Katy B interview: ‘I’m an honorary gay’

Katy B – or Kathleen Brien from Peckham, to use her non-popstar name – is total class. She makes dance-pop music with heart, soul, style, realness and tunes big enough to sing along to when you’ve had one too many Bombay Sapphires. Her brilliant debut album, On a Mission went gold after launching three top ten hits, and now she’s back with another smash single- Crying For No Reason, her first full-on ballad – and a supremely self-assured second album called Little Red. We called her up to talk about the important things in life: love, music and gay clubs. We love you Katy.

Your performance of Crying For No Reason on The Graham Norton Show the other week was incredible. Did you realise at the time you’d nailed it?

Um, no – to be honest I was completely terrified. It’s a weird feeling performing to that many millions of people, you know what I mean? What I sort of tell myself is: just be ‘inside’ the song and put across what you’re trying to say in the song. But I have to say, I was glad when it was over!

Were you nervous about how this song would be received? You’re known for dance music – and this is probably your first ‘proper’ ballad.
Yeah – I suppose in a way that’s why it was the second single [from the album]. I’d have been a bit anxious, maybe, if I’d come out with this song as the first single. But to be honest, this song means a lot to me and it was quite important to me to put it out there, actually.

What’s the story behind the song?
Well, my friend, she called me up and she was really upset ’cause she had been driving and she stopped at the traffic lights and literally just burst into tears. She was crying her eyes out and she had no idea why. Then a couple of hours later she realised: her and her boyfriend had split up six months before that and she had just kind of got on with her life and swept all of those feeling under the carpet. She’d bottled it all up. When she was telling me this, I could really relate to what she was saying ’cause, you know, sometimes you do wake up and put on a brave face because you’ve got to go to work and get on with stuff and by the time you get home you can’t call someone.  It can be hard to get things off of your chest. I feel like the last couple of years have really been like a whirlwind for me,  just so intense, so I really wanted to write about that feeling.

I think lots of us know that feeling: when something big just hits you, seemingly all of a sudden.
Wow, it really does: it’s like a punch in the face. That delayed reaction can be so powerful.

Are you writing about very different things on this album compared to your debut?
Yeah, 100%. My early twenties has definitely been different to when I wrote On a Mission. I was a student then and everything was kind of happening for the first time: falling in love, going out, not having my mum tell me what time to come in anymore – it was like, ‘Whoa, I’ve been let off the leash’. Whereas now I’ve moved out of my parents’ house and I’ve had to be a bit more responsible for everything: myself, my house, my career, my relationships, my actions – you know, everything. I feel like there’s a lot to work out in life, and I think that’s really what songwriting is for me: it’s sort of working life out, really.

Which song on the album are you most proud of?
Do you know what, I really like Tumbling Down. It’s about falling in love – like, you don’t care that the wall is tumbling down because you’re really starting to trust someone and that’s kind of a beautiful feeling. That feeling where you’re loving someone a little more each day.

Do you fall in love easily?
No, I do not! I’m the type of person who doesn’t trust anyone at first. Even when I go out with my friends and I’m getting drunk, I’ll be, like, the biggest cock-blocker ever. I won’t let anyone come near me and I wont let anyone come near them because I don’t trust anyone.

So if I bump into you in a club, I shouldn’t ask for a phone pic?
Oh no, please do! I’m quite friendly on a night out. I just mean that with guys and stuff, I’m really intense. Like, someone will ask if I want a drink and my mind starts racing: I’m thinking ‘why, but why?’ But the thing is, if someone actually perseveres with me, they can wear me down and then I give in and end up getting obsessed. And then I’ll be, like, cooking them breakfast every day!

What’s a night out with Katy B actually like? Is it as fun as I think it would be?
Do you know what, I’ve got a song on my album called Next Thing and it’s about me and my friends going out and feeling like we’re sort of the power rangers of the club: running around, getting some drinks in, going to different rooms, seeing where has the best DJ, then going on to somewhere else. I like to go to a few different places on a night out, you know?

What do you do when you’re out and one of your own songs comes on?
If I’ve had a few drinks, I’ll be singing the words and having a little dance. If I haven’t, I’ll sort of hide in a corner or go to the toilet. But you know what, I think that’s one of the things that made me fall in love with dance music in the first place. When you’re in a club and you see people dancing to your song, maybe  even singing the words, it’s a really lovely feeling. Making people dance is a really good feeling.

Do you go out to gay clubs much?
Oh definitely – I went to Horse Meat Disco two Sundays ago, that was really fun. Actually gay clubbing was my first experience of clubbing. When I was younger I used to go to G-A-Y, like, all the time – I’d try and sneak into the Astoria but they just weren’t having it! I went to the BRIT School and you know, quite a lot of people at performing arts schools are gay, so all my best friends are gay. Actually, one of my best friends, Olivia, who I mention in the song Easy Please Me, is gay and doesn’t actually have many lesbian friends so I kind of go along with her a lot. I went to the Candy Bar with her the other day.

Olivia is a real person?
Yes, she is! She is a real, real person and we go out, like, all the time. If we’re in a lesbian place girls will come up to me and be like, ‘I always knew you were gay’. I’ll be like, ‘I’m not gay but I’m an honorary gay’. I always have a good time.

The album Little Red by Katy B is out now.