Neneh pops the cherry on women of a ‘certain age’
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Neneh Cherry — singer, 2014. Picture: Supplied
Source: Supplied
POP rebel Neneh Cherry has opened up about being a musician at 50 and the industry’s unfair ageist attitude towards women.
Cherry, who shot to global fame 25 years ago with hits including Buffalo Stance and Manchild, told Confidential: “As a woman, you get to a certain age, and the industry starts talking about sell-by dates. All I’ve ever wanted was to still be here at 50. As an artist, I’m starting to do things that matter. It feels like, at age 50, I’m starting to get things right.
“There are bits of your body that change and crumble, of course. I have to use reading glasses these days. But I still feel the same. I celebrate it.”
Neneh Cherry. Picture: Supplied
Source: Supplied
Cherry, who has three children and a grandson, said the debate about Madonna’s tumble at the Brit Awards only feeds the myth that art is perfect.
“How old Madonna is isn’t f—king relevant,” Cherry said. “There is a place and a stage for her. She’s an incredibly important artist. The industry’s obsession with look and age is a tragedy.
“The thought that everything is supposed to be faultless, choreographed, trimmed, is not real life. Going off-key … it’s life. We learn from imperfections.”
Madonna falls as she performs on stage for the BRIT Awards 2015. Picture: Getty
Cherry will performing her latest work, Blank Project, with music duo RocketNumberNine at the Arts Centre on Friday and Golden Plains Festival at the weekend.
The set includes reworks of Buffalo Stance, Manchild and Woman. “They’re a part of my backbone,” Cherry said. “We try to respect them for what they are.”
She hasn’t listened to her breakthrough album Raw Like Sushi for decades, but heard it during a cab ride through London six years ago. “The driver was playing the album in his car, this funny old Ford Granada. To me, it sounded very young, adolescent, a bit on the surface,” Cherry said.
“But it felt like I was hanging out with a very dear old friend. I wouldn’t be here without that record. It’s a very important piece to my outer and internal puzzle.”
Originally published as Neneh pops the cherry on women of a ‘certain age’
www.news.com.au/entertainment/music
