Liberty X

Liberty X! For what was is a massive tour B*Witched, Atomic Kitten, S Club 3 and East 17 early next year it has just got even bigger with the addition of Liberty X. The TV show the Big Reunion was the catalyst that saw the band reunite and start playing shows again. Hi Fi Way The Pop Chronicles had a really good chat with singer Jessica Taylor about the reunion and what might be ahead for the band.

The tour with B*Witched, Atomic Kitten, S Club 3, East 17 and now Liberty X is shaping up to be a big one…
Yeah, we can’t wait, we are so excited about. We haven’t been to Oz as a band for like I can’t even remember. I’ve been there with Kevin for the cricket but as a band we haven’t been to Oz as a band since around 2002-2003, I can’t really remember, we did the Rumba tour out there. We can’t wait, we’re so buzzing about it.

Does reforming Liberty X feel as exciting now as it did when you started day one of your career?
It is completely different because we have all got married, had kids, gone back to normal life especially Kelly and myself. Michelle has stayed in the public eye quite a bit, Kelly and I have just been wives and mums and all that. For us, we’re quite excited to get three weeks and just be in a band again, singing and having no responsibilities for a few weeks will be fun in itself.

Do you think that it helps knowing that there is no pressure or expectations that you can go out and just have fun?
No pressure at all, that’s it! When we did the big reunion tour over here it was just the best thing. It wasn’t like back in the day when we were kids and thinking oh my god we need to sell records, we need to this or we need to do that with lots of different pressure from lots of different angles. This time we are just doing because we love doing it and because it is going to be great fun. To get to do it with our mates as well, we’re obviously really close with Atomic Kitten and B*Witched after touring with them here, we’re just going to have a ball.

What can Australian fans expect on this tour?
If it is anything like the reunion tour we did in the UK, the crowds are going to have a ball, we’re going to have a ball, it is going to be so much fun. It is music that people have grown up with and we have grown up to, the fans have grown up to. It’s music, its nostalgia, it feels good, it takes you back and is like getting ready for a big night out. It will be fun for us because we’ve never, East 17 were before our time so they would be a band I would have bought all their records, toured with East 17 so it will be fun with them because I love their music.

Are surprised that it took something like a TV show to get the band to reunite?
Yeah, I suppose it came out of nowhere really, we had been doing our own thing and it had been a long time since we had been out there as a band then we got approached by the TV company here. I wouldn’t say we took a lot of persuading, it look us a long time to go yes we’ll do it because we didn’t know how it was going to be received, we didn’t know whether it was going to be the right thing to do or not. Once you have put something away to bed, nicely put away in a box on the shelf and all done and dusted, you think to yourself what if you come back and it all goes wrong. It was a bit of a risk to come back because we didn’t know how it was all going to go. In the end we really wanted to do it and it was the best decision because we had so much fun.

Did the first few shows feel a bit weird having not played together for a while?
Not really to be honest because we fell back in to it really easy. We have all stayed friends over the years, kept in touch and we all know each other’s kids and partners and still in each other’s lives. Even though we weren’t doing anything as a band we were still very much together on a personal level. It wasn’t weird being back together, it was just really good. It took a while to get used to the dance routines because we haven’t done them for a while. Actually, it is still all there and especially now that we have done the big reunion recently.

When the band ended how do prepare what do I do next? Was that a big worry for you?
That’s a good question, to be honest not really. When the band was coming to an end that was when I just met Kevin so it was perfect timing for me because I wanted to settle down and have a family and not being on the crazy treadmill of being in a band anymore. It was the same for all of us around that time wanting to all settle down. Since then I focused on raising my kids and being there. With what Kevin does and being away from home I thought it was really important that one of us is able to be at home full time and that doesn’t mean you can be in a pop band full time. That’s why something like this is really nice to be able to go in to it for a few weeks.

Being a mum would be the best job of all.
Absolutely!

What are the plans for Liberty X beyond these Australian shows? Are there plans to keep things going?
I suppose never say never! We never expected the Big Reunion thing to come along, never expected to reform when we did. We have no expectations of what might come from it and we’ll take it as it is and just enjoy it. We feel lucky to be given the opportunity to go back to Australia and New Zealand and do a tour, we think it is amazing. If it’s just this that is fine or if something else comes from it we’ll look at it and deal with it if and when. There are no immediate plans to release new material but then again never say never. We just don’t know what is around the corner.

Is the on tour partying a bit tamer these days?
I don’t know you know! When you get mums on tour who don’t usually get to go out then they go a bit wild but you never know. We’ll be out every night knowing us, we won’t be staying in having cups of tea because we do enough of that at home.

Interview by Rob Lyon

B*Witched, Atomic Kitten, S Club 3, East 17 – 2017 Australian Tour Dates: 

Wednesday 8th February – Adelaide – Thebarton Theatre

Thursday 9th February – Melbourne – Festival Hall

Friday 10th February – Melbourne – 170 Russell – SOLD OUT

Saturday 11th February – Sydney – Big Top

Sunday 12th February – Sydney – Big Top

Tuesday 14^th February – Newcastle – NEX Wests City

Wednesday 15th February – Hobart – Wrest Point

Friday 17th February – Gold Coast – Jupiters Theatre

Saturday 18th February – Brisbane – Eatons Hill