RS: OK, deal. What inspired you to cover Wonderful Life?
Tina Cousins: I'd actually touched this song a few years ago, and when we were running through tracks for the album we listened to it and I said 'yes, well, that song is crying out for a cover.' I always swore that I wouldn't go too much down that route, but it is a beautiful song and for me at this moment in time, those lyrics were very poignant for me. You have no idea what it feels like to be stuck in a deal for all that time and then be given a second chance, I can't even begin to tell you what that feels like. Without sounding corny, it is a wonderful life. When I was recording the video, we were in Brisbane in Australia and it was out on a rooftop with a string quartet playing and the sun was setting. It was just beautiful and I thought 'yeh, I'm back.' It felt really good.
RS: Talking about the videos, in the Come to Me video, the first shot, there's like this black drink on the table, what was that?
Tina Cousins: I don't know, I'd love to say it was real but no, it wasn't. I was hoping to get a cheeky gin and tonic in there, but they wouldn't let me. I think the lip-synching would have been a bit bad after that.
RS: OK, this is a little cheeky also. Pretty Young Thing was done by that chick from Aqua and she was a cartoon character in a former life, so it's really hard to believe her singing those lyrics. When you sang it, did you channel a specific story for it?
Tina Cousins: I don't know, I'd had a few things happen to me at the time. But to be honest, when the writer that did that the song offered it to us, he basically found out that we were looking for songs with a bit more guitar and a little bit away from the stuff I'd done before. This guy played me these four tracks and he said I could have whatever I wanted. I heard that song and at the time I had no idea that Lene from Aqua had actually done it before. So he's a cheeky monkey, because we paid him the full lot until I found out it was a cover. So, I just sang it the way I thought I would sing it. To me that song is about a cute guy and you've made a few mistakes and all that sort of thing. It's a cute song and I really like it.
RS: Cool. You've worked with big names – Pete Waterman and Sash!. Where did you find the producers of the album - Louis and Tom from?
Tina Cousins: They are such a find. I met Louis and Tom probably about three years ago when they were just sort of starting out, and in the last few years they've come on in leaps and bounds. I think they've done a fantastic job with the album. I met them through my manager, Phil. I'd always managed myself before, but when it starts to get really hectic and busy, doing gigs and getting in at four in the morning, you can't handle everything. So I was hunting around and my solicitor knew Phil, bless him, he looks after bands like The Stranglers. Phil is a find because he's an absolute sweetheart and he puts up with all of my melodramatics and me digging my heels in and lets me do what I want on the music side and he deals with the management side. He has this beautiful studio in a place called Bath, which is just outside of London. Normally studios are like padded cells but you look out the window of the studio in Bath and there's like horses and cows like roaming around, it's really bizarre. I met them through my manager, and they are sweethearts. We have so many outtakes -you have no idea, because of all the giggling.
RS: The album came out first in Australia. Why did you choose to start down-under?
Tina Cousins: To be honest, I have had tremendous success in Australia. England is a very, very hard market to crack and I've cracked it once. But I think with Australia, I don't know why it is, but once they like you they're very loyal, as music people. They don't just like something because the magazines have told them to like it. It's very, very hard in Britain because it's basically shoved down peoples' throats - you're supposed to like this, you're supposed to like that. Unless you've got someone spending five-hundred grand on your launch, you've pretty much haven't got a hope in hell. So in Australia it's different, you go in at forty and gradually climb up the charts. As an artist it gives you longer for people to get to know the track and to get to know you as an artist, and they've always been so supportive. So I thought, I put my life on a limb here - I paid for the making of the album and for the videos and everything. Put my money where my mouth is, where are we going to release first? I thought they've been so supportive, if there's anywhere in the world that I could release it would be there. And thank God, you know, it was a hit. It was a big hit and I was absolutely over the moon.
