SHE'S sold out every gig she's ever done and there's no stopping her now. Today, as she releases her new single If Only, JAMES MARSTON speaks to KT Tunstall.

James Marston

SHE'S sold out every gig she's ever done and there's no stopping her now.

Today, as she releases her new single If Only, JAMES MARSTON speaks to KT Tunstall.

IPSWICH hoteliers can breathe a sigh of relief - KT Tunstall isn't going to trash her hotel room.

She said: “I love a party and hanging out with my friends and I like a drink but I'd never let it get in the way of being a musician.

“It's taken a bit of time but I've learned now. I can't bee bothered to smash up a hotel room. You have to pay and I'm Scottish so I shan't be doing that.”

Performing at the Regent Theatre on April 8, KT said she loves being on tour.

She added: “We've got a full band and I've recently got quite excited in experimenting with the dynamics of the band. Sometimes it will be me on my own, sometimes just four of us and some with the whole band. I'm trying different set ups during the gig.

“We are all into performing live. It is going to be a full on joyous affair.”

Softly spoken with a light Scots lilt, 32-year-old KT is effortlessly charming and a joy to chat to.

She said: “I love performing live. I don't need to question anything in life. Performing feels like a real reason for being for me and always has done.

“It's great to see people smiling after a good night out. It's the closest I get to meditation. It's a simple way of communicating with people I've never met before and it's like being a constant hostess which I love.

Is that all KT? Not a smidgen of love of an audience?

“Ok, I also love the roar of the crowd so there has to be a bit of ego in there as well,” she added.

Since her debut album Eye to the Telescope - which went five times platinum - KT has sold nearly 4million albums worldwide, she has picked up a Brit Award for best British female, an Ivor Novello Award for best song and received a US Grammy nomination for best female pop vocal.

Her new single is called If Only.

She said: “It's a bitter-sweet song about someone not having faith in you and a friendship having to end, something that hasn't worked. The video, which I love, is of me as an Olympic ski jumper and I crash and burn. Its about missed glories.”

KT said she draws inspiration for the subject of her songs from stories with a twist in the tale.

She said: “I love an unexpected turn and I love to hear stories about people. I like to tell stories with intent to move people.”

Musically KT enjoys listening to a diverse range of styles.

She said: “I like David Bowie and T Rex and James Brown and Velvet Underground. I have a very strong pop sense at the same time and I love a catchy melody.

“My roots are in folk and blues.”

Engaged to the band's drummer Luke Bullen, KT has no truck with leaving her man at home.

She said: “I'm not going to call him after a gig. When we are touring though we are very much a band together, we don't so much of the couple stuff on tour. You have to strike the right balance.”

KT Tunstall is performing at The Regent Theatre on April 8. Tickets are available from the box office on 01473 433100.

Are you a fan of KT Tunstall? Write to Your Letters, Evening Star, 30 Lower Brook Street, Ipswich, IP4 1AN or send an e-mail to eveningstarletters@eveningstar.co.uk

Q and A

Do you have an unfulfilled ambition?

“I've got quite a lot. I'd like to learn how to deep sea dive.”

What's the highlight of your career?

“There's been quite a few. Selling out every gig I've ever played. It is an ongoing amazing thing.

What's your most embarrassing moment?

“I skewered my pinkie with a guitar string on stage. There was an inch of metal coming out the other side. I wasn't quite sure what to do. It was rather sore.”

Tell us something about yourself which our readers won't know?

“I'm really good at parallel parking. My dad taught me very well. I know how to French nudge.”

What's your diva demand in the dressing room

“A bottle of whiskey. If it is blended I send it back. My favourite is Tallisker from the Isle of Skye. It's for after the gig.”