And now here they are, Nick and Sue on Chatterbox. When the stars talk, they talk to Nick and Sue. to the Chatterbox Redux podcast and our special guest in this edition is Jessica Sweetman. We're Chatterbox giving you all you need to know about musical entertainment Oh yeah Chatterbox, the best interviews with Nick and Sue Chatterbox, the best news And now in Chatterbox, we're just lucky enough to welcome Jessica Sweetman. Jessica, welcome to Chatterbox. How are you? I'm good,
Nick. How are you? I'm great, thank you. I hope the sunshine is as great where you are as it is down here on the south coast. It's lovely here. It is. It's really nice here today as well. I just popped out for a quick minute and it is. It's beautiful. Wonderful. Makes everyone smile a bit. Yes, it does. Makes a difference, doesn't it? Yeah, you're having a great year. You're
having a great month. I'm looking at your website, just to see a little bit about you, and I see that you cut your teeth performing in Smokey Jazz bars, barely 15 years old, 19 you moved down to London and you start playing in the cigar clubs of Soho, performing night after night, but you end up burning up, which I can quite understand, and I'm quite sure that Smokey clubs
didn't do a great deal. For your health? No. But tell us a little bit about when you jetted off to America and some of the people you played with. That looks absolutely fascinating. Yeah, you know, it's been a journey. It's been a ride. I started off my first ever gig was in a pizza
express. in in certain coalfield and i remember i got i got a free pizza 60 quid and dough balls as well and um and uh and i sang jazz i sang jazz because i loved jazz i grew up on jazz so i did um i remember for my like audition for it i sang a norah jones song and let devy love napkin call which is one of my favorite songs so it all started with pizza express and then yeah i went to the cigar rooms up in london and burnt out you know it was at the time it was
such a glamorous scene to be on and I remember used to put on my little dresses and you know be in these beautiful cigars but you know it was it was a it was a challenging time for me and that's kind of when I decided then to go to America and landed in New York City and was there was there three months and I just wrote and wrote and wrote and And then I managed to get a deal and then BMG, who are my publishers,
brought me back. They brought me back a few months and I ended up spending 10 years of my life out in New York between New York, Nashville and LA. And I've just recently just come back to the UK because I've got touring here. But it's been wonderful. And I still will be going back to the States a lot because a lot of my work is there. But right now it's... My music's brought me home, which I love, I love, you know. Fantastic.
And I see that you've opened for the likes of Keane and Van Morrison and all manner of people. So fantastic. Thank you, thank you so much. So you're already long established really aren't you, so this is great. Just before we start talking about this, because obviously this month's massive for you, but when you did land originally in New York, just out of interest, did you have anything planned there, what you were going to do? Did you just land there and then worry about
playing and writing and doing what you did? No,
I mean I had no idea. I was just, I remember one of my last gigs here in London was in a cigar room in a casino actually and my mom was there and it was it was becoming apparent to us all that I was just I was just at the end of that chapter and I was tired and it's not what I wanted to do you know I mean I was grateful for the work and I needed to pay my rent you know I was like really grateful for the gigs you know I always will be for that time because I had to
be able to write and stuff but when I look back it wasn't a healthy environment for me to be in and not I don't mean just because the smoke but just just because it's just generally it just wasn't a great great environment so you know I think um I think it's you know what though there's I think it's all part of you learn the craft you know you learn it makes you stronger in a way and I think that was a big part of my story and you know I drank a lot of champagne
I drank a lot of champagne that's why I can't drink anymore now unfortunately five years off it but I drank I did all my drinking time then so it's it's now I now I'm not on it but um I had fun as well you know but when I went to America I mean I just went I got on a plane I took the deposit for my flat here in London I had like 800 quid and I remember I was like that's it I'm off I'm gonna go and try something else you know and that was it I could see you done Album
in 2023 is some good stuff there lovely chat some more about you about other things you've done in the past But we must get on to the new single and where we are at the moment April 2026 right you are opening for Alfie bow On a long tour actually, I would say looking at this so he's got a new album out So he's celebrating that and you're opening for him all over the
place everywhere Yeah, well, isn't it? Dundee, Aberdeen, Glasgow, Edinburgh, Manchester, Nottingham, Gateshead, Hull, Blackpool, Blackpool Opera House, well, that's pretty cool. Liverpool, York, Harrogate, Sheffield, Leicester, Milton Keynes, Bath, Warwick, Birmingham, Ipswich, King's Lynn's, Gegness, Cambridge, Oxford, Torquay, Truro, Hull and Udnoe, which I make a mess of saying every time. Ales... Bury, Guildford, Southend, Folkestone, London, Eastbourne, London would be Royal Albert Hall.
Yeah. Nice name drop there. Bournemouth, Swansea and Cardiff. So there may be some more added to that, but that is quite some tour. And that is, well, April and May. Busy, busy, busy, busy. So it's a huge tour, nearly two months. Yeah. So you opened for, how did you get the gig? I mean, did you know him already or was it just? Yeah, me and Alfie put a song out in October called Broken Perfect Love. So we put this collaboration out. We recorded at Angel Studios, which is the
sister studio to Abbey Road. We put the song out and he was like, let's, you know, join me on tour. And I said, I would love to. Alfie's a great guy. He's become a dear friend of mine. So, you know, to be on the road with him for a couple of months is going to be great. Yeah, it's going to be really good. Brilliant, fantastic. So we come to one of your, just like the nearest one to me is Eastbourne. So we go to the Congress Theatre Eastbourne on 27th of May. And you come
on stage, you open up. How long is your set and what do we expect from you? So I think it's 25 minutes. So it's all my latest, all my latest music. We'll be doing Broken Perfect Love, Stay Wild, Hallelujah, Rise Up. I'll be doing a cover. Um, which I haven't told anyone about yet, but I'm going to tell you now because it's no, you know, I can say it. So I'm going to be doing a cover of one of my favorite songs, which is, uh, this must be the place. The talking head
song home is where I want to be. I love that song so much. So we're going to do an acoustic version of that. Um, but yeah, it's, uh, yeah. 25 minutes. Oh, I think that's great. Brilliant. So then Alfie comes on. What does he do? Does he do a couple of 45 minute sets or does he do as his part? I don't know. Actually, I'm not sure. I'm not sure yet. You'll find out in Dundee on the 14th then, won't you? I will find out
very, very soon. Right. You've got this beautiful release single called Rise Up and it is beautiful as well. Tell us about how that came about and the story behind that and why you brought it basically. Thank you. I'm very excited and very proud of this video as well. So I was at the Irish Post Awards in November last year and I performed the song there for the first time I've
ever performed it. I opened the show with that song and Emmett J. Scanlon, who we all know, everyone knows Emmett, he's an amazing actor from Mobland, Peaky Blinders, Kin, so much, just
incredible. had seen me perform the song at the beginning of the show and at the after party I got me and my brother got talking to him and he was like you know it's it's on my bucket list to be in a music video and I said well I got a song you know I got one he goes I love it I saw you sing it I love the song and then before we know it fast forwards a few months and and there we are in Hastings you know um filming this stunning piece of art that we're both so
proud of. He's really brought that song alive, really has. It's been magical working with him, and he's a wonderful, wonderful person. On top of just being an incredible actor, he's just nice, down -to -earth, really good people. Yeah, Hastings and St. Leonard's, that's actually where I'm based. I've got to say, and yeah, believe it's true, It's one of the biggest undiscovered places in the country. When it's discovered, people realize how beautiful it is for filming,
just how great it is. People spent decades slacking it off, but it's come into its own. It's got two art house cinemas, it's got art, it's got everything. It's a secret to a lot of people and when you discover it, you think, wow. It's great, great backdrop. I had never been, but I've got to say we got there, we were there for a few days, two days, and it was absolutely brilliant. It was cold when we were there, we were filming
in January, I think, no, February. Really cold, but you know what, I was like, all for the art, you know, we got on with it, we were fine. Yeah, brilliant, brilliant. and Tutu present a radio show. So here's Nick and Sue, your musical duo. This is Nick and Sue with Cheddar Box, giving you all you need to know about musical entertainment. So very busy times there. What can we expect?
Let's say you were coming back. I mean, this could probably sound really bad actually, but if you were to come back in six months time, what would you be wanting to tell me that you got planned or you've achieved? We also know all about this tour, but just say we get into June and from June onwards, what would you like to be telling me you've achieved? Oh, that's a great question. Well, I have a London show on June 18th and I'm hoping that I'm going to
sell it out because it's my headline show. So I'm hoping in six months I'll come back and say, yeah, I sold it out. That will make me happy because that's one of my first big headline shows at St. Pancras Old Church. So, yeah, that will be great. So I'm manifesting and hoping we sell it out. But it's looking good. That's going to be June 18th. And then, you know, just that the tour has been wonderful, which I know it's going to be. I know it's going to be because it's just,
it's just going to be great. And we're going to start putting out new music as well, you know, again, so as soon as I come, we just already started re recording the vocals for that stuff. So as soon as I get back off the tour, we have we have new music to come out. Sure. Well, now I know, I've heard of you, but now I know of your new music and just how wonderful it sounds. I'll be looking out for it. And we work with Heart Media all the time anyway. They're brilliant,
I love them, love them guys. Absolutely, absolutely. Such high standards and they're just great for the artists to advise them and everything else but you don't need much advice, you're established so you know where you want to be, where you're
going. We'd certainly like to have you back and a bit more of a chat and I'd love to chat a bit more something about what you've achieved in the past at some point in the future because I know there's like the 2023 album maybe a bit more about some of them Smokey Clubs maybe you could tie it up with a new album when we talk about the new tracks on that when that comes out we'll do something like that that'd be fantastic.
100 % just yeah absolutely have a chat to Joe and everyone and I would love to talk to you again for sure. brilliant that's fantastic now um you've got a great website in fact i've got rather your press release i've been doing it uh from your website well this is this this pretty sorted this website so we got jessicasweetsman
.com and um basically all the other social media really is is covered on here so we go to your home page and uh well literally top right hand corner we got literally the all the uh the facebook and Spotify and Instagram well it's all there basically they just got to click and you go straight to it so yeah I don't expect anybody at home to have been writing down because I didn't give it I just said the cities and the towns but just literally also on your home page is a click on
turn there's the nice picture of Alfie Bowen all the dates below and then I have there is something on your website where people can actually subscribe to your mailing list, which I've also done now. Oh, thank you. People can do that and follow you. If somebody wants to write to you, say, we saw you last night in Eastbourne and you were fantastic. There's even a contact button there so they can tell you how great you were. So there you go. Oh, yeah, absolutely. I love
receiving emails and mails, messages. I'm always seeing all that stuff and grateful, you know, I'm always grateful for the positivity and support. It means a lot to me. It really does, you know, so. Yeah, absolutely. Well, just to say, it's a fantastic month for us, a fantastic year, and I'm looking forward to what's next. Now, with Rise Up, I've absolutely fallen in love with it now. My partner Sue and myself, we do a live show on Sundays. In fact, it's taken a break
till the beginning of May. It's called Hit or Miss. And what we do, it's very big in the UK and very big in the Netherlands, actually. Oh, wow. We have a few Americans as well, but we have people listening and the audience listen, they vote either by e -vote or in real time in the chat room as to whether they think a song is going to be a hit or a miss. So we're going to give rise up a little play on that as well
and we'll see how it gets on. Will you let me know whether it's going to be a hit or a miss? I want to know. I will, I will. We have a panel that votes and we have the listeners vote as well, then we put the two votes together. So I will, but at the beginning of May, so I'll be in the middle of your tour actually. happily hit your contact button and tell you. There you go. Please let me know. I'm hoping it's a hit.
I hope they all say it's a hit. I don't want to put you on the spot but you could all say, I mean if you wanted to, I mean I could always give you a link to the e -voting the week before and you should put it on your social media and your fans can... I will send it to me, absolutely. Will you send that to Joe and everyone? They can send it over to me because I will, 100%.
I'll get people voting that it's a hit. Of course, well that's the idea because at the end of the day, Jessica, it is The hardcore fan base is going to be people that have got to know you through social media and things anyway. That's the hardcore place, basically, for anyone these days. It's the way to connect, isn't it? It's all about connecting and building community. Yeah, and these are the people that are going to be downloading the single, of course, and
coming to see you. The initial hardcore people. There we go. Well, I'm truly grateful for everyone who's supporting me. I'm getting a lot of support
right now, and it's funny. I have this thing that I'm really, I call it gratitude attitude and I just feel so grateful right now, you know, just for so much and just I just keep putting that out there because I think that's really, I'm really into all that stuff and like the universe and if you just have the gratitude attitude and people are what I'm grateful for, people who are listening, people who are streaming, people who comment, people who like, people like yourself
who are having me on the shows, you know, this is what I'm grateful for so thank you so much. Oh, you're more than welcome, but you vote it
yourself. You're a great artist. So I really enjoy it really enjoy that song and i'm going to do are going to be uh i mean i've been around a while but that that's been rude but you have but of course you know until um a promoter sends something to me i mean there's there's hundreds of thousands of artists tens of i mean i get over a thousand emails a week so but of course working with somebody like heart media of course they all get open so that's the magic of working
with somebody like that so that's how you get heard now that's brilliant aren't they Yeah, absolutely. Now I'm going to discover you backwards with that, you know, reverse if that makes sense. Yeah, I love that. Yeah, I love that. Well, thank you. And look, if you want to come to any shows or anything, have a chat to John, we will try and figure it out. OK, that'd be lovely. It'd be great. It's great to meet you. And I love making friends. And like I said, I appreciate
all the support. I really do. That's lovely. You deserve everything you get. And I continue to love the audience. And yeah. I can tell, I just know that headline thing in London is going to be great because I can tell you're going to love it and they're going to be doing encore after encore and you're just going to be providing it whatever they want. I know you just love it,
I know you will. I can't wait, I can't wait to literally start, we're going to head out to Dundee on Sunday and I can't wait just to get out there and just, you know, perform. I haven't been performing live for a while so this is going to be, it's
going to be beautiful. yeah do you ever actually get to go home because i see you i see where you're from originally though did you when you actually in the midlands you actually get to stay with your folks or you got a base there do you or is it just hotels all the way through is that how it is It's a lot of hotels. It's going to be a lot of hotels for two months as well. But no, I'm actually so my family moved down to Cornwall in Lewin, Cornwall. OK, years
ago. So I haven't been back to Birmingham for quite a while. I visited my old school a couple of years ago and when I performed, which was great, I'm going to be doing that again this year. That was the last time I went back. But now I'm going back and we were playing Birmingham Symphony Hall, which blows my mind because we used to do school trips there. So that's one of my I'm really excited for that. And in Cornwall,
we're doing tour. Hall for Cornwall. So I go back home a lot of the weekends, like I went back this weekend, saw my family in Cornwall, come back on the train Sunday night. But I'm based in London, my home's in London now. So yeah, yeah. But it's yeah, it's a lot of hotels, a lot of traveling. When I was living in New York, it was a lot of back and forth. But yes, it's I love it all. I love all the travel, you know, it doesn't it doesn't bother me at all.
So At least you get to see your folks. That's the main thing. That's fantastic. And yeah, get back to you guys as well. It's all good. Jessica, it's been amazing meeting you. It's been awesome. So thank you very much. And we're all looking forward to the next time already and every success with this. And that's like at least a mega stuff. Thank you. Thank you for being so lovely. And thank you for having me on the show. And thank you. You take care. Cheers then. Take care. Bye.
See you. Bye. Bye. So... You've been listening to the Chatterbox Redux podcast and today's special guest was Jessica Sweetman. If you're interested in becoming a future guest on the Chatterbox Redux podcast or the radio show Chatterbox UK, you're welcome to submit songs, books or whatever it is you do and send us a CV, synopsis or press release. However, we receive several thousand such press releases every week and it's impossible
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platform. Just so you don't miss a future episode Sue, myself Nick and Twinkle the tuxedo cat Thank you very much for your company and we look forward to welcoming you again next time for another Chatterbox Redux podcast In the meantime, take care, thank you for your company and we catch you then This is Nick and Sue with Chatterbox giving you all you need to know about musical entertainment. Oh yeah! Chatterbox, the best interviews with Nick and Sue. Chatterbox, the best news