Nick and Sue. This edition is brought to you
in association with the Steel Union for men's
gifts, presents and problem solving men's accessories.
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! 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 Suelle. Hi. My absolute pleasure
to always be back with you two, honestly. It's
going to be fun. It's been 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 has 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.
Oh, yeah. 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 but that's just how wonderful the
show is and the momentum of the people that listen
in and and not only that but the momentum of
the votes that I get in now are incredible and
so so very privileged and grateful for all those
who did vote for for Fractured. I mean it was,
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. My favourite lyrics was I'm not broken,
I'm just fractured. 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 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 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 Arista 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 R &I 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 the voting more realistic in the outcome
I think it's encouraged more people from the
outside we're say to listen in where and have
you noticed how the votes for Paul McCartney
Suzy 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 Carey
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. It's
that's 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 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 But it flows.
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... I mean, I was so chuffed. Well, this show
is proud to be brought to you in association
with the Distill Union. Since 2011, the Distill
Union have been on a mission to simplify your
life through a less is more philosophy, creating
sleek essentials to solve everyday problems with
serious style. Distill Union doesn't just make
accessories, they engineer intuitive tools that
declutter your routine. The Wallet Wallet is
a real game changer for anyone tired of pocket
bulk. It's a minimalist slim profile wallet that
uses innovative magnetic closures to keep your
cards in cache incredibly secure while remaining
effortlessly accessible. With the Ferris Key
Organizer you can say goodbye to the clutter.
The Ferris uses a modular magnetic system to
snap your keys and essentials together into one
streamlined silent setup. It's customisable,
tactile and honestly a joy to use. All products
are premium quality and crafted from premium
full -grain leather. It's durable, sophisticated
and actually ages beautifully over time, developing
a unique character. Plus, they stand behind their
work in a three -year guarantee. When you choose
the Distill Union, you're choosing quality over
quantity. and by using our code CBUKRDUX you
aren't just getting a better way to carry your
gear, you're supporting the show and the planet.
As part of the Chatterbox community's commitment
to the environment, 1 % of all commissions from
your purchases are donated to the Stripe Climate
Program to help remove CO2 from the atmosphere.
It's a small way to make a big difference while
upgrading your daily carry. We've worked with
Distill Union to arrange the highest exclusive
discounts specifically for you, 20%. Head over
to distillunion .com or simply scroll down to
the link below in the show notes and just add
C -B -U -K -R -D -U -X. Let's move on. We've
got a brand new release. In fact, it's coming
out this week, hasn't it? Something like that.
Find my point 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 Gene, I need you
to think about it because every other time it
was a question of us doing Zoom 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
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 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, 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 on 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 regional ITV 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. 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 they 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 um so we've found san marino
have no restrictions at all they welcome uh they
welcome um 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 not only want a representation
for San Marino, 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 is 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. Put it
on the map, yes. Yeah, very much so. It takes
two to tangle And two to present a radio show
So here's Nick and Sue Your musical duo We're
taking a quick break to talk about the things
we carry with us every single day and we've all
been there fumbling with a bulky wallet or dealing
with jumbled mess of keys that sounds like a
tambourine in your pocket. Well this show is
proud to be brought to you in association with
the Distill Union. Since 2011 the Distill Union
have been on a mission to simplify your life
through a less is more philosophy creating sleek
essentials to solve everyday problems with serious
style. Distill Union doesn't just make accessories,
they engineer intuitive tools that declutter
your routine. The Walle Wallet is a real game
changer for anyone tired of pocket bulk. It's
a minimalist slim profile wallet that uses innovative
magnetic closures to keep your cards in cache
incredibly secure while remaining effortlessly
accessible. With the Ferris Key Organizer you
can say goodbye to the clutter. The Ferris uses
a modular magnetic system to snap your keys and
essentials together into one streamlined silent
setup. It's customisable, tactile and honestly
a joy to use. All products are premium quality
and crafted from premium full grain leather.
It's durable, sophisticated and actually ages
beautifully over time developing a unique character
plus they stand behind their work in a three
-year guarantee. When you choose the Distill
Union you're choosing quality over quantity and
by using our code CBUKRDUX you aren't just getting
a better way to carry your gear you're supporting
the show and the planet. As part of the Chatterbox
community's commitment to the environment, 1
% of all commissions from your purchases are
donated to the Stripe Climate Program to help
remove CO2 from the atmosphere. It's a small
way to make a big difference while upgrading
your daily carry. We've worked with Distill Union
to arrange the highest exclusive discounts specifically
for you, 20%. Head over to distillunion .com
or simply scroll down to the link below in the
show notes and just add c -b -u -k -r -d -u -x
This is Nick and Sue with Chatterbox giving you
all you need to know about musical entertainment
Chatterbox Chatterbox Chatterbox Chatterbox Chatterbox
Chatterbox Chatterbox Just looking at some of
the fantastic songs you've done of course Sunglasses
in the Rain, an amazing song A Woman Who Knows
Fractured we discussed already. We had one called
Go Easy, haven't we? That was the first one.
Yeah. Yeah, that was the first one. 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
was... No, Find My Way To You, wasn't it? As
you just said, yeah. Is it... 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, and it has just been an incredible journey,
and there's no signs of it stopping any time
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 we've recorded it, we're comping
it at the moment, and it's, that is my life.
Honestly, that, you know, and I guess the other
one that I will possibly record at some point
in the future is Born to Sing Forever, which
is on all my... 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 um i would uh definitely
love to have they're ready to go whenever i feel
whenever i feel the timing is right and uh you
know because when i was in in uh in concert and
in doing the theaters and doing it was all these
big powerhouse of houses of songs that I used
to sing so I thought gosh, you know just to just
to have them there would 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 go Wow.
Well, what a good song. So Did we mention Wandering
Girl amongst that lot? Yes you did. Because there's
so many great songs that it's becoming a list
now Gina. 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. doubled up as a club DJ as
well. But I mean, we had 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 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.
So that's the incredible thing. Their promoters
come twice. You think, wow. OK, that's right.
We look back the same way. I don't know, 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, Sacha DiBelle. 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
i feel like that one they're such great people
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.
Absolutely. So that's a project. If you ever
have a voice problem again, that's the time to
start writing it. Indeed. And then put it away
when you can sing. That's it. That's what, yeah,
yeah. Gene, a 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,
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 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've got please. Okay, here
we go. We've got Gina Ross www. 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.
Can't wait. We always say this because you're
a regular. We're 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. Bless you. 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 to each one individually. Why not email
us or leave a comment because we'd love to know
what you think of the podcast. Our email address
is nickelbum at myyahoo .com Alternatively, you
could write to us at P .O. Box 26, The Old Observer
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episode 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 we thank you for your company And,
uh, we catch them. Bye bye. Shatterbox giving
you all you need to know about musical attainment.
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