Nick and Sue. This edition of the Chatterbox
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More from them in a bit. Chatterbox. When the
stars talk, they talk to Nick and Sue. Welcome
back to the Chatterbox Redux podcast with Nick
and Sue and today our special guest is Gina Ross.
This is Nick and Sue with 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,
Chatterbox, we're just lucky enough to welcome
back Gina Ross. Gina, welcome back. How are you?
Hello, Gina. Hello, hi, Nick and Sue, hi. My
absolute pleasure to always be back with you
two, honestly. It's going to be fun. It's ages
since we last spoke. What's been going on? Let's
go back to what's happened so far this year with
releases. I mean, you did very, very well, of
course, with the hit and miss final. You've always
been in the wings, what do you think? But you
got it this time. I know. It wasn't it? You know,
we put forward sunglasses in the rain maybe two
seasons ago, was it? Well, I can't remember one
season. I can't remember. Anyway, and there we
were. And yes, yeah, I think we came fourth.
that year um and then of course um uh season
was it season two or three i get confused myself
four has just gone four yeah i think it was season
two or three that i was in the last time right
so um anyway there we there we are with fractured
and i mean if we remember rightly it was the
first um song in the series, wasn't it? Yes,
the first song in the first programme of season
four. Very first, when it won. And the one that
came second was the second song to be played,
which was Sam Ryder. Oh, wow! That must have
been a hell of a good show, that one. They both
stood it right to the end. It was amazing, wasn't
it? Yeah. Very, very much so. And, you know,
I mean, they are getting, I must admit, they
are getting tougher and tougher, you know, but
that's just how wonderful the show is. And the
momentum of the people that listen in and not
only that, but the momentum of the votes that
I get in now. Incredible, and so very privileged
and grateful for all those who did vote for Fractured.
I mean, I think it was an incredible, powerful
song. And to say that it was recognised as such
is quite an accolade, indeed it was. So thanks
very much for that, yeah. My favourite lyrics
was, I'm not broken, I'm just fractured. Yeah.
Well, again, again, it all had to do with the
situation that you both personally know about,
about my daughter going through the most dreadful,
dreadful breakup. I mean, people do go through
dreadful breakups, but this, you know, was bad.
And, and so it was that plus a combination of
my husband who had fallen down some stairs and
fractured his femur and so ended up in hospital
and then care facilities for the next five months
in respect of it taking that amount of time to
heal. So here I was with thinking about the situation
with my daughter and then with my husband having
this broken femur. And I went, okay, I know it
sounds like a really weird combination, but that's
how my head works sometimes. That's how my head
works. So there we were with, I'm not broken,
I'm just fractured. Yeah. And then... love for
the same line every day I find a way to carry
on because it was really tough for her but somehow
she found the strength as people do as people
do when they're going through a really tough
time they find the reason and the strength to
carry on and so so yeah I was very very very
chuffed when that actually won the final of the
hit or miss yeah and of course we've got this
season's coming up and you know again all the
tough heats have been and gone and there's still
some ahead of us and you know it's it's it's
an open contest because there is such wonderful
quality of mainstream and mainstream independent
artists that are involved. I think how it works
so well is that alongside you playing the mainstream
and then the independent mainstream, you've given
a vehicle for all the independent mainstream.
to be heard and to give them the exposure, which
they necessarily wouldn't have if the show format
was different, was different in some shape or
form. And I've got to say, Nick and Suelle, when
you introduced the panel, you know, so it was
all sort of very Eurovision like. Yeah, it was
wonderful. It was. it was just so fair it was
it really really worked and um yeah yeah so i
mean i can only see it go from strength to strength
yeah i think the important thing with how we
have the mainstream artists against the independent
mainstream artists and of course some quite big
acts that have had hits over the years are now
producing their material independently including
last week's winner Schwuddy Woody they're not
with the register anymore they do it themselves
right and to be honest with you it's uh it's
not a talent show there's always a market perhaps
for a talent show maybe even on rni but that's
not what it is it's we are you know we'd like
to be fair and across the board now in the real
world independent art independent uh commercial
independent artists call it whatever we wanted
a mainstream whatever we want to call it such
as yourself, in the real world, you're going
to be up against the Rolling Stones and Suzy
Quatro on radio play. That's how it is. And I
think it's a very realistic contest for that
reason. There isn't anything quite like it. It's
one thing or the other. This is straight up the
middle and I think that's what makes it so special.
And I think... Where we got the panel in, it's
made voting more realistic in the outcome. I
think it's encouraged more people from the outside,
we'd say, to listen in. And have you noticed
how the votes for Paul McCartney, Susie Quattro
and the more famous people have gone up to match?
Not to beat them, the voting's very fair and
across the board. Because we send out clips to
200 people who are regular listeners. Of course,
they get a clip of everyone's songs, they're
still in touch, what's going on. But of course,
it's encouraging everybody to vote for everybody.
You know, hit, miss, hit, miss. And it's very
balanced now. With respect to... with the show,
the show itself, I mean, I've known, I'm sure
there was a heat... at one point where I was
up against Barbara Streisand, Andre Grande, can't
pronounce her name, and Maria Curry doing the
song, One Voice, One Heart or something. And
I just thought, Wow, this is amazing and when
you actually do listen to the song you're entering
and you go, okay, okay It's okay stats up. So
but that's a great way of putting it Nick that
those people are played or you're played alongside
those people on national radio So, you know,
it's like bless you know when we've had the airplay
and um and on R &I and you know um someone might
play Carly Simon and then they'll go here's Gina
Ross and and it's lovely it's beautiful it's
wonderful to know and um you yourself so well
have played some banging tunes and then slipped
oh here's Gina Ross as well We don't actually
look upon... We look upon the artist as a whole,
as a standard, especially for Chatterbox, very
much for Chatterbox. But when it comes to Su's
Bangin' Chains or Hit or Miss or any show that
we're doing, your Gina Ross song flows with those
other great artists. It's not out of place. It
flows. Well, this is the wonderful accolade that
I... commend to, you know, being involved with,
like, Martin, Martin Sutton, and, you know, I
mean, he's written for Mike and the Mechanics,
Pixie Rock, Gary Barlow, and so you know, in
respect, when you're working with someone like
Martin, that, you know, what he's going to produce
is going to stand up against Yeah, yeah, without
a doubt. So it's been a wonderful, wonderful
by chance meeting with Martin, but something
which I'm sure will carry on for an incredibly
long, long, long time moving forward. Yeah. Oh,
he's top of the game. I mean, I mean, I know
that he wouldn't send anything out for release
unless it wasn't. Perfect. That's right. And
for the selectors in San Marino to actually know
who Martin Sutton is, that's pretty good going
really. Very, very, very. It really is wonderful.
And when you mentioned that, I was so chuffed.
I was so very, very, very, very chuffed. supporting
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Don't forget CBUKRDUX. Let's move on. We've got
a brand new release. In fact, it's coming out
this week. Find my button to you. The 15th. The
15th of July, that one is released. And how that
came about was... I rang Martin and I says I
think we need some more songs Martin and he says
well what I'm going to suggest to you Jean I
need you to think about it because every other
time it was a question of us doing soon meetings
and doing lots of lyrical writing and music writing
and then you know months later I'd go down to
the studio and record he says how about you come
down here for five days five intense days we
write two songs, we produce two songs, you record
two songs, and we release two songs. And I thought,
okay, absolutely, okay, why not indeed? And it
was the most incredible experience. And to work
with such a man of his caliber in respect of
the intensity, the commitment. uh from from walking
would not through even walking through the door
from getting in the car to go into his studio
you know um i always remember of the two songs
we ended up doing um when i because i just jumped
in i got this on my mind So much it's it's been
there ever since I was on the train and and all
I can think of is the title has to be Find my
way to you You know, it's a bit of a tricky one,
too But but then when we got down to it, it was
so amazing because what we were trying to establish
is When you're in a relationship and that relationship
breaks up What do you do What do you do? I mean,
we're all very different and we all have our
own ways of deciding what we're going to do next.
So what we were trying to establish is, do you
rush head on into a relationship without thought,
without, and just go, well, I've got to meet
somebody else I've got to meet, or do you sit
back and take the time to get better, to heal,
and then go, well, it will be then once I feel
better that I'll be able to find my way to you.
And it was just so amazing that throughout my
life and the relationships that have been and
gone in respect of they've broken down and there's
no way back, what do you do? And there has been
that time, there has been that time when I've
gone Oh, well, just start dating again. Just,
you know, do what I want to do. And then, of
course, you then think, well, this isn't actually
working for me this way. So then that's when
you sit back and you just allow yourself the
time to really, really heal before you move on
and then meet someone. And it was amazing because
even Martin what was saying about his own personal
journey and it just felt right and it was from
and it was from that perspective that we wrote
Find My Way To You. Yeah. What have we got planned
for the next year? Can we ask about Summer May?
Is it going to come out at some point? Yes. Yeah,
I'm hoping to release Summer May, which was recorded
last April, May, sometime like that. Hoping to
release that this year. If not, it can always
be the first release of 2027. Because I think
come September, Hopefully, we're going to have
a pretty, pretty busy time. Yeah. Yeah. And of
course, the second song that I wrote with Martin
has all to do with with that very, very busy
time that, you know, can we talk about it? I'm
not too sure. We can make it. We just can't play
the song. And I don't think we can any of the
lyrics at all. Right. We can mention the song,
yes, and we've mentioned the country even. I'm
happy with that. So you can say or I can say,
I don't mind. OK, well, I will let you say as
you've done all the very, very hard work to get
us to where we are. But in respect of the song,
when Martin and I got together for these two
very intense songs that we had over the period
of five days, that were... written that were
produced that were recorded within those five
day period and the second one of the two is a
song called Find the Place I Live and well it's
even I don't really want to mention it because
it's just so exciting if all that we hope to
achieve is how we achieve it but um it it's uh
definitely um a song typical of what you would
expect from a contest like Eurovision so so you
said the rest basically yes it's a fantastic
project which technically has been talked about
for a couple of years between us all because
i've always wanted to be basically part of a
Eurovision project as behind an artist and we
nearly did this in the late 90s but unfortunately
whatever year it was Jonathan King got arrested
and got into a lot of trouble because he was
in charge of Eurovision and it was perfect under
him because he did the selection process and
the last 12 songs for the BBC for us to vote
at home it worked under him and we got so many
seconds of the odd first under him but of course
things changed and he's no longer welcome. to
be part of the selection process but to represent
the UK is a close shot, it's impossible and the
BBC still have the rights to the Eurovision till
the 2028 contest and of course it could get renewed
even, that's the problem, it could do but fortunately
ITV also are members of the European Broadcasting
Union so they could take it on quite legally.
And now it's ITV. I mean, I like the reason why
TV channels, I preferred it. But when it comes
to something like this, a national ITV channel
makes it a reality to take it from the BBC. It
makes it plausible rather than it's a southern
and that's how I look rather than Meridian or
HTV or Grenada or someone rather than just them
getting the rights. A whole ITV one channel makes
it a reality. I believe, definitely. And that
little thing with STV who've taken over Grampian,
they're affiliated, although they're their own
company, but they too are a member of the European
Broadcasting Union as well. So let's make life
quite simple. We have done all that. So yeah,
it's simple if BBC lose it. Very simple. So it
was finding a different country. Now, Gina, you
and I in fact in Malta not only have you done
your singing and some concerts and things and
all right the Maltese are such friendly people
they love the British and of course going back
from the days when our troops were there during
the second world war they went so much so to
making uh English their joint native language
everyone can speak it there and even so much
so as changing to our side of the road for driving
which they still do right so when it came to
Eurovision they had selected British people English
people British people call it what you like and
I had selected them in the past but the rules
have changed slightly. You now have to have somebody
in the backing backing you that is born in Malta.
This song we have, we can't change, it's perfect.
You've got the Martin Sutton, can we mention
Kat Amy singing? Yes, of course, please. Yourself
and myself, to me it's a team that's going to
work. It's got everything there. Everyone's doing
their own bit. It's perfect. And we all know
each other. So there's not actually a problem
if I need to speak to Martin about something
about the staging and running. You know, it's
there, isn't it? It's just there. Absolutely.
So we've found San Marino have no restrictions
at all. They welcome they welcome entries from
other European countries. Another great thing
about San Marino is they're clearly not ageist
in any way to the extent that Boy George is older
than all of us and he got selected to do his
last 20 seconds with whatever the girl was called
last year and they don't always go for famous
people either but they're quite happy to select
somebody in their 50s or their 60s and just put
I just want somebody to be good they they not
only want a representation for Samara you know
they want to win it you know it's the world stage
they're not going to win the world cup they're
not going to qualify for the world cup there's
not much they're going to do but they can win
a contest right and bring it back to san marino
for the next year something like that and of
course the other thing is for such a small country
i mean it doesn't make anything but it could
really help its tourism couldn't it you know
it's worth it you know all around so we are going
for san marino but we can't we can't let anybody
hear a song or hear any of the words until september
the first at the earliest Excellent, yeah. That's
the number one date across Eurovision territory.
But it is the best, there was stuff there. Everything
is in this song. And Gina, you know as well as
I do, if there was the slightest thing wrong
with it, I'd say. Yeah, absolutely, absolutely.
Right or wrong, I would say. I'm very excited
about some of the staging concepts that you mentioned.
And it feels like a complete... complete package.
So let's trust ourselves and the universe and
San Marino that that all happens, which will
be incredibly exciting. Incredibly. Yeah. By
the time we've finished, everybody's going to
know where San Marino is. Great. Not just within
Italy, somebody's going to know exactly where
it is in that top north -hand corner. They're
going to know. Excellent, absolutely. A little
bit on the map, yes. Yeah, very much so. Nick
and Sue, if you're looking for the perfect gift
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good, do some good to the planet and show your
true colors. Shadowbox! Shadowbox! Shadowbox!
Shadowbox! Just look about some of the fantastic
songs you've done. Of course, Sunglasses in the
Rain, an amazing song. A Woman Who Knows, a Fractured
we discussed already. We had one called Go Easy,
haven't we? We've... That was the first one.
Yeah. Yeah, that was the first one. Can I make
you feel your love? That was a great one. Make
you feel my love, yes. Yes, we've had some real
classics. Now would you say, would you say looking
back at these songs, because we've obviously
discussed them in detail from the time we first
met, which wasn't right, was it? No, find my
way to you, wasn't it? As you just said, yeah.
Is it a story, more or less, of your life as
your life's progressing? I mean, can we expect
the next stage that you go to, Eurovision aside
perhaps, or maybe not, can we say that's all
different stages of your life experiences? Very,
very much so. And you've just sort of really,
really just said exactly what, when I write,
what I experience and what is happening to my
life right now, because it is a reflection. It's
a reflection of what I've been through throughout
my career, which has been so vast and so varied
and so incredibly wonderful with all the wonderful,
wonderful stars that I have worked with and met.
It has just been an incredible journey, and there's
no signs of it stopping anytime soon. But it
was so funny, you should actually say that, because
I was speaking with my producer that lives near
me, and I was saying to him, I says, I would
love to do some really, really powerful cover
versions, just to keep them in the can, just
to have them there, just so I know I want to
release this one now and I'm going to tell you
something one of those songs I don't know when
I'll release it but it's the most gorgeous song
and I know you're all gonna nod your head but
it's a song called if I never sing another song
and um and we've we've recorded it we're comping
it at the moment and uh it's it that is my life
honestly that you know um and i guess the other
one that i will possibly um record at some point
in the future is uh born to sing forever which
um is on all my uh instagram and you know because
you know that you know since i was a child i've
never known anything else so um Yeah, so those
are two of the songs that I would definitely
love to have. They're ready to go whenever I
feel, whenever I feel the timing is right. And,
you know, because when I was in concert and doing
the theatres and doing, it was all these big
powerhouses of songs that I used to sing. So
I thought, gosh, you know, just to just to have
them there would uh yeah i think i'd be very
pleased if if that if they were recognized and
people said gosh oh and especially for those
who have never ever heard them you know it's
all go wow well what a good song so indeed did
we mention wandering girl amongst that lot yes
you did tell me is there so many great songs
that it's becoming a list now jina that's right
But you mentioned that about all the great people
you've worked with and what a great life you've
had. Now, we look upon that. I mean, I had a
big bit of a radio career before I ever met Sue,
going in the 80s and into the 90s. I was a club
DJ as well, but I mean, we had a phase then of
interviewing some really great people. Now, if
we look back, I think we would say we've had
an amazing time. definitely meeting people like
you but you know you're right up there with the
greats but look at some of those A -listers we've
interviewed I mean incredible hobby to have yeah
absolutely that's the incredible thing their
promoters come twice you think wow okay that's
right I don't know it's it's surreal in a way
but we do it in such a way that we don't want
to make them feel like gods or anything we just
want to chat like we do like friends And I think
that's why they like it so much. Very, very much
so. Very much so. And I totally agree with you
with all the big stars like Bob Monkhouse, like
Tom O 'Connor, Billy Connolly, Chubby Brown,
Lulu, and Sheila Ferguson from The Three Degrees.
Yeah, I know you interviewed her. And, I mean,
the list goes on. Oh, David Essex, Sasha DeBelle.
Oh, wonderful. Oh, yes. Wonderful. Absolutely.
Yeah. So, you know, all these amazing, amazing
people. And I'm just so grateful and so thankful
I've had that opportunity. Truly, yeah. we have
to and you have to whenever we decide not that
we're ever going to retire of course we can be
carried out in our boxes long before we actually
say right that's it we're giving up now because
you don't do it do you no but i think we you
yourself and ourselves should actually write
a book about the great people we've met and worked
with positive you know there's very few bad ones
isn't it but if you all did like that one they're
such great people do this book about loads you
would about the people you've worked with there's
tony christy as well there's so many Tina Turner
and Tina Turner and Percy Sledge yeah absolutely
absolutely so that's a project if you ever have
a voice problem again that's the time to start
writing it indeed and put it away when you can
sing that's it that's what yeah yeah it's good.
Gina very important question do you have to protect
your voice do you have to be careful because
getting these high notes do you have to be careful
with your voice? Well um Because obviously we're
in this heat wave, aren't we? And of course,
obviously in studio conditions, it's quite difficult
to record in a studio at the moment with the
heat. But what I definitely, definitely have
to be very careful of is air conditioning. Yeah,
because it just like dries your vocals out. without
a doubt. It affects me and I'm not a singer.
It affects me with my breathing problem. Right,
yes, so you know that's definitely a no -no with
the air conditioning. When I had to take Ian
to hospital last week and we walked out of like
I don't know maybe 80, 90 degrees into like freezing
air conditioning and I went Ian I'm dropping
you off here and I'm going back outside because
unfortunately I had a dreadful episode with air
conditioning and the heat and I actually ended
up in A &E and they They thought well, I was
really poorly. I couldn't breathe and what it
was. It was a condition I can't remember the
medical term, but it's a it's a condition where
the lungs get inflamed Because you've been in
a warm place and then you go directly into a
cold and the lungs go into spasm Gina social
media time websites and anything else you got
please. Okay. Here we go. We've got Gina Ross
Gina Ross dot co dot uk that's my website Instagram
is Gina Ross dot 2024 Facebook is Gina Ross and
um uh and LinkedIn is Gina hyphen Ross at LinkedIn
so that's the three um yeah yeah Perfect. Gina,
it's been great to have a catch up with you.
We always say this because you're a regular.
We've been looking forward to the next time already,
Gina. And I think we've got to make that song
the last one in this season. See how that works
out. Wonderful. And this should go out next week,
one after tomorrow. So, yeah. Gina, thanks so
much for coming back on Chatterbox. Thank you.
I love you dearly. Thank you so much for having
me. God bless. Bye bye. Bye. Bye. You've been
listening to the Chatterbox Redux podcast with
Sue and Nick and today our special guest was
Gina Ross. 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 it is you
do and send us a CV, synopsis or press release.
However, we receive several thousand such press
releases every week and it's impossible to reply
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