Songstress of Sankey

10:13am Wednesday 6th February 2008

MUSIC is in the heart, in the head, in the past and one strongly senses, in the future of Andrea Lesley. It was all around her as she grew up as the precocious daughter of landlord and landlady of The Sloop Hotel in Great Sankey; a lovely, evocative old establishment, complete with piano singalongs on Sunday afternoons.

At the age of four she started playing the piano and then, perhaps the luckiest break of her life, took tuition from classically trained operatic singer Doris Henshaw who had previously sung with Mario Lanza.

"I am just a fan of good music, regardless of genre. I think it was my father who taught me that. He wasn’t musical himself but he understood how powerful it can be as a method of communication."

Andrea Lesley

"I didn't realise at the time, but she taught me how to sing properly, without putting too much strain on the vocal chords," said Andrea.

"She was a tremendous inspiration to me and I always knew that I wanted to be a singer."

Other influences would greatly colour her young life from Karen Carpenter, whose bell-like voice would keep Andrea entranced for hours, to Barbara Streisand and even heavy rock bands such as Deep Purple.

"I have always stated that I am just a fan of good music, regardless of genre. I think it was my father who taught me that. He wasn't musical himself but he understood how powerful it can be as a method of communication."

That, perhaps, lies at the heart of Andrea's work.

Her fondness for country and western is not built from the cliches that occasionally cloud that music-form, but from the way true life and all its problems can be built into a song.

But quality singers do not appear overnight.

They earn their chops', performing over time in a variety of situations.

Andrea, for my sins' she says, spent three years performing within the time- share complexes of the Costa Del Sol before returning and, keen to build on that basis, spent a further eight years singing in salubrious hotels across the UK and Europe, learning the jazz tones of Cole Porter, Ella Fitzgerald, Gershwin, fronting small jazz bands and orchestras alike.

It was lucrative, glamorous if hardly artistically fulfilling.

Which is how an initial idea to record a relatively undemanding covers' album evolved into Hidden Dreams', a disparate and contemporary collection of (mainly original) songs, produced by Alistair Gordon, a Manchester industry stalwart, famed for his production work with Russell Watson, Sad Cafe, The Who and Genesis' man Tony Banks.

It was Gordon who encouraged Andrea to step away from the beckoning club circuit and, sensing something special within her voice, guided her towards writing and interpreting, encouraging a sense of uniqueness.

"Alsitair seemed to think that there was something there, something beyond just a good voice," she said.

Soon, with the help of various industry writers and musicians, they began to sift through more than 2,000 songs, including a number of her own.

The result, Hidden Dreams,' took two-and-a-half years to reach this completed stage, although it remains a promotional release', fast gathering interest from the majors.

"I had a very definite sense of what I wanted to achieve with this album. Again it stems back to the work of people like Karen Carpenter.

"I wanted to make music that managed to touch people without necessarily being in-their-faces. That's something that has been largely lacking in recent years. It is possible to make music that is elegantly produced, that sits in the background but, at the same time, isn't bland.

"A really good song can achieve that."

Andrea's notion of an understated, emotive power is certainly evident on an album that courageously borrows from different areas such as the more sophisticated fringe of R'n'B to more eclectic areas of country and folk.

"I was heavily involved in every single aspect of the album. Every guitar part, every drum, every song as well as the look, design and image," she said.

"It's unusual for an artist to have such artistic luxury, but it means that I now have something that we are truly proud of."

The album was recently showcased at Selfridges in The Trafford Centre.

An unusual move but one which does seem to suit Andrea's desire to continue to employ a more holistic approach.

"Fashion and style are also important to me and I see that as an important part of what I am and what I am doing. Selfridges fully understood this and the evening was a great success," she said.

With the music industry swiftly reversing into the digital world, with inexpensive downloading becoming increasingly dominant, the possibility of a record company investing in long-term artistic development is receding fast.

Understanding this change, Andrea is already on the verge of signing a digital deal, set to give the album global availability, bringing it and her into the electronic age.

"We are set to sign the deal at the Midem record industry seminars in Cannes," she said.

"It has taken many years to reach this point, but 2008 looks bright. I just want to work and work and work."