And now here they are, Nick and Sue on Chatterbox.
When the stars talk, they talk to Nick and Sue.
to the Chatterbox Redux podcast and our special
guest in this edition is Jessica Sweetman. We're
Chatterbox giving you all you need to know about
musical entertainment Oh yeah Chatterbox, the
best interviews with Nick and Sue Chatterbox,
the best news And now in Chatterbox, we're just
lucky enough to welcome Jessica Sweetman. Jessica,
welcome to Chatterbox. How are you? I'm good,
Nick. How are you? I'm great, thank you. I hope
the sunshine is as great where you are as it
is down here on the south coast. It's lovely
here. It is. It's really nice here today as well.
I just popped out for a quick minute and it is.
It's beautiful. Wonderful. Makes everyone smile
a bit. Yes, it does. Makes a difference, doesn't
it? Yeah, you're having a great year. You're
having a great month. I'm looking at your website,
just to see a little bit about you, and I see
that you cut your teeth performing in Smokey
Jazz bars, barely 15 years old, 19 you moved
down to London and you start playing in the cigar
clubs of Soho, performing night after night,
but you end up burning up, which I can quite
understand, and I'm quite sure that Smokey clubs
didn't do a great deal. For your health? No.
But tell us a little bit about when you jetted
off to America and some of the people you played
with. That looks absolutely fascinating. Yeah,
you know, it's been a journey. It's been a ride.
I started off my first ever gig was in a pizza
express. in in certain coalfield and i remember
i got i got a free pizza 60 quid and dough balls
as well and um and uh and i sang jazz i sang
jazz because i loved jazz i grew up on jazz so
i did um i remember for my like audition for
it i sang a norah jones song and let devy love
napkin call which is one of my favorite songs
so it all started with pizza express and then
yeah i went to the cigar rooms up in london and
burnt out you know it was at the time it was
such a glamorous scene to be on and I remember
used to put on my little dresses and you know
be in these beautiful cigars but you know it
was it was a it was a challenging time for me
and that's kind of when I decided then to go
to America and landed in New York City and was
there was there three months and I just wrote
and wrote and wrote and And then I managed to
get a deal and then BMG, who are my publishers,
brought me back. They brought me back a few months
and I ended up spending 10 years of my life out
in New York between New York, Nashville and LA.
And I've just recently just come back to the
UK because I've got touring here. But it's been
wonderful. And I still will be going back to
the States a lot because a lot of my work is
there. But right now it's... My music's brought
me home, which I love, I love, you know. Fantastic.
And I see that you've opened for the likes of
Keane and Van Morrison and all manner of people.
So fantastic. Thank you, thank you so much. So
you're already long established really aren't
you, so this is great. Just before we start talking
about this, because obviously this month's massive
for you, but when you did land originally in
New York, just out of interest, did you have
anything planned there, what you were going to
do? Did you just land there and then worry about
playing and writing and doing what you did? No,
I mean I had no idea. I was just, I remember
one of my last gigs here in London was in a cigar
room in a casino actually and my mom was there
and it was it was becoming apparent to us all
that I was just I was just at the end of that
chapter and I was tired and it's not what I wanted
to do you know I mean I was grateful for the
work and I needed to pay my rent you know I was
like really grateful for the gigs you know I
always will be for that time because I had to
be able to write and stuff but when I look back
it wasn't a healthy environment for me to be
in and not I don't mean just because the smoke
but just just because it's just generally it
just wasn't a great great environment so you
know I think um I think it's you know what though
there's I think it's all part of you learn the
craft you know you learn it makes you stronger
in a way and I think that was a big part of my
story and you know I drank a lot of champagne
I drank a lot of champagne that's why I can't
drink anymore now unfortunately five years off
it but I drank I did all my drinking time then
so it's it's now I now I'm not on it but um I
had fun as well you know but when I went to America
I mean I just went I got on a plane I took the
deposit for my flat here in London I had like
800 quid and I remember I was like that's it
I'm off I'm gonna go and try something else you
know and that was it I could see you done Album
in 2023 is some good stuff there lovely chat
some more about you about other things you've
done in the past But we must get on to the new
single and where we are at the moment April 2026
right you are opening for Alfie bow On a long
tour actually, I would say looking at this so
he's got a new album out So he's celebrating
that and you're opening for him all over the
place everywhere Yeah, well, isn't it? Dundee,
Aberdeen, Glasgow, Edinburgh, Manchester, Nottingham,
Gateshead, Hull, Blackpool, Blackpool Opera House,
well, that's pretty cool. Liverpool, York, Harrogate,
Sheffield, Leicester, Milton Keynes, Bath, Warwick,
Birmingham, Ipswich, King's Lynn's, Gegness,
Cambridge, Oxford, Torquay, Truro, Hull and Udnoe,
which I make a mess of saying every time. Ales...
Bury, Guildford, Southend, Folkestone, London,
Eastbourne, London would be Royal Albert Hall.
Yeah. Nice name drop there. Bournemouth, Swansea
and Cardiff. So there may be some more added
to that, but that is quite some tour. And that
is, well, April and May. Busy, busy, busy, busy.
So it's a huge tour, nearly two months. Yeah.
So you opened for, how did you get the gig? I
mean, did you know him already or was it just?
Yeah, me and Alfie put a song out in October
called Broken Perfect Love. So we put this collaboration
out. We recorded at Angel Studios, which is the
sister studio to Abbey Road. We put the song
out and he was like, let's, you know, join me
on tour. And I said, I would love to. Alfie's
a great guy. He's become a dear friend of mine.
So, you know, to be on the road with him for
a couple of months is going to be great. Yeah,
it's going to be really good. Brilliant, fantastic.
So we come to one of your, just like the nearest
one to me is Eastbourne. So we go to the Congress
Theatre Eastbourne on 27th of May. And you come
on stage, you open up. How long is your set and
what do we expect from you? So I think it's 25
minutes. So it's all my latest, all my latest
music. We'll be doing Broken Perfect Love, Stay
Wild, Hallelujah, Rise Up. I'll be doing a cover.
Um, which I haven't told anyone about yet, but
I'm going to tell you now because it's no, you
know, I can say it. So I'm going to be doing
a cover of one of my favorite songs, which is,
uh, this must be the place. The talking head
song home is where I want to be. I love that
song so much. So we're going to do an acoustic
version of that. Um, but yeah, it's, uh, yeah.
25 minutes. Oh, I think that's great. Brilliant.
So then Alfie comes on. What does he do? Does
he do a couple of 45 minute sets or does he do
as his part? I don't know. Actually, I'm not
sure. I'm not sure yet. You'll find out in Dundee
on the 14th then, won't you? I will find out
very, very soon. Right. You've got this beautiful
release single called Rise Up and it is beautiful
as well. Tell us about how that came about and
the story behind that and why you brought it
basically. Thank you. I'm very excited and very
proud of this video as well. So I was at the
Irish Post Awards in November last year and I
performed the song there for the first time I've
ever performed it. I opened the show with that
song and Emmett J. Scanlon, who we all know,
everyone knows Emmett, he's an amazing actor
from Mobland, Peaky Blinders, Kin, so much, just
incredible. had seen me perform the song at the
beginning of the show and at the after party
I got me and my brother got talking to him and
he was like you know it's it's on my bucket list
to be in a music video and I said well I got
a song you know I got one he goes I love it I
saw you sing it I love the song and then before
we know it fast forwards a few months and and
there we are in Hastings you know um filming
this stunning piece of art that we're both so
proud of. He's really brought that song alive,
really has. It's been magical working with him,
and he's a wonderful, wonderful person. On top
of just being an incredible actor, he's just
nice, down -to -earth, really good people. Yeah,
Hastings and St. Leonard's, that's actually where
I'm based. I've got to say, and yeah, believe
it's true, It's one of the biggest undiscovered
places in the country. When it's discovered,
people realize how beautiful it is for filming,
just how great it is. People spent decades slacking
it off, but it's come into its own. It's got
two art house cinemas, it's got art, it's got
everything. It's a secret to a lot of people
and when you discover it, you think, wow. It's
great, great backdrop. I had never been, but
I've got to say we got there, we were there for
a few days, two days, and it was absolutely brilliant.
It was cold when we were there, we were filming
in January, I think, no, February. Really cold,
but you know what, I was like, all for the art,
you know, we got on with it, we were fine. Yeah,
brilliant, brilliant. and Tutu present a radio
show. So here's Nick and Sue, your musical duo.
This is Nick and Sue with Cheddar Box, giving
you all you need to know about musical entertainment.
So very busy times there. What can we expect?
Let's say you were coming back. I mean, this
could probably sound really bad actually, but
if you were to come back in six months time,
what would you be wanting to tell me that you
got planned or you've achieved? We also know
all about this tour, but just say we get into
June and from June onwards, what would you like
to be telling me you've achieved? Oh, that's
a great question. Well, I have a London show
on June 18th and I'm hoping that I'm going to
sell it out because it's my headline show. So
I'm hoping in six months I'll come back and say,
yeah, I sold it out. That will make me happy
because that's one of my first big headline shows
at St. Pancras Old Church. So, yeah, that will
be great. So I'm manifesting and hoping we sell
it out. But it's looking good. That's going to
be June 18th. And then, you know, just that the
tour has been wonderful, which I know it's going
to be. I know it's going to be because it's just,
it's just going to be great. And we're going
to start putting out new music as well, you know,
again, so as soon as I come, we just already
started re recording the vocals for that stuff.
So as soon as I get back off the tour, we have
we have new music to come out. Sure. Well, now
I know, I've heard of you, but now I know of
your new music and just how wonderful it sounds.
I'll be looking out for it. And we work with
Heart Media all the time anyway. They're brilliant,
I love them, love them guys. Absolutely, absolutely.
Such high standards and they're just great for
the artists to advise them and everything else
but you don't need much advice, you're established
so you know where you want to be, where you're
going. We'd certainly like to have you back and
a bit more of a chat and I'd love to chat a bit
more something about what you've achieved in
the past at some point in the future because
I know there's like the 2023 album maybe a bit
more about some of them Smokey Clubs maybe you
could tie it up with a new album when we talk
about the new tracks on that when that comes
out we'll do something like that that'd be fantastic.
100 % just yeah absolutely have a chat to Joe
and everyone and I would love to talk to you
again for sure. brilliant that's fantastic now
um you've got a great website in fact i've got
rather your press release i've been doing it
uh from your website well this is this this pretty
sorted this website so we got jessicasweetsman
.com and um basically all the other social media
really is is covered on here so we go to your
home page and uh well literally top right hand
corner we got literally the all the uh the facebook
and Spotify and Instagram well it's all there
basically they just got to click and you go straight
to it so yeah I don't expect anybody at home
to have been writing down because I didn't give
it I just said the cities and the towns but just
literally also on your home page is a click on
turn there's the nice picture of Alfie Bowen
all the dates below and then I have there is
something on your website where people can actually
subscribe to your mailing list, which I've also
done now. Oh, thank you. People can do that and
follow you. If somebody wants to write to you,
say, we saw you last night in Eastbourne and
you were fantastic. There's even a contact button
there so they can tell you how great you were.
So there you go. Oh, yeah, absolutely. I love
receiving emails and mails, messages. I'm always
seeing all that stuff and grateful, you know,
I'm always grateful for the positivity and support.
It means a lot to me. It really does, you know,
so. Yeah, absolutely. Well, just to say, it's
a fantastic month for us, a fantastic year, and
I'm looking forward to what's next. Now, with
Rise Up, I've absolutely fallen in love with
it now. My partner Sue and myself, we do a live
show on Sundays. In fact, it's taken a break
till the beginning of May. It's called Hit or
Miss. And what we do, it's very big in the UK
and very big in the Netherlands, actually. Oh,
wow. We have a few Americans as well, but we
have people listening and the audience listen,
they vote either by e -vote or in real time in
the chat room as to whether they think a song
is going to be a hit or a miss. So we're going
to give rise up a little play on that as well
and we'll see how it gets on. Will you let me
know whether it's going to be a hit or a miss?
I want to know. I will, I will. We have a panel
that votes and we have the listeners vote as
well, then we put the two votes together. So
I will, but at the beginning of May, so I'll
be in the middle of your tour actually. happily
hit your contact button and tell you. There you
go. Please let me know. I'm hoping it's a hit.
I hope they all say it's a hit. I don't want
to put you on the spot but you could all say,
I mean if you wanted to, I mean I could always
give you a link to the e -voting the week before
and you should put it on your social media and
your fans can... I will send it to me, absolutely.
Will you send that to Joe and everyone? They
can send it over to me because I will, 100%.
I'll get people voting that it's a hit. Of course,
well that's the idea because at the end of the
day, Jessica, it is The hardcore fan base is
going to be people that have got to know you
through social media and things anyway. That's
the hardcore place, basically, for anyone these
days. It's the way to connect, isn't it? It's
all about connecting and building community.
Yeah, and these are the people that are going
to be downloading the single, of course, and
coming to see you. The initial hardcore people.
There we go. Well, I'm truly grateful for everyone
who's supporting me. I'm getting a lot of support
right now, and it's funny. I have this thing
that I'm really, I call it gratitude attitude
and I just feel so grateful right now, you know,
just for so much and just I just keep putting
that out there because I think that's really,
I'm really into all that stuff and like the universe
and if you just have the gratitude attitude and
people are what I'm grateful for, people who
are listening, people who are streaming, people
who comment, people who like, people like yourself
who are having me on the shows, you know, this
is what I'm grateful for so thank you so much.
Oh, you're more than welcome, but you vote it
yourself. You're a great artist. So I really
enjoy it really enjoy that song and i'm going
to do are going to be uh i mean i've been around
a while but that that's been rude but you have
but of course you know until um a promoter sends
something to me i mean there's there's hundreds
of thousands of artists tens of i mean i get
over a thousand emails a week so but of course
working with somebody like heart media of course
they all get open so that's the magic of working
with somebody like that so that's how you get
heard now that's brilliant aren't they Yeah,
absolutely. Now I'm going to discover you backwards
with that, you know, reverse if that makes sense.
Yeah, I love that. Yeah, I love that. Well, thank
you. And look, if you want to come to any shows
or anything, have a chat to John, we will try
and figure it out. OK, that'd be lovely. It'd
be great. It's great to meet you. And I love
making friends. And like I said, I appreciate
all the support. I really do. That's lovely.
You deserve everything you get. And I continue
to love the audience. And yeah. I can tell, I
just know that headline thing in London is going
to be great because I can tell you're going to
love it and they're going to be doing encore
after encore and you're just going to be providing
it whatever they want. I know you just love it,
I know you will. I can't wait, I can't wait to
literally start, we're going to head out to Dundee
on Sunday and I can't wait just to get out there
and just, you know, perform. I haven't been performing
live for a while so this is going to be, it's
going to be beautiful. yeah do you ever actually
get to go home because i see you i see where
you're from originally though did you when you
actually in the midlands you actually get to
stay with your folks or you got a base there
do you or is it just hotels all the way through
is that how it is It's a lot of hotels. It's
going to be a lot of hotels for two months as
well. But no, I'm actually so my family moved
down to Cornwall in Lewin, Cornwall. OK, years
ago. So I haven't been back to Birmingham for
quite a while. I visited my old school a couple
of years ago and when I performed, which was
great, I'm going to be doing that again this
year. That was the last time I went back. But
now I'm going back and we were playing Birmingham
Symphony Hall, which blows my mind because we
used to do school trips there. So that's one
of my I'm really excited for that. And in Cornwall,
we're doing tour. Hall for Cornwall. So I go
back home a lot of the weekends, like I went
back this weekend, saw my family in Cornwall,
come back on the train Sunday night. But I'm
based in London, my home's in London now. So
yeah, yeah. But it's yeah, it's a lot of hotels,
a lot of traveling. When I was living in New
York, it was a lot of back and forth. But yes,
it's I love it all. I love all the travel, you
know, it doesn't it doesn't bother me at all.
So At least you get to see your folks. That's
the main thing. That's fantastic. And yeah, get
back to you guys as well. It's all good. Jessica,
it's been amazing meeting you. It's been awesome.
So thank you very much. And we're all looking
forward to the next time already and every success
with this. And that's like at least a mega stuff.
Thank you. Thank you for being so lovely. And
thank you for having me on the show. And thank
you. You take care. Cheers then. Take care. Bye.
See you. Bye. Bye. So... You've been listening
to the Chatterbox Redux podcast and today's special
guest was Jessica Sweetman. If you're interested
in becoming a future guest on the Chatterbox
Redux podcast or the radio show Chatterbox UK,
you're welcome to submit songs, books or whatever
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Sue, myself Nick and Twinkle the tuxedo cat Thank
you very much for your company and we look forward
to welcoming you again next time for another
Chatterbox Redux podcast In the meantime, take
care, thank you for your company and we catch
you then This is Nick and Sue with Chatterbox
giving you all you need to know about musical
entertainment. Oh yeah! Chatterbox, the best
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