Scottish singer Amy, 24, sold 4 million albums after bursting on to the pop scene as a teenager. We caught up with her over cocktails to talk holidays, food poisoning and, erm, wet wipes…
Amy and Fabulous’ Emma get stuck in
Where Floripa, Shoreditch, London
Mmm, cocktails at lunchtime, this is decadent. What are you drinking?
A cosmopolitan. It’s really strong so I’m sipping it slowly! I used to stay out all night when I was 18 but now if I have one big night out, I’m in bed for a week afterwards.
You’ve been a bit quiet recently. Where have you been?
I’ve had a break for a year. From signing the record deal in 2006, I didn’t stop till the end of 2010, which was intense, so I took some time off to be at home.
And have a holiday?
I went to Dubai but I got food poisoning on the way out there. I’ve never even had to use a sick bag on a plane before but I collapsed into the aisle and had to be given oxygen!
You poor thing!
The one picture we have from the holiday is me on the bed in my pyjamas eating dry bread. I was ill for the whole week. The other guests in the hotel must have thought my boyfriend [former Aberdeen striker Steve Lovell, 31] had murdered me because he was always going to breakfast on his own.
Didn’t you get engaged to Steve about 100 years ago?
Amy with fiancée Steve
In 2008 – it’s quite a long engagement! I’m just very happy and I think there’s always that thing where you think: “It’s so great just now, why change anything?”. We will get married but I still feel like a child. I have loads that I want to do first.
You’ve always been quite adamant that you’re not a WAG…
I’m definitely not one now because he’s just retired! I wrote a song called Footballer’s Wife, which was about people who have no aspirations.
Now Steve’s retired from professional football, will he go on tour with you?
Definitely not. He’s doing some scouting and looking at getting an agent’s licence, we’re both doing our own thing.
We love your new album Life In A Beautiful Light.
Thank you! It’s got songs on it that are about the Chilean miners, New York after 9/11, and the Arab Spring.
You accused 2007 X Factor winner Leon Jackson of having “lazyitis” when he was sick with laryngitis. What was that all about?
Afterwards, I thought: “Oh, no, what have I done?”, because it was all over the papers. But he’d been offered the chance to play the Hogmanay party in Edinburgh and anybody would cut their right arm off to do that. I regretted saying it, but I hate people who go through life without having an opinion.
Have you seen him since?
No, he probably hates me. I feel sorry for him. He’s a guy who was given the world on a plate, and then they were like: “We’re having it back now”.
You’re playing T In The Park and Hard Rock Calling this summer. Have you got any tips for festival virgins?
Pack everything – shorts and flip-flops, jumpers and scarves. And wet wipes, so you’re not too minging!
● Amy’s album is out June 11.
The damage
Cocktails drunk by Fabulous 3 (hic)
Cocktails drunk by Amy ½ (oh, Amy…)
Hot boys gossiped about 2 (Travis’ Fran Healey and Gossip Girl’s Ed Westwick)
Jealous pangs at Amy’s translucent skin 7
