Fans’ Lounge: First of all, thank you for taking the time
to chat with us for Sandie’s website. Could you start by
telling us why you decided to ‘be’ Sandie Shaw?
Sarah: Well, one of the first songs I started singing when I was
younger was ‘Puppet On A String’. I really liked it
and I’ve been doing that on karaoke for a few years. Both
my dad and my grandma like music from that era, and my dad has
always said that I looked a bit like Sandie Shaw. As my voice
matured and I got older, I think I started to sound a bit like
her too.
You sang ‘(There’s) Always Something There To Remind
Me’ on the night, which is a very hard song to pull off:
what made you choose that particular hit?
I actually auditioned with ‘Puppet On A String’ but
when I found out that I had got through to the second audition,
they asked me to do ‘Always Something There To Remind Me’.
I couldn’t do it at first but I listened to it over and over
again to try and pick up how she did things; you know, things
like the tones in her voice and how she sang certain words. The
Stars In Their Eyes team gave me videos of her singing ‘Long
Live Love’, ‘Puppet On A String’ and ‘Always
Something There To Remind Me’, and that helped me with the
movements and the facial expressions.
What experience of ‘live’ performance do you have?
Have you had any vocal training?
I’ve never had proper vocal training. My gran has helped
me since I wanted to sing when I was little. She has helped me
out with timing and things like that. And I’ve done a few
talent shows.
Turning to the programme itself, once you’ve decided that
you want to appear on the show, what’s the process you go
through in order to get into the heats?
My dad rang up for me to get the audition slip. There was
a questionnaire to fill in, and you have to send off a tape of
yourself singing. I sent off a tape of ‘Puppet On A String’.
A week or so later they rang me to say that I had got through
to the first auditions in Nottingham. After a further week or
so they rang me to say that I was through to the second audition
in Manchester. Now in both auditions, my backing CDs had jumped.
I also had a cold and so I thought that I had blown it. I was
just screaming when they rang me to say that I had got through.
I rang all my friends.
Can you talk us through the day of your performance: what happens
in the run-up to the moment when we, the viewers, actually get
to see you on our TV sets?
It was filmed on 9 & 10 April. We had a full dress rehearsal
on 9 April which they filmed. It took four hours to be filmed
but it was fun. The filming is done at Granada studios. We saw
the studio before they dressed the set and it was huge. But once
it is filled with the set and the audience, it feels really small.
I came to Manchester with my mum – you are allowed to bring
one family member – on 9 April. My dad, my brother and my
granddad came up the following day. My gran wanted to stay at
home because she always gets nervous whenever I perform.
You have four people in the audience who come with you, but the
rest of the audience is selected from members of the public who
have booked to come onto the show. If everyone brought all of
their family, no-one in the audience would be able to vote. They
give you a keypad for voting, but you get a dud one if you have
come as a family member of one of the contestants.
On the day of the filming you go through your song one more time,
go back to your hotel to chill for a bit and then you go back
over to the studios for 5-o-clock. My performance is a ‘live’
performance, but the show itself is pre-recorded. You see it was
weird to see how they put the show together from the filming.
You met the Cat Deeley, as well, didn’t you? What can
you tell us about Cat?
The contestants met Cat Deeley before the final performance
so that we could get over the ‘Oh my God, I’ve met a
famous person’ thing. I watch SM:TV Live! and she used to
do that. I felt like she should know me and that she would know
me. She is really nice. She was the one who kept patting us all
on the back and telling us all that we weren’t going to fall
over. You see, most of the girls were wearing heels and were scared
of falling over. After the show she gave us all a bouquet of flowers
and signed autographs. I got as many as I could!
It was obvious from your appearance on the night that your
parents were both really enjoyed your performance. What do they
make of all this?
Dad was really into it. He kept blowing me kisses. Dad suggested
that I do it. I have auditioned before as Patsy Cline, Ruby Murray
and Blondie. This time my dad said that I should try Sandie Shaw.
What about your friends at school?
At school I had all these people who didn’t know me coming
up to me and saying, ‘Oh, it’s that girl off TV.’
My teachers were saying that I had done really well. I had a party
with all my friends there and everything. On the night of the
TV broadcast we booked the function room in the local pub, The
Trooper, for a party with my family and my friends. We also did
some karaoke!
Can you tell us about a certain phone call you had today?
Mum rang me at school on Monday and told me that she had a
surprise for me ... Sandie Shaw wanted to ring me! I couldn’t
believe it: why did Sandie Shaw want to speak to me? I was there
with one of my friends, and she couldn’t believe it. Sandie
asked me what I wanted to do when I left school, whether I found
it easy to sing or not and then she asked me about the dress –
fingers crossed, I might be able to buy it. I asked Sandie how
she got into singing and I found out that she got into it through
talent shows as well.
What plans do you have for the future?
I have my GCSEs next year. I hope to do as well as I can because
I would love to be an early-years teacher. I would love a lot
more to be a singer. I am planning to try to and get into clubs
and maybe sing part-time. My mum wants me to do something like
Jane McDonald on cruise ships. But, as Sandie said to me, it is
all down to luck.
So
there you have it! I was thrilled to see Sarah ‘be’
Sandie Shaw and even more thrilled to have the opportunity to
speak to her. Sarah is very sweet, and whether her career path
involves singing, teaching or a combination of the two, I wish
her all the best for the future. See you in July….
