Baker's Dozen

Artists discuss the 13 records that shaped their lives

12. BeyonceI Am Sasha Fierce

Haha, I was thinking, there are millions of bleedin’ classic albums I could have chosen, but that album came out when I was on holiday with my kids, and I bought it because I’d seen her on The X Factor. She came on singing ‘If I Was A Boy’, and I thought, fucking hell man, if there was ever an example of what real talent is… you know what I mean? You’ve got some quite talented kids on that show, but then she comes on and it’s like all the lights on the planet have been turned on. And I really loved that song, I don’t know why, it just got me somehow: girls imagining what boys do, and so on. Unfortunately I didn’t see her at Glastonbury ‘cos I had to leave, but my kids stuck around and saw it, and I watched it on the telly, and I loved how she put a lot of effort in and embraced the whole thing. Somehow she doesn’t seem as fake as a lot of those other pop-soul artists.

PreviousNext Record

The Quietus Digest

Sign up for our free Friday email newsletter.

Support The Quietus

Our journalism is funded by our readers. Become a subscriber today to help champion our writing, plus enjoy bonus essays, podcasts, playlists and music downloads.

Support & Subscribe Today