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M (UK)
magazine supplement to The Daily Mirror, UK newspaper
October 26, 2002

Star Challenge: Hanging On the Telephone With... Tori Amos

American singer/songwriter Tori Amos first found fame a decade ago with her multi-platinum album, Little Earthquakes, and so far has received eight Grammy nominations. She's just released a new single and album, recorded in Britain, her adopted home.

We called her up for a girlie gossip.

Us: What time did you get up?

Tori: 6.30. We have a two-year-old, Natashya, and I try and pull myself together before she gets up. I'm a light sleeper, I sleep with one ear open. I spend most of my life in hotel rooms and you don't feel as safe when you're travelling to different places. So I don't let my guard down. Ever.

Us: Who was the first person you spoke to today?

Tori: My husband Mark. He has a nickname for me, and I call him the same. It's Person. Or Perce, fondly. We met working together, he's a sound engineer. I was on tour, when you sometimes feel the last thing you are is a person. So he called me Person. It was instant for me, but both of us had different lives then. We've been married for four years.

Us: Where are you right now?

Tori: In the piano room in our studio in Cornwall. It's a gorgeous orange that picks up the light, and it's huge - the piano is 9 foot 1 inch. There are massive wooden doors that let her the piano in and out when she needs to be loaded into trucks. She has blankets and cases and a guy that looks after her - her very own roadie.

Us: What are you wearing?

Tori: A little black New Mexican kind of cotton top, it looks like I should be serving salsa and margaritas to people. A pair of faded blue capri trousers from Fake London and denim sandals that wrap around the ankle. Beaded Native American earrings, aqua and red, and a beaded red choker. And my hair is in a bun.

Us: What has been your most recent purchase?

Tori: Some beautiful hand-crafted Native American blankets for friends, when we were in the States. I got my mother one recently and it was one of her favourite presents. It's an art piece in itself, but she said it's so cuddly you feel really protected in it. She said, I just wrap myself up in it when I'm feeling blue.' So I got one for us, too.

Us: When were you last drunk?

Tori: A couple of weeks ago, we had a party for one of our crew members who's gone to get married. There was lots of champagne. I don't like to overdo it though because I get nauseous, and the worst thing in the world is throwing up. We love good wine and food but we don't like it to get over that line.

Us: What's the most recent domestic thing you've done?

Tori: Cleaning, hoovering, dishes - no! I don't do any of that. Absolutely not. And I don't cook either. I am captain of my ship, we have a big crew when we're on tour, and if I'm not the captain, then I am the ship. That's what I do. And other people do those things so much better than I do. But I am involved in potty-training right now.

Us: What was the last thing you put in your mouth?

Tori: A toothbrush. If you'd said on', it would be Stila Cinnamon lip gloss. Gorgeous. I don't eat breakfast, I have a smoothie and a cappuccino. Today it was pineapple, cinnamon and mango. On the road I'm really disciplined. We have chefs, so I eat really, really well, no junk food. Fish, spinach, no carbs. You have to really care for your voice to do this.

Us: When was the last time you had a really good snog?

Tori: That's a kiss, right? Within the last 24 hours. He's romantic, absolutely, like no one I've ever met. But very quiet, very covert. He has eyes that you can't look away from, and he has a wit that's faster than light speed, and he holds my heart in his hands. And he's grumpy and intolerable and wonderful. But he's mine. I'm a lucky girl, for sure.

Us: When did you last cry?

Tori: This morning. It's one of those days. But it's perking up. I don't cry easily. Sometimes it can be that time of the month. But we sent off my album this morning. So I let my baby go, my sonic baby. Once you wave goodbye, that's it, it's out in the world. But that's worth crying for.

Us: What are you going to do when you hang up?

Tori: Have a lovely lunch, sweetcorn and chicken soup, then later we'll watch The Sound Of Music with Tash - her favourite. This time in my life is the best. I really wasn't happy in my early thirties. I felt old, tired all the time, I was at a crisis. It's odd, but I'm 39 and I do feel better now. These are the golden days, these are the golden years.

Interview by Nina Myskow

A Sorta Fairytale is the first single from Tori's album Scarlet's Walk. Both have just been released

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