The singer who's swapped burlesque nights for tea dances

BBC News

7 days ago

A Glasgow singer more used to burlesque nights and rock gigs in Los Angeles is ready for a new challenge - a show at a tea dance.Lou Hickey was one half of indie duo Codeine Velvet Club around 15 years ago, a pairing with Fratellis singer Jon Lawler that shone brightly but only briefly.She's also released solo material and been a regular performer at legendary nightlife fixture Club Noir before taking several years away to focus on her family. However she's making a comeback in an unlikely setting - performing big band standards and vintage pop classics on Friday morning at a Glasgow hotel.
The show is part of the three day long Clyde Chorus series of concerts to mark Glasgow's 850th anniversary. Organisers wanted to ensure there were gigs suitable for different ages, with performers including singer Nina Nesbitt and a selection of acts from the Glasgow Mela.And that's where Lou - now a mum of two who teaches music - comes in..."They were looking for something for the older generation", she told BBC Scotland News. "They were thinking things like war tunes and things like that, but a lot of people in this category probably liked Buddy Holly, Elvis and the Everly Brothers, so the remit expanded."It's the kind of stuff I grew up singing at family parties. I was kind of a weird kid, because I listened to the charts and was a big East 17 fan. "But I was also word perfect on Buddy Holly songs by the time I was five just because my dad always played them and there would be family sing-songs. So it's a good fit for me."
That means Lou, who has rarely gigged since the coronavirus pandemic put the music industry on hold, will now be getting back onstage again.It is a far cry from the likes of the Hollywood Palladium, where she played years ago as Codeine Velvet Club shot onto the scene - all glamour and sashaying, orchestral pop tunes.The duo released a self-titled album in December 2009 through major label Island Records and toured at both home and abroad.Then the group, which started because Lou knew Fratellis singer Jon Lawler through being friends with his wife, was over as quickly as it arrived.Lawler went off to focus on other projects and return to his day job, while Lou settled into solo work."It seems like another life now," she recalls. "I'll be watching something on TV and see the Hollywood Palladium and I'm like 'oh yeah, I played there!' It seems like it happened to someone else, and to be honest I miss those songs."It was a huge learning curve, a big opportunity but I was always conscious these things don't last forever. I don't know if I'd have wanted them to either."
Those mixed feelings are because Lou found a tougher side to success than she expected, being the only woman in the band as they toured."As much as there was excitement it was a really lonely stage of my life too. I felt out of my depth a little bit. There were all these exciting things but I'm a homebody too, and that was hard for me."However she continued making music, until gigs were all stopped during the covid pandemic - which led to her re-examining her priorities."All the admin stuff was exhausting. When covid happened I really didn't miss that side, of having to coordinate booking, sorting out money, things like that - it sucks the creativity out."When you have a family as well to support it's a lot. You hear that as a woman you have it all but you can't, you need to make compromises, and I was trying to find the balance in amongst all of that."
She admits there are nerves about performing again after years away, even though Friday's location - the Hilton Garden Inn - isn't the most intimidating location she'll have played in."I always thought the right opportunity would come up for a gig to get me back doing it again, but I'm nervous, having been away from it for a while. "I do feel anxious but it sounds lovely, so if I was going to put myself back out there then this was the perfect opportunity to do it."And if the nerves do get to her, she'll have support in the form of her family, who will be there cheering her on."My mum's coming – she's in her 80s and I feel it's the sort of show she would love. I wish my dad was still here for it. And my kids seem very keen on getting time off school to come along..."