Imelda May has explained how a last-minute text conversation led to her duetting with Noel Gallagher on her new track.
Just One Kiss features the former Oasis star on vocals and Ronnie Wood on guitar, both close friends of the 46-year-old Irish songstress.
May told how she considered asking Gallagher to sing on the track but decided against it, thinking he must be asked to guest on other people’s songs all the time.
A week before her booked studio time, she still had not decided on a partner for the duet, until Gallagher offered during an impromptu text exchange.
She said: “I have known Ronnie a long time and he asked me to sing on his album.
“It was the Chuck Berry one and we did a little mini-tour just before all the lockdown stuff.
“He just said, ‘Give us a shout anytime’. So I did, I asked him. He’s brilliant, Ronnie is amazing. He plays on a couple of tracks on the album.
“I was wanting to ask Noel to sing with me on this song because I just thought he would be brilliant. I love his voice. I love his vibe.
“And then I thought, ‘I won’t ask him because I am sure he gets asked all the time’ and then we were just texting and here we are.”
Rolling Stones star Wood and May are long-standing friends and shared a stage in a Dublin blues club when she was aged 16.
Her forthcoming sixth studio album 11 Past The Hour also features Miles Kane of the Last Shadow Puppets, with contributions from feminist thinkers and activists such as Gina Martin and Dr Shola Mos-Shogbamimu.
Speaking about the recording process, she said: “We did these live, we did these together. It was while we were still allowed.
“You were allowed six people in the studio and they were all distanced.
“We did it well. We all kept our distance.
“Whatever the rules, I am happy to follow the guidelines and be very careful with this.
“I am glad we actually did it properly than remotely.
“You get a much better vibe, a much better feeling.
“It’s more natural and authentic. It’s more real.”
11 Past The Hour is out on Decca Records on April 23rd
