Eddie Reader

KS caught up with Scottish singer-songwriter and ex-Fairground Attraction vocalist Eddi Reader prior to her return to Japan.

We last spoke with you before your Japan tour in 2014 when Vagabond was due to be released in Japan. What has been happening for you musically since 2014?

I have inherited 50 or more historical musical books which trace popular traditional music of the four countries in the British Islands (Wales, Scotland, England and Ireland). These books and papers have been educating me about songs long forgotten since 1900 and I am going through them to find exciting melodies and words not heard by anyone who is alive today. I would like to honor that find with some new recordings. These recordings will accompany a book being released about the items I inherited. The musical books are only part of a large historical collection. I discovered my grandfather’s brother was a leader in the revolutionary movements in Ireland and Scotland in 1916. It seems that this inheritance includes information that history departments of universities do not have. It was all found under beds and in cupboards where it has all remained hidden since the 1950s.

Previously, you mentioned that while writing Vagabond, you had to choose 14 songs out of 27 for the final product and that you might use the remaining songs on another album. Will there be another studio album including some of those songs or newer material?

Yes. I have some of the Vagabond sessions still to edit or re-write or re-record. These will surface as soon as my obsession with the 1900s has finished playing with me.
As my ‘best of’ album is now available, the Japan gig will be showcasing this album with songs going back to Fairground Attraction right up to the present day. I try to be spontaneous when I perform so all performances will have a sprinkling of Fairground Attraction songs and songs from all over my four decades in music – those songs gave me the wings to fly as far away as Japan. I will always be grateful to Japan for the welcome it gave me and the music.

Scottish singer-songwriter and ex-Fairground attraction vocalist
• Billboard Live OSAKA, Osaka • Jul 4 • Singer-songwriter • 6:30pm/9:30pm • ¥7,500/¥8,500 • Tel: 06-6342-7722