S14 E8: Gail Ann Dorsey

Whilst conducting my meticulous research for Gail….I was taken back to 1980 - my year of transition that was painful, perplexing, exciting, scary – a tussle between my heavily Top of The Pops Top 40 oriented collection, my classical cello playing and a new, emerging, Through The Looking Glass world of punk, post-punk and hardcore. 

Not easy bedfellows for 12 year old me, I can tell you.

One of the songs in that struggle was Xanadu by Olivia Newton-John and Electric Light Orchestra. I think that the new punk crowd that I was gravitating towards would have sent me much further than Coventry had they known that this record was in my collection, such were the no cross-genre rules. 

So what does this rather tedious story have with today’s episode? Well, it’s as tenuous as you’ll have come to expect. After growing up adoring her music, Gail  holds the accolade of and standing on stage with Olivia Newton-John and a huge orchestra playing Xanadu in front of thousands of genuine fans. This connection, however tenuous, feels in some way serendipitous, and actually rather glorious in a way that only music can be.

This is just one part of an incredible, pioneering – and I don’t use that word loosely - life journey that’s led to three solo albums and a whole raft of collaborations with people like Lenny Kravitz, Gwen Stefani, Tears For Fears, Gang of Four, Boy George, The The and, of course…. David Bowie. 

Gail Ann Dorsey - a wonderful songwriter, composer, bass player with a voice to die for and wonderful human.

https://www.iwannajumplikedeedee.com


I Wanna Jump Like Dee Dee is the music podcast that does music interviews differently.

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