By Adrian Peel - adrian.peel@iliffemedia.co.uk
Boasting hard-hitting themes delivered with a fiery and passionate voice, Londoner Gemma Rogers’ music has been championed by the likes of Steve Lamacq and 6 Music.
Sian Davey
The friendly singer-songwriter-raconteur, who gave birth to a baby girl four months ago, is to take the stage at the new Six Six Bar, an independent music venue and bar built on the foundations of the legendary Cambridge venue The Boat Race, this Friday (October 28).
The Cambridge gig follows on from some successful, sold-out gigs in London, although one recent show in Nottingham didn’t go ahead as planned. “Sadly that didn’t end up happening,” explains Gemma, talking to the Cambridge Independent from her home in Walthamstow.
“We were in amongst a two-car crash. Well, we were 100 metres behind it so weren’t able to get to the gig, so this means that we’re more revved up for Cambridge.”
Speaking of Cambridge, Gemma, who hails from West London originally, notes that she has family from here. “My great-grandparents were born and brought up in Cambridge – they met and married there,” she says. “My great grandmother’s maiden name was Winifred Duke and her father used to joke that he was the Duke of Cambridge.
“The mother of my great grandfather, whose family name was Stone, lived on Green Street, with two huge Alsatian dogs. There were aunts and uncles all over Cambridge – Histon and Girton being my Nana’s favourites. So if there are any Stones – I’m talking about the surname, not the matter – it would be brilliant to see them down there.”
Adam Rogers
The video for Gemma’s single Song for the Cities was awarded the Jury Special prize for Best Music Video at the Europe Film Festival. Listening to the song, it certainly evokes memories of bands like The Clash and Squeeze, in that it strongly evokes London.
“Thank you, I’m going to take that as a compliment,” says Gemma, adding: “Song for the Cities is about uniting and standing together and not relying on anyone but your communities, and it’s also about what was happening at the time that we wrote the album.” That album, No Place Like Home, was Gemma’s debut and was released in July.
“Brexit, the unravelling of the socio-political world that we were living amongst... there was a lot of it on the news at the time. It comes back to the fact that home is really important and that’s what I was trying to get across in Song for the Cities, the idea that we should stick together. Together we’re stronger.
“I always hope that the songs sort of speak for themselves, and I think that Song for the Cities is one of those. That is the latest single out at the moment and it’s done pretty well. It’s had quite a lot of 6 Music play. Amy Lamé on 6 Music gave it a spin a couple of Sundays ago and the brilliant Steve Lamacq as well, he has given it a couple of 6 Music spins, so I hope people are enjoying it.”
Sian Davey
As if to further solidify her credentials, in September Gemma was the Joe Strummer Foundation Artist of the Month, named after the late singer and founding member of The Clash.
“They’ve been supportive of my music from the start,” she says. “Jamie Webb, who runs the charity, has been a huge support in the music, from when I first started when I was in a band called Gemma and the Milmen. We played much more of the kind of poetry, literary scene than we do now.
“Now the songs are a bit more established, but then it was leaning slightly more towards the spoken word scene and that’s when I first met the Strummerville crew. Brilliant guys.”
Gemma, who reveals that she has started working on songs for a second album, would also like to give a mention to her co-writers, Alfie Jackson and Sean Genockey.
Gemma Rogers will be performing at the Six Six Bar, located at 170 East Road, Cambridge, on Friday (October 28). Tickets are £8. For more information, visit bit.ly/3TubjjL. For more on Gemma Rogers, go to gemmarogersmusic.com.
