Imelda May: ‘I’ll keep being honest in my songs – but I’ll be less naïve next time’

Imelda May said she might think twice about being so open in her music as she has found the fascination with her personal life “intrusive” .

The Irish musician wrote candidly about the breakdown of her marriage from Darrel Higham in her latest album Life Love Flesh Blood, and hopes that she’ll be able to do so again without being so “naïve”.

“I’d like to think I’d do that again but maybe I’d be less vulnerable,” she told the Standard.

“I found some of the interviews a bit too intrusive at times. It hurts when somebody you’ve never met asks the most personal questions and just crosses you if you don’t answer them.”

While she is happy to write about her own experiences in her music, May said she’s not keen on rehashing them in person.

“I think for most people and certainly for me, I don’t want to talk about these things. That’s why I write them down, almost like a diary,” she said.

“Yes it goes out there and I hope that people will listen to it on a personal level but I think of it as a diary that I’m sending out there but it’s different to a conversation.”

The 43-year-old singer, who split from her husband of 13 years in 2015, found writing about it a “cathartic” experience and will never stop being “honest” in her music.

“I hope I’ll write openly again, I hope I’m not wary of that,” she said. “Maybe I’ll be a little less naive but I want to write honestly – I found it very cathartic and it meant more.”

May’s fifth studio album, which marked a new musical direction for the star, was released back in April and received rave reviews.

“That’s the moment when I hold my breath, when the album comes out,” she said.

“You don’t write an album to be liked, that’s not the reason for it. I write an album that means something to me and is something that I love.

“I think any artist would be lying if they said that they didn’t care what anyone thought – you do and you hope that other people get it.”

May was asked to perform the Irish National Anthem at last month’s McGregor Vs Mayweather fight in Las Vegas, which was an “emotional” and “surreal” experience.

“I was asked very last minute but it was such an honour to perform,” she said. “I was nervous but the moment I started singing I was fine.”

May’s new single, Leave Me Lonely, is out on October 6.