Sitting down with singer-songwriter Lucy Rose for a quick interview in a dressing room in Southampton, you realise the only thing that’s missing is the cup of tea. Lucy Rose Parton has been touring the country playing small venues and flogging her homemade jam and tea to the country who most appreciate it. “It’s ginger and plum, I just wanted whatever had ginger in it and then it depends on what fruits in season so it was rhubarb over the summer.”
By the end of the night Lucy’s Builder Grey tea is long gone and only three or four jars of lumpy ginger and plum fruit preserve is sat waiting to be sold. “My friends make it, it’s a charity which half of the money goes to.” London based Rubies in the Rubble is attempting to take out two birds with one stone by using fruit which is perfectly good quality but discarded and paying a number of the rising amount of unemployed in London to create these jams and chutneys.
Whilst selling her range of eccentric products, twenty three year old Lucy also makes her own brand of beautiful indie folk with her backing band of four. “We’ve been on tour since the first of October really. Europe first and then this is a five week UK tour, it’s kind of a long one.” Selling out sixteen dates of her 24 date tour around the British Isles Lucy and co are seeing crowds which they didn’t expect. “Newcastle was especially good, the singing was just so loud, I couldn’t believe it.” Latest single Bikes has racked up over a half a million hits on YouTube and is a highlight of the set. “Bikes is the last one of the set and it has been going down the best.”
Debut album Like I Used To was released at the end of September with Columbia music but Lucy hasn’t read any critical reception. “Hopefully reaction is good for the album I don’t really know how to gauge it. The albums not even been out two months so it’s hard to know how it has gone down. It is only at the beginning of its life so hopefully people will carry on sharing it and liking it.”
Lucy’s festival season may be long over but there are fond memories. “Reading was up there as one of my favourites. That was fun. Green Man was the first show we got an encore at so that was pretty mad, for a festival anyway. Field view was good as it was the first time I ever did a real stage dive. I had a really lucky and really fun festival season.”
Stage diving is becoming a regular occurrence of Lucy’s live set. “I did a ridiculous stage dive two nights ago in Brighton, it was completely insane. I did land on a few 15 year old girls and was worried.”
She only has nice words for the boys of Bombay Bicycle Club. “They’re five of my closest friends; we met in a pub three and a half years ago.” Lucy contributed vocal work to the albums Flaws and most recently A Different Kind Of Fix for the London four piece, but will there be more? “Who knows, if they ever ask me to work with them again in the future I will always say yes. I will just have to see what they do and what they decide to do next.”
So what’s next after the last few gigs on this tour? “Christmas, finally have a break. I’ve got gigs in Hong Kong in Shanghai and Beijing. Then next year but I’m not really sure what I’m doing yet.” Her date in Hong Kong is at Clockenflap Festival which she played last year with Bombay and now she returns to play herself. “I’ve never been to China though so Shanghai and Beijing should be really interesting.”
Adjectives are coming left right and centre to explain how much Lucy has appreciated the lovely crowd she’s received on this stint. Yet she explains the reputation of her live show is sometimes subject to a game of Chinese whispers. “Someone sent me a tweet saying I heard you give away free jam and tea at gigs, I want some.”
James Peckham
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