Page 18 - BiTS_07_JULY_2023
P. 18
THE BiTS INTERVIEW: CHERRY LEE MEWIS
Cherry cut her teeth endlessly playing the rowdy bars and clubs in her
hometown in north Wales from the age of 12, developing not only her powerful
soulful voice, but her performance and style too.
It wasn't until later on, that Cherry became immersed in old school country,
blues and rock'n'roll music from her dad's record collection and picked up a
'bargain-bin guitar', learnt some chords and started putting pen to paper.
Not long after her move from Wales to Bedford, Cherry and Max Milligan
self-released an album, “Little Girl Blue”, on which they re-arranged 11 early
blues numbers, including songs by Memphis Minnie, Robert Johnson and Jelly
Roll Morton.
In 2021, Cherry gave birth to her daughter. She is now back in Wales.
CLM: Hello, Ian.
BiTS: Hello, Cherry. Nice to speak to you.
CLM: Yes, you too. How are you?
BiTS: Is everything okay? Have you got the children
looked after?
CLM: Yes, child, just one. I've only had one [laughs].
BiTS: [Laughing] It's only one, is it?
CLM: Yes, just the one.
BiTS: Okay, well, let's make a start. I've been very
impressed with the music that you've produced so
far, but you've had a bit of a layoff. When are
you coming back?
CLM: Well, that's the million-dollar
question, isn't it? Yes, see, since becoming a
mum, it's like I can't just swan off anymore, you
know, like how I used to [chuckling], unless
there's a big tour bus involved where she can
come with me. She's not even 2 yet so I don't really
want to spend a long time away from her either. But
I am recording quite a bit at home and guesting on other people's
recordings too. So there are, you know, things going on. I'm just
not performing as much.
BiTS: Well, let's talk about that in a minute. First of all, let's take
a step back and tell me how did you get into music in the first
place? Did you start music when you were a kid or what?
CLM: I did. I was oh, seven when I just knew I wanted to
sing. I just wanted to sing and that's all I did. I remember
