I love people with strong convictions, because we are living in a very PC world. You can’t crack a joke without it being in the headlines. – Imelda May
Music was always part of my life – my mother says I came out singing. I wanted to be Gene Kelly – or Judy Garland. – Imelda May
Ireland and America, music-wise, are very closely related. The Irish came over with their fiddles in hand, and you can hear it in the bluegrass and rockabilly. I love it when music from different countries combine. – Imelda May
People expect you to change when you become a mother, and of course my priorities changed when I had Violet. She’s number one in my life and the best thing that ever happened to me, but I still have fun. I am still myself, but that is made out to seem like I am rebelling against motherhood. – Imelda May
I always loved the bad girls in the movies. I loved Bette Davis; I loved Katherine Hepburn. I loved Ava Gardner. – Imelda May
I remember once doing a gig in Ireland, and there was a woman jumping around and screaming, ‘I don’t know what this is but I love it!’ I thought that was a nice compliment. – Imelda May
I love to cook. I love having friends over and family. I am definitely a feeder – I feed everybody. I am jumping around the kitchen like a crazy woman. – Imelda May
I’m not comparing myself at all to him, but I like the idea that Ernest Hemingway always wrote about certain things he knew, he knew the ins and outs, back to fronts of what he was talking about. I love that as an inspiration for myself, to keep it true to what you know. – Imelda May
I love to look back, but I don’t want my music to be nostalgic. I want it to have the same vibrancy that the music I love had when it came out. I’m trying to get that electricity. – Imelda May
You have to change your life for yourself, and it’s about the fun of getting there – sitting in the tour van, breaking down on the side of the road, you know, having a laugh with the guys in the band, making mistakes with nobody watching. – Imelda May
I love punk rock, The Clash, The Ramones, The Cramps. I love where it all came from, and music for my ears now, it has to have that same electricity, adrenaline and danger. – Imelda May
I love to have no plans. It is amazing where your day can turn when you have no plans: meeting people or just going to a little pub on the side of the road. – Imelda May
‘Love Tattoo’ I recorded without a record company. I’d gotten turned down by the record companies – they said they didn’t get me, which is fine, I suppose. – Imelda May
I love the shape of ’50s fashion: the clothes are very flattering; they let you out in the right places. I love high heels, too, as I’m only five foot three, although I always tell people I’m five foot five. – Imelda May
I would love to work with Leonard Cohen, Tom Waits, B.B. King. I’d love to do something with Arctic Monkeys, Miles Kane, and The Last Shadow Puppets. If I got a call from Juliette Lewis or PJ Harvey, or Chrissie Hynde, that’d be a thrill. – Imelda May