadays. She describes the album as emblematic of ‘the vibe [she’s] always loved’, making clear to fellow songwriters Nick Atkinson and Kat Eaton that she wanted an album in the vein of artists such as Al Green, Curtis Mayfield, The Staple Singers, and Bob Dylan. ‘In my life [this is] the music that’s moved my soul and made me want to sing as well as I possibly can.’
Clearly sustained by her love for her art, Turner brings her innate soulfulness to every note on Love Was Here. Make sure you catch her residency at Ronnie Scott’s next year.
(Image from Ruby Turner’s Facebook Page)
