The last four years have seen Bella Hardy setting out on an annual Christmas tour, this year she is joined by one of Scotland’s leading musicians Anna Massie on guitar (Blazing Fiddles) and concertina genius Chris Sherburn (Last Nights Fun). Harbouring a desire to write a Christmas song of her own to include in the set, Bella has finally realised that ambition. As she explains, “It’s really since I’ve been putting together a whole set list of Christmas songs. I love song writing and I naturally thought it would be lovely to have my own song as part of the show. I’ve started it numerous times and got nowhere and actually found it really tricky thing to do. I guess it’s mainly because I don’t usually sit down thinking I’m going to write a song about something specific, but just allow myself write whatever song comes at me.”
For me I Would Bring You The Moon works so well because it is essentially a statement of love. Bella laughs and points out, “I think you’re finding out your just a desperate old romantic.” Still, to the most gorgeous tune, the song is heartfelt in promising all manner of impossible gifts and delights, but as Bella points out, “I deliberately haven’t written it about a romantic couple as such, it can be about anybody. When I sing it I always seem to be thinking about all sorts of different people. I hope it’s something that can be about anybody that you’re maybe missing at that time of year. The turn of phrase is actually, ‘The greatest gift would be Christmas with you,’ so you don’t actually know whether it’s something that can or can’t happen. Maybe it’s a person who doesn’t even know that someone feels that way.”
So how will this fit into the current set? Bella reveals, “My favourite Christmas song is Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas, it’s such a beautiful little song. The tune and the words are really very moving and especially at that time of year, when everything is really sharp and emotions are heightened, songs have a real power. I’ve always included a mixture of modern and traditional songs in my sets anyway, so I guess I just try and find and sing those songs that make that connection the best.”
I ask Bella what Christmas means as we all seems conditioned to make a big deal of it. She admits that like a lot of people, “I get very fed up when the Christmas lights go on in the end of October. I think the first of December, the beginning of advent, should be the perfect time to do that. But I do really love Christmas and the sense of community that I was brought up with. It’s the sense of every body being back home and getting together. After all the winter can be very cold and dark and there’s this little beacon of light and hope in the middle of it. I really enjoy that. The Christmas songs are really wrapped in with that and a big part of it.”
Perhaps central to this feeling is the strong carolling tradition in which Bella is an active part. As she tell me, “There is a great festival that happens every two years in Sheffield called The Village Carol Festival coordinated by a guy called Ian Russell. I’m part of the local North Derbyshire/South Yorkshire tradition, but Ian always invites groups in from elsewhere. They come from all over Britain, so it isn’t just us. I can remember a couple of years back a group came over from Ireland, who were absolutely terrific. They started singing at 7.00AM, which is another tradition, to sing all through Christmas Eve. But there are others involved too, like Brian Woodall in Castleton and North Derbyshire. I’m very lucky to be involved and to live in a place where people organise these get togethers in the pubs and villages, keeping these traditions alive, so that we can all have a jolly good sing.”
Bella also tells me how she grew up with this, “It’s all tied in with childhood memories for me. In Edale we’ve had a tradition of all getting on the back of a hay trailer and going through the village singing carols door to door raising money for charity. The village is spread out down a valley over seven miles, so we can’t walk it as it would take forever. But it’s always been so exciting getting onto the trailer, maybe having the odd tot of whiskey and being invited into people’s houses for mince pies and things. We’ve been doing it for as long as I can remember and I guess it has all of the special memories of childhood, family and community that I try and bring to my Christmas tour.”
Bella’s Christmas tour starts on December 6th and she now has the Christmas song of her own she’s craved to add a truly personal touch, albeit one expressing feelings that we can all identify with. Perhaps I am an incorrigible old romantic, but it gives me a warm glow and a teary eye at the same time, with perhaps just a glimpse of my own memories, making it a very lovely addition to the season’s songs.
Interview by: Simon Holland
I Would Bring You The Moon
Bright Morning Star Tour Dates
December
Sun 8th PERTH Craigie Church Hall
Tue 10th YORK with Edwina Hayes City Screen
Wed 11th HULL with Edwina Hayes Fruit
Thu 12th RINGSTEAD The Shared Church
Fri 13th WHITCHURCH The Talbot Theatre
Sat 14th LONDON Kings Place
Sun 15th HALESWORTH New Cut Arts Centre
Tue 17th CHINLEY W.I.
Wed 18th EXETER Pheonix
Thu 19th BRISTOL St George’s
Fri 20th WOLVERHAMPTON Newhampton Arts Centre
Sat 21st TOWERSEY The Three Horseshoes
Sun 22nd SHEFFIELD The Greystones
More details and ticket links:
http://www.bellahardy.com/