Lucky old me, a few weeks a go I got to meet and interview the stupendous singer Cecilia Noel. Regular listeners will know that one of the missions of the Crossroads programme is to spread the glad tidings about the divine Miss Cecilia. Her music is a wonderful mix of salsa and soul music and she has been compared to the great soul singers.
She was accompanying her husband Colin Hay, writer of (I Come From) the Land Down Under on his latest tour. We met on a cold wet afternoon in Manchester and we chatted for over an hour about her, her musica and some of the people who influenced her. Her latest album is called A GOZAR – To Enjoy – and it’s a corker. Exciting, tight, latin music done in a way only she can. If you ever get the chance to see her DVD LIVE IN HOLLYWOOD then do so, I can thoroughly recommend that experience as well. It is popular music as it should be done. A large band with brass, percussion and four back-up singers – everyone relaxed and having fun, knowing the songs and belting them out – catchy tunes done by people who know what they are doing.