Added on: Monday 25th January at 10:11:40 AM

 Hey! 

 So i'm busy trying to finish writing the next album, which is going pretty well. Got lots of gigs coming up in the spring, i'm just off to update the live page so go check it out. we will be adding plenty more as time goes on. 

If any of you visit my myspace page i have been having a few problems with it, so go check out my blog on there and see if you can help me! I'm going along to the folk awards on the 1st to support my dad who is nominated with his band The Bad Shepherds for best live act. Thats about it really, i'm locked away on dartmoor going crazy writing songs and pretending i live in a world of vampires and werewolves. xxx 

Added on: Wednesday 4th November at 09:14:25 AM

Sorry about the lack of updates on the tour, here is the rest of my tour journal!

CAMBRIDGE

The junction is the venue, and for the first time on this tour, surprisingly, there are an array of cocks and dirty words scribbled on the walls of the dressing room. this is standard in most venues but we had somehow avoided it for the first leg of the tour. Si my drummer came along with his lovely lady, it was the first time he had been in the audience watching me since i was about 16, and he was impressed which was very flattering! there werent a lot of people there but you seemed to enjoy it, a good night had by all.

SEVENOAKS

For a start there is loads of beer and biscuits in the dressing room which is a great sign! its a lovely theatre and it was packed! i wasnt feeling to great, my voice had been stuggling the last few gigs but i got a great reaction. Troy did some freaky magic after the gig. back to the hotel for a couple of drinks before lying in front of the telly watching shit tv untill 3am. feeling a bit homesick, and i dont normally get that.

SPALDING

This was the gig with the strange smell......There was an electrical fault in the corridor by the dressing room and it smelled like some one had eaten loads of sprouts and not made it to the toilet in time. yum. Aside from that the gig was sold out and it was fun. my voice started to make a slow return aswell! yay!

LONDON

The dingwalls in camden. i love camden, i used to hang out there a LOT  in my marylin manson hoodie, caked in black lipstick with black everything. not much had changed actually, i just leave the black lipstick and home these days. The venue had possibly the smallest dressing room ever. buddy and si have driven up to play the next 7 gigs with me. the gig seems to go down well, normally you cant tell with the london audience but they were lovely tonight, thankyou.

BRIGHTON

Cool venue the Concorde 2, even had my very own dressing room. i was shitting myself though because i was going to play my new new song for the first time ever. The first half of the set suffered as a result of my nerves, then the time came to play the song.......it went pretty well actually! the rest of the set after that was easy. Thanks to Joanna and Jella for coming down, hope you got home ok. Back to the hotel and the force was on telly. real murder. nearly had a good sleep.

i will post some more up over the next few days. too much in one! ella x

Added on: Thursday 8th October at 10:29:17 PM

NOTTINGHAM

The Playhouse is a lovely theatre, dont think i played my best but it went well. Just trying to remember if there was anything interesting that happened - dont get an internet connection thats good enough to post more regularly and my memory is getting worse and worse!

Not too tired at this point but i'm sure i'll start to feel it soon!

Ella xx


BARNSLEY

The civic centre has been done up and its great. everyone in barnsley seemed surprised that anyone had come out to the gig because they dont really know this venue is here i guess. 

I was nervous because there were poeple in the audience that i knew. My boyfriend had come along which was great (i miss him), my aunt and uncle and cousin, but also Andy Seward came along! He produced the album and he hadn't really seen my live on my own before so i was nervous as to what he would think. but it went down a storm :)

However, i did get horribly pissed. so so so drunk. Not been that drunk in a long while. Cant remember much accept troy (donackley of the bad shepherds) did some amazing magic. 

LEICESTER

Oh my lord was i hungover. i did puke once i have to say. never drinking again and all that. 

Dan my boyfriend took me to Chatsworth House, its was great , very beautifull. I love a bit of great architechture. Then we went for a sunday roast and headed towards Leicester. 

Dan dropped me off then had to go back home to Devon :( 
 Luckily the hotel was right opposite the venue, which is grand when your feeling a bit fragile. As a result of my hangover i didnt play my best and feel very guilty about it! 

Got back to the hotel and actually managed to get some real sleep, i dont sleep very well normally. 

GATESHEAD

Very excited about gateshead, mainly because the shepherds have been going on about how good the venue is 'The Sage', and because i love the accents up there. 

The hotel was pretty bloody posh for a tour hotel, and when we got to the venue that was lovley posh too! Home cooked food, beer and wine on ice, great sound, great everything. Not that the other venues havent also been great but this one seemed to stand out. 

I played ok, my voice was starting to go a bit though. 


DURHAM

Never been to Durham but have heard loads about the cathedral....i think i studied it in history of art at school. Went for a walk around the town and into the cathedral. Its freshers week so its heaving with students and we couldnt look round proper but still nice. 

Then we went on a pub crawl. i had given up drinking at this point - there is a dress i am wearing for the london gig thats a bit skimpy so i'm making a vain attempt to feel good in it. 

The hotel here was a bit wierd. cant put my finger on it. 

The Gala theatre was lovley, funny smell in the dressing room though! troy showed me the wonder that is instant miso soup. so while they were on stage i went to tescos and bought fuck-loads of the stuff. love it!

Really didnt sleep at all, bit freaked out. 

NORWICH

Up a bit early today to get to norwich from durham, Very very tired at this point in the tour. partly flu, partly lack of sleep, partly just general touring tiredness. 

After 5 hours we arrived in Norwich. i think i can now say i have been to every county in England, woo! 

I watched alan tittimarsh on tv, had some more miso soup, played shit games on my phone then time to go to the venue. 

Very cute theatre, lovely people, but i was nervous because my throat is now getting painfull as well as being generally shitty. I played, people enjoyed it and didnt seem to mind the huskyness. 

As i write this the bad shepherds are on stage, they are great. They are my dad Adrian, Andy Dinan, Troy Donockley and Brad Lang.  

Anyhoo, i hope something funny happens so i can write about it,

Love Ella xxx

Added on: Friday 2nd October at 04:39:49 PM

LINCOLN

So, the drill hall. great looking place, much bigger than last nights gig. the cathedral looks over the whole of lincoln you can see it from everywhere. I was a bit nervous because my voice had gone all husky and dry, but people seemed to enjoy it and laughed at my crap jokes in between songs. I felt a bit distracted because i had spoken to my boyfriend before i went on stage and learnt that my puppy doreen and done a wee and a poo in the house which made me angry!

Got back to the hotel pretty early, about 11:30. practised some new makeup on my face, watched sarah die in hollyoaks, played solitaire, asleep at about 2am.

ella xx

Added on: Thursday 1st October at 08:51:07 PM

MANCHESTER

So Band on the Wall is the venue. just been re-vamped by the looks of things, great toilets. As the first gig on the tour it actually went much better than i expected it to go. not many people in to see me but the Shepherds had a cracking gig. No drama, no mess. Then off to the curry mile we went, and stumbled back to the hotel at 2am. My mum and sister came along which was lovely also.

anyhoo, tommorow its lincoln,

ella xx

Added on: Thursday 1st October at 03:51:23 PM

Added on: Thursday 1st October at 03:50:51 PM

Added on: Tuesday 29th September at 01:34:05 PM

Hey!

Well the tour with The Bad Shepherds start tommorow in Manchester @ Band On The Wall! As you can see from the 'live' page we are playing a lot of gigs on this tour, so come along and see us, its a great night out.

I HAVE BEEN NOMINATED FOR AN AWARD! AH! The UK Festival Awards have nominated me in the Best Breakthrough Act category alongside Lady Gaga, La Roux, White Lies, Florence and The Machine and more! Its voted for by YOU, so head over to the website and get voting.    There are 2 rounds of voting, the first round ends on 14th October - then the most popular are shortlisted and the second round of voting ends on 2nd november. the winner announced on the 19th november. I wont win but no harm in trying!

www.festivalawards.com

I am also busy writing for the next album. not sure when or where or with who we will be recording it but i will try keep you posted. Going to work some of the new songs into the set towards the end of this tour too.

My puppy rottweiler Doreen is really growing, she is bigger than our staffy Dave now! She is beautiful.

ella xx

 

Added on: Wednesday 3rd June at 03:37:52 PM

Hey!

I have just got a new addition to my family....a new puppy! Me and Dan already have a staffy called Dave and now we have an 8 week old rottweiler called Doreen. I live in a house of D's. I have just started with all the festivals and still have some cracking ones coming up so check the live listings for more info.

Got a few more healine gigs coming up aswell including the Railway in Winchester and The Green Note in Camden, London. Also doing a short tour with Lucy Wainwright Roche, look her up on myspace and listen to her stuff - its gorgeous.

Recently Andy Dinan (who normally plays with The Bad Shepherds) has been joining us on stage with his fiddle which has been great. He will be with us at Cambridge Folk Festival and a few others too.

right, gotta try and entertian this puppy for a bit x

Added on: Friday 15th May at 12:08:06 AM

hello hello,

I dont write on here often enough. well i'm off to yorkshire tomorow to play shepley festival wich is a great little fest, i love it. then playing with me' dads band in exeter! woop! my first gig in devon for effing ages.

got lots of gigs booked and more and more coming through so keep an eye on that pesky gig listing!

i've let Dave (my staffy) up on the sofa tonight while Dan isnt here to tell me off, ha ha!

wow what an exciting blog, i promise to make the next one much better.

tarrah for now

ella x

Added on: Monday 30th March at 07:33:48 PM

In the middle of the tour

Hello!

we have reached the middle of the tour now i think, and all is well. I have had a couple of days off and have finished some new material, considering maybe putting a new song in the set - got to play it to someone first and make sure i havent stolen it!

there was a feature on me in 'devon life' this month. cant wait to do the bob harris session, and looking forward to my healine gig at the borderline club, london on the 29th april.

lots is happening but i still cant think of things to say!.......... i got my hair done. its blonder than before.

right back on tour now, off to try some more curry houses

 

ella xx

Added on: Tuesday 24th March at 11:03:50 AM

On Tour!

Hey everyone, just sitting here in bed on my day off thought i would let you know how the tour is going! I'm on tour with Chris Difford as his support act, we are only 10 days in and all is going well. we have played a couple of very strange gigs but also some great ones. Emily Baker and Dorie Jackson are also on the tour doing a few songs, you should check them out! I'm looking forward to the session we have coming up with Bob Harris on radio 2, i'm not sure when its aired but sometime in april. I'm also looking forward to buddy joining me again on tour, he wasnt able to come the last week so i've felt a bit naked on stage.

i've run out of things to tell you. we eat a lot of curry on tour, wich i like.

ella xx

Added on: Wednesday 18th February at 05:23:00 PM

ALBUM OUT
The album's out! You can buy the CD or download it from this website right now! Lot's of good stuff about it coming up in the music press. We'll show it all here as it comes out. The headline gig at the Green Note in Camden is more or less sold out. So we've put on another headline gig at The Borderline on Wed 29th April:

Borderline website

Did you see this piece in The Sunday Times:

Sunday Times piece

 

Added on: Saturday 10th January at 06:38:59 PM

Ella headlining at The Green Note!
On the 25th February Ella will be headlining/sharing the bill at The Green Note, Camden, London. Ella's doing a full 45 minute set. It more or less coincides with the launch of 'Hold Your Horses', the new album, on 16th Feb, so it's more or less a launch party/gig/thing! Ella's sharing the bill with Kamila Thompson (Teddy Thompson's sister) who'll also be doing a 45 minute set.(www.myspace.com/kamilathompson ) Tickets are £7 from the following site: www.wegottickets.com/event/41356 www.greennote.co.uk Doors 7pm Music 9pm

Added on: Thursday 8th January at 12:45:21 PM

Only £5 to see Ella supporting Ruthie Foster at the Borderline
This is going to be brilliant. And you can get in for ONLY £5 if you buy your ticket through the following link. http://www.seetickets.com/see_multi/event.asp?showcode=366010&pgroup=all This special rate is ONLY available through this website! What They’re Saying About Ruthie Foster: "Foster's deeply soulful vocals dip into gospel and swing toward contemporary folk with R&B panache. When she sings a cappella, the heavens part." - Margaret Moser, Austin Chronicle (TX) "Considering the Aretha Franklin comparisons getting tossed her way, it's safe to assume the A&R folks at Atlantic are kicking themselves right about now. 'Phenomenal' is no idle boast." - Christopher Blagg, Boston Herald (MA) "Her new CD...gutsily named 'The Phenomenal Ruthie Foster,' will convert those hungry for some real, hot soul." - Ann Powers, Los Angeles Times (CA)

Added on: Sunday 4th January at 06:25:32 PM

Ella on Chris Difford Tour
Ella is really pleased to be supporting Chris Difford on tour throughout March and April 2009. It's a mammoth tour - 30+ dates - there's bound to be one near you. Check out the live section. Chris is one of the best songwriters of his generation (he's won two Ivor Novello Awards, and has been writing lyrics for over twenty five years, most notably with Squeeze.)

Added on: Thursday 18th December at 10:06:12 AM

Christmas time!
Well i've had a great time supporting Jools Holland on some of his tour dates, everyone was really nice. The Albert Hall was a very surreal experiance, and it went by so quickly! i had a stressfull day leading up to it, and then my dress broke just before we were due on stage, but luckily i had my boyfriend and best friend there to pin me in! I am currently finishing the last dates with the Bad Shepherds, which has been really good fun. Then going to spend christmas with my family in devon. The new album 'Hold Your Horses' is finished!!! its at the printers now and will be officially released on 16th Feb 2009. I'm really excited for people to start hearing it. have a great xmas and new year ella xxx

Added on: Wednesday 12th November at 01:30:43 PM

News and stuff... (from the Big Shadow)
Ella was on Julie Fowlis radio show last week. Julie played three of Ella's tracks off the new album (rough mixes) and they had a chat too. Listen again here (Ella's on from 01:10:30 to 01:29:30): http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b00fc8qx Ella also featured in an article in the Sunday Times this week: http://women.timesonline.co.uk/tol/life_and_style/women/the_way_we_live/article5099803.ece Apart from the 5 Jool's Holland support slots coming up, and Rachel Unthank & The Winterset on 13th Dec in Bristol, Ella's also supporting The Bad Shepherds on 7 gigs during Dec: www.thebadhsepherds.com

Added on: Monday 29th September at 02:02:09 PM

Moving House
hey there, so things are still going well with the album, putting the finishing touches and vocals on it in october, still cant beleive how good its sounding! We've had some brilliant photos done by David Angel for the artwork as well. I've got a great band together at the minute and we are playing loads of gigs as you can see in the 'live' section. I've also been propper busy moving in to my new house with my boyfriend and our mentalist dog. i think thats about all i have to update you with, hope to see you about at gigs ella xx

Added on: Wednesday 3rd September at 11:12:10 AM

My Very First Blog!
This is my first blog on my website, how exciting! there's loads going on at the minute, going back up to sunny donny to put the vocals and guitars on my new album soon, and i think John McCusker is putting some tracks down as i write. Did the photos for the album yesterday down here in Devon with David Angel, and going up to london to do some more next week. I have loads of gigs coming up as you can see so i'm busy practising with my band. In my band i have Buddy Valentine on the bass, Matt Norman on the fiddle and mandolin, and Si Paull on percussion. run out of things to say now! ella x

Added on: Wednesday 6th August at 05:00:22 PM

More News (from the Shadow)
Ella finished the first recordings all the songs for the new album late last week. They're not finished, but she and Andy are listening to the rough mixes for a week or two before deciding what to do next. Ella played the club tent at The Cambridge Folk Festival at the weekend - only 15 minutes but she went down really well. She ran into John McCusker in the bar afterwards and he's promised to play a bit of fiddle on the album! PS The previous blog is from last week - but I had trouble uploading the picture so tried to rectify it today, and now it says it's August 5th and nothing will let me change the date!

Added on: Tuesday 5th August at 10:50:30 PM

News (from the Shadow)
Ella's in the studio recording an album just now. Andy Seward is producing and Andy Cutting's been playing melodeon and hurdy-gurdy! It won't get an official release until Feb 09, but it will be on sale at gigs from late October. There's a lot of gigs coming up, most notably supporting Jools Holland at the Albert Hall! Check out the live section.