Saturday with Self Esteem: 'In the past, it was second nature for everyone to be a little drunk all the time'

Self Esteem aka Rebecca Taylor attends The BRIT Awards 2022 at The O2 Arena on February 08, 2022 in London, England. (Photo by Gareth Cattermole/Getty Images)

06.30

When I’m not on tour, I get up really early at 6.30am or 7am. 

I usually don’t have any spare time so the key to me not feeling insane is doing a bit of exercise and replying to emails… it sounds very simple but sometimes it’s hard to get around to these things.

I’ll feed my dog and then get ready for the day. I don’t eat until around midday — I don’t have that breakfast thing going on.

I’ll either go for a run or do some exercises like squats at home. Sometimes I don’t do anything but I have figured out that it definitely improves my mood if I exercise. When I’m on the tour bus, I can sleep and sleep.

11.00

If I’m on tour, I’ll try to stay asleep until about 11am because I’ll be in my bunk and I’ll be cosy. 

I’ll go searching for a shower if I’m at a festival — it’s usually very unglamorous.

12.00

Catering usually starts at around 12 and you’ll be hoping that the food is good.

There are 15 people in my band now so I will wait around to see if anyone wants to come for food.

14.00

I might not be going on stage until 9pm so I will either sleep more or try to do some work.

At Electric Picnic, there was a tattooist, a masseuse, a makeup artist, and a hairdresser available backstage so the artists could get anything they wanted done.

Because we all had so much time, we all got tattoos. I got my dog’s initials tattooed.

16.00

If I’m at a festival, I like going to see other things but I am quite shy so, if people want to talk to me when I’m walking around, I can find it a bit exhausting so I tend to keep myself out of the way.

The show is quite taxing these days so it’s important for me to be well rested before a performance.

As a performer, there can be quite a lot of hanging around. When I was younger, we’d drink but I’m 40 next year so I’m not spending my time drinking any more.

There was a period of hardcore Uno playing and, no matter how disciplined we try to be, there is still a good bit of sitting around talking or scrolling on our phones.

Self Esteem.

18.00

If I’m on stage at 9pm, we will all eat at around 6pm.

Everyone I work with is so professional — a lot of them have worked in theatre and they are used to protecting their energy and spending time wisely.

That’s one of the reasons I really love theatre — it’s a completely different energy to being in a band.

I love performing and am really proud of this current show. I can’t wait to get on a stage. There’s a real community feel and sisterhood to it all.

I need the exchange of energy with fans. This industry can be relentlessly unfair and it can be hard to remember why I do this but then I have that exchange of energy with the crowd and it heals me.

22.30

When I came off stage at Glastonbury, everyone wanted me to party — I didn’t want to at all.

I’m still learning what I need after this latest show but invariably you do have to ‘come down’ after a performance.

That is hard because the industry provides you with so many ways to stay up if you want to but we do a bit of yoga now and we get some food and try to do all the good stuff.

In the past, it was second nature for everyone to be a little bit drunk all the time and no one told me how damaging that was. Now it’s all about moderation.

00.00

It’s nice to have a few gigs in one city at a time because you can get your bearings.

The thought of travelling from city to city is also worse than actually doing it. I’ve spent most of my career in Sprinter buses and sleeping on floors so I feel blessed to have the tour bus sleeping situation I have now.

As much as I am a free spirit, I now realise that I love having all my stuff in one place. I have just moved into my own flat in London.

I’m currently sleeping on a mattress on the floor but it’s wonderful because it’s my mattress on my floor and the landlord can’t make me move.

I’m constantly surprised that I’m an adult and I have to spend my money on boring things like laundry baskets.

Before I go to sleep, I’ll listen to Trixie and Katya talking about drag and another podcast called Race Chaser, where they review all the RuPaul’s Drag Race episodes. 

I also love history so I enjoy listening to Dan Snow’s History Hit podcast. Basically, I can’t be alone with my thoughts.

• This year, Self Esteem collaborated with Three on supporting the next generation of Irish artists which culminated in a special performance with emerging artist and City Stages talent, Rebecca Lane. Follow the City Stages journey at @threeireland on social media. Follow Self Esteem at @selfesteemselfesteem on Instagram.