The Londoner: Black session musicians matter too, says singer

In today's Diary: Black backing singers deserve better deal, argues musician / John Niven on pitching a novel about golf / Jessie Ware's messy house / David Lammy joins Amal Clooney's workplace
Speaking out: Kelli-Leigh
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4 June 2020

Many talented black music artists remain as backing vocalists because they “feel they will never have a fair or real opportunity at making it themselves due to the lack of support in our industry,” a south London-based singer says.

Artist Kelli-Leigh, who has been a backing vocalist for Adele and sung on two UK number ones, added on Twitter, “that’s a real sadness and a real issue”.

Worldwide protests under the banner of Black Lives Matter have focused a spotlight on injustices and barriers faced by black and minority ethnic citizens. Now Kelli-Leigh tells the Londoner that lack of crediting “is common and it’s mainly people from my kind of background”. She added that although a variety of session musicians “have just not been credited for the work they have done … it’s mainly been black singers or mixed-race singers”.

However, following Blackout Tuesday and the protests, Kelli-Leigh sounded a positive note, telling us: “I feel optimistic that finally the conversation is being able to be had. I know it’s been an extremely difficult time for all skin colours really having to talk about this. It depends if people remember. We just want a fair opportunity.”

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Teeing off: John Niven (Photo: Leonardo Cendamo/Getty Images)
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John Niven, author of Kill Your Friends, tells the Penguin podcast about pitching his next book, The Amateurs, to his publishers: “I said, ‘I’ve got this idea novel about golf.’ You could see the faces in the room just like, ‘What did he say?’ and then I recast it by saying, ‘Well, it’s about infidelity and drug dealing and contract killing ... and golf. Everybody went, ‘Oh, that’s fine.’”

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Jessie Ware’s big failure is her wardrobe. She told Elizabeth Day: “My Mum’s like, ‘You’ve got so many f**cking clothes but you only wear three pairs of trousers.’ And I’m like, ‘Mum, I’m a pop star. We’re entitled to have sparkly things we only wear once. It’s like archive material.’ She’s like, ‘You’re just annoying.’” Paging Marie Kondo.

SW1A

Good company: David Lammy (Photo: Jeff Spicer/Getty Images)
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SHADOW Justice Secretary David Lammy has joined Doughty Street Chambers as an associate tenant. The Tottenham MP said it was “an honour”. Doughty Street is known for its high-profile human rights barristers, including Sir Keir Starmer and Amal Clooney. Legal stardust indeed.

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New Tory MP Chris Clarkson made his parliamentary debut, and history, yesterday. Usually MPs gather round a newbie for support, known as a doughnut. But as Labour’s Stephen Kinnock pointed out, this was “the first maiden speech with a socially distanced doughnut”. Congratulations!

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FRANK FIELD, ex-Labour MP for Birkenhead who resigned over anti-Semitism, is looking for a researcher with “excellent writing skills”. We do hope that means a juicy memoir...

Oti is comfortable, while Sophie took a tumble — but spares us the gore

Oti Mabuse thanked her fellow Strictly star Saffron Barker for sending her some of Barker’s new loungewear, saying, “I love them already.” Less comfortably attired was Sophie Ellis-Bextor, who “took a tumble from the towpath down to the side of the Thames during an evening cycle”. Ouch. She even posted her photo in black and white “so it’s not too gory”, though happily she added she was “ok, just a bit bruised and sore”. And comic Noel Fielding posed next to his latest painting, this time of a colourful elephant. As if Noel Fielding would ever paint in grey.

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