KATIE MELUA INTRODUCED THE GORI WOMEN’S CHOIR AT THE BEGINNING OF HER SELL-OUT CONCERT, AND EXPLAINED THAT SHE WAS BLOWN AWAY BY THE SOUND OF THEIR VOICES. THE CHOIR FEATURES ON HER NEW ALBUM ‘IN WINTER’, WHICH WAS RECORDED IN GEORGIA.

Her seventh album, ‘In Winter’, was released on 14 October 2016. She performed ‘Dreams on Fire’, from the new album, and it’s a haunting, subtle and thoughtful composition. If your dreams were on fire, which one would you save? She has named Paul Simon, Joni Mitchell, Chuck Berry, Suzanne Vega and James Taylor as significant influences on her music. Her version of ‘Bridge Over Troubled Waters’ was beautiful and incredibly moving. The Gori Women’s Choir proved to be a perfect foil for her clear pure voice, and they feature on her new album. The atmosphere was electric at the Liverpool Philharmonic Hall: and though she returned for an encore. She left her audience still wanting more.

On a personal note, she sometimes buys clothes at Oxfam, and allegedly her hairdresser describes her look as being akin to a Romanian window cleaner. In fact she looks stunning, though it’s obvious she’s totally focussed on the music.

As a child she lived in Tbilisi, in Georgia. Katie sometimes had to carry buckets of water up five flights of stairs to her family’s flat, and apparently reflects back on those days, when staying in luxurious hotels now.

Her tour is nearly over. I believe she was travelling to Birmingham after Liverpool, but you can still check out the new album. I loved it. She’s a rare talent.

Written by: Jean Hill.

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