Eddi Reader: My manager said I was ruining my career with a Burns album

After splitting in 1990, the band reunited and performed a run of shows across the UK this year with people travelling from Europe, the United States and Australia to see them live.

But for Reader, there was one particular standout moment.

“All the gigs were amazing but Glasgow and Scotland in particular blew my mind – everybody was singing and dancing and applauding my notes when I hit a high one,” she said.

“Playing in front of my mother in Glasgow – she taught me everything I know, especially about 50s songs, so that was the best ever.”

(Image: Niall Carson/PA Archive/PA Images)

In an exclusive interview with The National, Reader (above) reflected on her time in the music industry, what it was like reuniting after so long and what the future holds for the band.

‘Saying thank you’

Fairground Attraction found immediate success back in 1988 when the group reached number one with their single Perfect.

Aside from Reader, the band featured guitarist and songwriter Mark Nevin as well as drummer Roy Dodds and Simon Edwards on guitarron.

They also picked up two Brit awards, but split in 1990 with Reader joking before the tour the band couldn’t quite remember what caused the break-up in the first place.

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The group reformed earlier this year for some gigs in Japan, which later led to an EP and the release of new album Beautiful Happening.

“I think the purpose of doing this tour was to sort of say thank you to an audience that, some of them, have just stuck with us for 35 years and others have caught on through the decades,” Reader said.

“Some were only about seven when we had a number one hit.”

While the band might have initially gone their separate ways, Reader has enjoyed a successful solo career, releasing a dozen albums.

“To be honest, the boys haven’t done what I’ve been doing and, without being big-headed, I’m used to standing ovations so there’s a lot of love at my gigs,” Reader explained.

“People have grown up with me and been with me through time, through decades. I wanted to bring them into my world a little bit and show them a bit of that, show them how appreciative audiences can be.

“We thought it would be good to present some new material. Mark sent me some new songs of his and some old ones I hadn’t ever heard.

“We left creative decisions to Mark and he’s a great creative director. It was great to be able to step back and allow that Fairground Attraction-ness to take over from where I usually sit.”

Looking back

Naturally, reuniting after more than 30 years means Reader was happy to reflect on what’s changed during that period.

One thing she’s always tried to keep consistent in her career though is that the music will always come first.

“I’ve got to strike a balance between being a creative, expressive artist and donating my abilities to a project,” she says.

Fairground Attraction reunited after more than 30 years apart (Image: Genevieve Stevenson)

She points out that she’s Glaswegian and that her dad was a shipyard worker which has helped give her an ability to “see through the bullshit”.

“I went down to London and was in lots of different situations before I joined them so that education was good,” the singer says.

“I was confident about my ability but I wasn’t up for the elitist kind of game of wanting to con anybody about what music is.

“I didn’t want to force feed anybody so Fairground Attraction was so attractive for me because what we did was take it or leave it – nobody was going to be forced into getting this.”

The band found success quick. Not only did Perfect reach number one in the UK, but also in Australia as well as cracking the top 100 in America.

For Reader though, that success felt natural, such was the band’s confidence in their own music.

“We had this out-of-the-rocket start but for me it was a natural progression from knowing how good those songs were.

“And ultimately you can’t be frightened of an executive telling you you’re getting it wrong, you have to be able to stand up to that and I think we were skilled enough to know that.

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“It’s a case of someone thinking you’re a failure if you go to number 16 rather than number one but there’s no convincing somebody that’s the wrong way of thinking.

“My philosophy was always the music comes first and, if we love it, it doesn’t matter because everything else will fall into place.”

‘Isn’t this a Scottish thing’

Nothing exemplifies Reader's philosophy more than an anecdote she shares about her time working on her Robert Burns album - Sings the Songs of Robert Burns.

Released in 2003, it features a range of Burns songs as interpreted by Reader, featuring a host of big names, including the Royal Scottish National Orchestra.

Her manager, however, seemed less convinced.

“I remember doing the Burns album and my English manager said I was ruining my career and all I thought was ‘who cares’.

“I couldn’t get a review by the big papers and they (the manager) said ‘isn’t this just a Scottish thing’ – that’s how ridiculous it is.

“Artists are kind of just treated badly, you can be loved but not nurtured.”

Looking back though, Reader always says that having “complete freedom” was the most important thing.

She doesn’t know what the future holds, but admits that the band might do some more shows or festivals.

“Getting the album done was a bit too fast for me, and it’s a good album but it doesn’t have creative writing from me and I’m still a creative artist so I have all that to express.”

If there’s one thing that’s clear though, it’s how grateful she is to have had the opportunity to reunite with her old bandmates.

“I’m so glad I got to do this again after 35 years.”