Leslie Dowdall: I looked out the window of The Lobby and there's my car being towed
Leslie Dowdall will play Cork's Everyman in October.
Leslie Dowdall grew up in Monkstown, Co Dublin and Rathvilly, Co Carlow. In 1982, she co-founded In Tua Nua, one of Ireland’s iconic bands of the 1980s. After the group disbanded, she released two solo albums, including which featured the hit single In she will perform the hits of Linda Ronstadt and Carole King with Flo McSweeney, Thursday, October 8 at Cork’s Everyman. See: everymancork.com.
When I was about 12, I started watching tap dancing with Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers. They were phenomenal. I thought, whatever I’m going to do, it’s going to be something on the stage. I love dancing, and they were spectacular. I loved the way they weaved around each other. I still watch them. They were magic — their timing, everything.
Growing up, when I heard Nina Simone first, I thought it was a man. She had a very masculine voice, but I was fascinated by it. She had grit. A lot of people didn't like her because she was very forthright. She had a lot to say, but there’s nothing wrong with that. I loved the sound of her voice. It was so strong and unique. Her piano playing was exceptional. all those great songs. She was quite a force.
The first album I bought was Joni Mitchell’s That’s when I discovered this is a woman who had something to say. She wrote amazing songs. There's nobody like her — pop, jazz, across the board. She was one of these women that stood out, living through tough times in the ’70s, but she was so talented, they couldn't push her down. was such a romantic, beautiful song: “Oh, I could drink a case of you.”
Carole King’s songwriting was amazing. Every song on her album was a classic. To this day, they sound fantastic. She wrote more than 400 songs. It was one hit after another. She was a way above her time. She was a trailblazer for women in music in America. She didn't follow the norm. I'm sure it wasn't easy for her, but she shone too brightly for her lights to be dimmed.
Linda Ronstadt was a fantastic interpreter of a song. She was very versatile. Everybody wants artists to be labelled or pigeonholed, but she was unique. She sang country, rock'n'roll. She did four albums in Spanish. She'd a unique voice. A great performer.
Annie Lennox is my hero. With In Tua Nua, we supported her in Turin, Italy. I was starstruck. I couldn't say anything because I was such a fan. I just shook her hand and said, “Hi, it’s nice to meet you.” I remember sitting at home watching and came on. I thought, “Who the hell is that?” Such a great pop song. She was a brilliant performer — her energy. She was so different, very much her own person.
Annie Lennox’s solo albums went a bit introspective and dark, but that's just life stuff. I remember being so excited, wondering what her comeback was going to be. Again, she came on — this was 1992 — and did which is a beautiful song. I loved all her imagery as well — she had the headdress and feathers on — the whole look.
Mick Flannery is amazing. I saw him perform a few years ago in Kilmainham. You feel like, “The poor fella, you’d love to bring him home and wrap him in a blanket and tell him he’s gorgeous.” His songs are so heartfelt. He reminds me of an Irish Tom Waits. I love his voice.
A Cork band that stands out was Microdisney. They had such great songs. I saw them play live many times in places like Sir Henry’s. The lead singer Cathal Coughlan died recently, which is an awful shame. He was a great frontman. There are so many frontmen now who don't perform, if you know what I mean. He just had this great energy about him.
I always loved playing The Lobby on the quays in Cork. I remember doing a gig there with Bill Shanley from Clonakilty. I was singing I'm in the middle of the song, looking out the window and there's my car being towed, going up into the air. In the middle of the song [I went to the audience], “You won't believe it, but my car has just been airlifted.”
I saw Grace Jones a few years ago at Dublin’s Olympia. She was incredible for a woman in her 70s. The woman sang a whole song, swinging with a hula hoop.
I love Anne Enright’s novels like She’s a great writer. I remember before reading her novel I was thinking this main character sounds like my mother. My mother was a child star in Dublin’s Gate Theatre. Micheál MacLiammóir and Hilton Edwards were her teachers. She used to tell a great story, about being 16 and backstage when she met this man on the stairs. He looked familiar. It was Orson Welles.
Anne Enright’s really resonated with me. Even the little girl sitting side-stage on the cover of the novel looks like me. The main character, like my mother, was a force of nature — not to be messed with, both didn't suffer fools. It was tough times in the ’50s to be an actor, but she wasn't going to let anyone needle her or tell her what to do.
I love the American writer Mitch Albom’s books, and They’re quite spiritual. They really get to you. You feel like you're in with the character and it's “one more day with Morrie”. You can relate to it — if you could spend one more day with your mum or your best friend. They’re simple but written beautifully. They hit to the core.
I’ll never forget seeing Ed Harris, the American actor, perform a one-man Neil LaBute play in Cork called It was on at The Everyman in 2005. It was brilliant. I remember it being such a powerful performance — for one man to command the stage, to hold the audience’s attention, was amazing.
My favourite movie is with James Stewart. It’s heartbreaking, the kindness of him. I watch it every Christmas. I like the struggle. It pulls the heartstrings, believing there is an afterlife to bring you to a better place. It's a beautiful film.
I teach music at school. There’s a documentary called about the Recycled Orchestra of Cateura in Paraguay. These kids are so poor, they make their instruments out of garbage from landfill. They have nothing, but they do a whole concert with instruments made from tin cans and the sound is incredible. I keep telling kids about it because they're so spoilt. One of them might decide he'd like to play the cello and then doesn’t want to do it two months later. It’s an extraordinary documentary.
