UK Theatre Network

Steve Burbridge In Conversation With . . .

Katy Setterfield

It’s been a hectic time for Katy Setterfield since she won BBC1’s competition to find ‘The UK’s Ultimate Tribute Act’.

‘The One & Only’, hosted by Graham Norton, was a huge success at the beginning of 2008, attracting over 7 million viewers for each of its 7 weekly live broadcasts. Katy emerged triumphantly as a thoroughly convincing and accurate Dusty Springfield as she stole the final show with superb renditions of the soul diva’s best-loved hits, ‘You Don’t Have To Say You Love Me’, ‘Son Of A Preacher Man’ and ‘All I See Is You’

The prize was a 3-month contract to perform in the world famous ‘Legends In Concert’ at the Imperial Palace in Las Vegas. Again, her Dusty wowed the masses and the production can’t wait to get Katy back on their show.

But wait they must. Since returning to the UK last autumn, Katy has barely had time to draw breath between performances and recording a CD to accompany her first solo UK tour which, entitled simply ‘Katy in Concert as Dusty Springfield’, was a huge success around the country, selling out much of the gruelling 50 venue circuit over 10 weeks.

Since the autumn tour Katy has spent much of the time working throughout Europe and as a resident artist at Berlin’s acclaimed ‘Stars In Concert at the Estrel’ as well as several cruises and many corporate events. This level of non-stop work may appear daunting, but to this High Wycombe girl it’s nothing out of the ordinary. Starting out as a Cher tribute artist in the 90s, Katy went on to join Trevor Payne’s “That’ll Be The Day” – the UK’s hardest working touring show – where, during 8 happy years, she discovered her ability to sound like many more vocalists. There, with a schedule of more than 200 performances a year, Katy learned how to deliver any song to maximum spine-tingling effect and also how to put together a wholly entertaining show of her own.

The product of all this experience and expertise is Katy’s current show, ‘Here Come The Girls’, featuring Katy’s incomparable Dusty. Alongside her equally brilliant Cher and Tina Turner impressions will be the songs of Annie Lennox, Bette Midler and the greatest hits from Motown and much more in an exceptional evening of music and song.

Katy spoke exclusively to Steve Burbridge for UK Theatre Network.

Your last tour involved a pretty demanding schedule. Has that experience dulled your enthusiasm for touring?

No, not at all, I can’t wait to start touring with my new show. I had a huge amount of fun with my first UK tour, and I still can’t get over the nation’s reaction to the show. Every performance is another opportunity for me to thank so many people for voting me the winner on the BBC show. The more live shows I do in the UK and throughout the world the more I realise how well-loved both Dusty and ‘The One & Only’ were.

Tell me what the past year has been like for you, since winning ‘The One & Only’?

Well, it’s been amazing. The minute I finished the tour I went to work in Berlin in ‘The Stars In Concert’, which is basically the best worldwide tribute show there is. I was very lucky to be asked to perform in that and spent all of Christmas there before coming back to have a little rest and going back out again from March until June. I’ve been very fortunate to work on cruise ships as well so it’s just been non-stop, really.

Do you still have to pinch yourself, occasionally, to make sure you’re not dreaming?

I do. It’s been a very interesting journey since winning the show and I don’t suppose it has really sunk in yet. My life changed so quickly and so dramatically that it was like being hit in the face by a juggernaut, really. I suppose, I’m only just beginning to come to terms with it now and I love the opportunity I’ve been given, I feel so lucky and so blessed and I’m grateful that I’ve managed to achieve so much.

When did you discover that you had the ability to make your voice sound like other people. Was it as a youngster or more recently?

It was as a youngster. Going back to when I was about four, I used to tape The Top 40 and, throughout the week, I’d listen to it again and again and try to emulate the voices. I think, over time, it actually taught me to sing and how to use my voice. For instance, doing a Tina Turner voice is only a few steps away from Anastacia, which is also a few steps away from Amy Winehouse. So, once you start recognising what you need to listen for, you begin to imitate the different voices.

Have you had any feedback from any of the artists that you impersonate? If so, what did they say?

Many years ago, when Cher first released ‘Believe’ I started performing that song, probably about three months before it hit Number One. One day, I actually got a letter from her manager, on behalf of her, saying ‘Thank you very much for helping ‘Believe’ get to Number One.’ I’m very proud of that.

During extensive tours, how do you keep your energy up and your performance sharp?

It’s all about getting the balance right. You don’t want to be doing gigs so far apart that every time feels like the first time because you have to keep the momentum up. But it is really tough and I’m very proud of myself for doing 52 gigs over ten weeks without a hiccup. And, ironically, because Dusty Springfield had so many problems with her voice, I managed to fulfil a regime that she would never have been able to.

Katy Setterfield will be bringing her brand new shoe, Here Come The Girls, to The Customs House, South Shields on Tuesday 22 September 2009.

TOUR DATES

September:
13th, Grove Theatre, Dunstable
17th, Pavilion Theatre, Rhyl
18th, Beck Theatre, Hayes
20th, Garrick Theatre, Lichfield
22nd, Custom House, South Shields
25th, Corn Exchange, Kings Lynn
27th, Wyvern Theatre, Swindon

October:
1st, Playhouse Theatre, Weston-Super-mare
4th, Roses Theatre, Tewkesbury
25th, Central theatre, Chatham
28th Swan, High Wycombe

Nov:
16th, Gordon Craig Theatre, Stevenage