CLEAN BANDIT’s Grace Chatto has revealed the emotional story behind their new tune Believe.
The cellist, who is one third of the electronic band, told for the first time that a battle with drugs as a youngster left her with speech problems and a raft of other issues.
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She said in a TikTok post: “I speak so slowly because I took too many drugs when I was a teenager.”
Grace detailed other struggles, admitting: “I can’t get car insurance because I had a driving ban.”
But the musician, whose band has topped the charts with hits such as Rather Be, Rockabye and Symphony, said their latest tune is poignant because it reminds her to count her blessings every morning.
Alongside the caption “I believe in us” to reference the track featuring South African singer Lloyiso, she added: “But I believe in us. Won a Grammy, gratitude for all that I have, I am strong, I’m nice, I am honest.”
Her honesty has gone down a storm with fans, with more than 180,000 liking the post.
She’s come a long way – and things are only going up.
It’s Hill country
BECKY HILL has a quieter life these days.
She posed in the countryside with fiancé Charlie Gardner after snapping up a rural pad to settle down in.
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In a post on Instagram, she wrote: “I decided to have a quieter year at work so I could write album three, get married and buy a house fit for the next chapter of my life.
“I’ve been lucky enough to be able to retire both of my parents, buy them a house and got my big brother a house too.
“So it was our turn. Worked my whole life to protect my family and now I have a new home fit for our own. Not yet though, I got a new album to finish.”
Clean Bandit perform at Royal Variety Concert 2018
ALL EYES ON KT WITH 3 NEW SONGS FOR DEBUT RE-ISSUE
KT TUNSTALL is preparing to drop three new songs on the 20th anniversary re-issue of her debut album Eye To The Telescope.
The exclusive tunes, which include the never-before-released title track, will be on the new version of the record, when it comes out on October 31.
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KT told me: “The title for my first album was inspired by the times when my physicist dad – who had a spare set of keys for the
Observatory at St Andrews University – would randomly get us up in the middle of the night and bundle us into the car in our pyjamas to go and look through the huge telescope to see the night sky.
The moon, Saturn, Halley’s Comet all completely blew my mind as a kid.
“When I decided to call the album Eye To The Telescope, I thought I’d have a go at writing a title track.
“What I began writing was so delicate, and I felt that a title track of a first album surely had to be a banger, so I abandoned it. My label BMG encouraged me to finish the song for this special re-release, and it’s been such a thrill to complete something over 20 years in the making.”
Lizzo weighs in on trolls
LIZZO has again hit back at trolls who attacked her for losing weight.
The Juice singer is the cover star of Women’s Health UK, and said, rightly, she wouldn’t be bullied by the sad-acts targeting her from anonymous social media accounts.
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In her interview with the September issue of the mag, which is out now, Lizzo said: “It’s radical to f*** with yourself.
“I had to fight for that [to love myself]. And now I’m fighting again.
“It’s OK to gain weight after you’ve [lost] weight, because what you’re not going to do is shame me if my body changes again and I get bigger.”
Hear, hear, Lizzo.
TINDER RETRY FOR TODRICK
HE is dazzling West End crowds as the star and director of Burlesque the Musical.
But US actor Todrick Hall is hoping to find more than just a good review while in London.
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He’s trying to get a boyfriend, too!
Instead of looking for a showbiz personality to mingle with his A-list pals such as Taylor Swift, he has signed up to dating app Tinder to find a normal bloke.
A single pal of mine was swiping on the app and saw Todrick’s profile, which features a photo of him with another of his famous friends, Nicole Scherzinger.
On the page, which has been verified as his, he writes: “I make videos, sing, dance and act. I love Beyonce, Wizard Of Oz and Disney. So basically, I’m not the most masc person on here.
“If you’re into it, swipe right lol.”
It’s actually a return to the app for Todrick, who said in 2023: “I keep getting kicked off of Tinder because people think it’s a catfish.
“So when I get on there, I’m like ‘you better swipe until you can’t swipe no more because your time is limited, OK?’.”
SECRET TAYLOR VID REVEALED
VIDEO director Joseph Kahn has risked the wrath of Taylor Swift.
The camera wiz pulled the curtain back on Taylor’s inner circle.
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Joseph revealed he and Taylor secretly made a full video for her Reputation album track King Of My Heart back when the record came out in 2017.
Joseph said: “We shot this sort of very conceptual thing and then she decided Ready For It? was a better single.”
He previously worked on Britney Spears’ iconic Toxic video, and Taylor’s Blank Space.
Damon’s Bec in the game
BLUR frontman Damon Albarn was out walking his dog, joined by Gorillaz collaborator Rebecca Freckleton.
They were spotted close to his London home.
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Damon has been single since splitting from Suzi Winstanley after 25 years.
There’s good reason Damon and Rebecca are hanging out, after he told The Sun last month he is working on the next Gorillaz record due next year.
Damon said: “I’ve been incredibly busy making music – it’s what I love to do – so I suppose I’m going to have to share some of it soon. I was doing an opera in Paris and starting on the new Gorillaz record. It’s been crazy.”
