Third album sparks new beginnings

Singer Stephanie’s back after nine-year absence

POSITIVE: Stephanie Kirkham’s new album is released tomorrow

By JOHN ANSON

GOOD things are worth waiting for, the saying goes — and that is certainly true about the new album, which will be released tomorrow, from Ribble Valley singer/songwriter Stephanie Kirkham.

Tiny Spark is Stephanie’s third album but comes some nine years after her second — the critically acclaimed Sunlight On My Soul.

For Stephanie, Tiny Spark marks a new beginning. She had signed to a five-album deal to the Hut record label which then folded. “That was a total shock,” said Stephanie. “I had never been part of a band. The musicians I worked with on the first album, That Girl, were really nice but when the label folded they just moved on to the next thing and I did feel alone.” Stephanie released Sunlight On My Soul independently as a response to the label closing but admits she was affected by the whole experience. “I was down for quite a while,” she said, “and I needed time to stop and think about what to do next.”

One person who always believed in her was Grammy Award- winning producer Phil Thornalley, the man behind Tiny Spark. “Phil has always been in my corner and there to encourage me,” she said. With Phil’s support, Stephanie rediscovered her confidence and love for music and now regards being left in the lurch a good thing.

“With Tiny Spark, there was no pressure on me,” she said. “I did not have a record company putting deadlines on things. I could basically write the songs I wanted, when I felt like it. “It was a really nice way to go about things. If I got half an idea for a song, I would just send it to Phil to hear and he would suggest things. “That positive energy stayed with us through the whole process and I absolutely love the finished result. I would not change a thing.”

Tiny Spark is full of uplifting songs which put a smile on the listener’s face. It includes the song Easy As 1-2-3 which was used by Peugeot and energy company EDF for television adverts in Europe. “That gave me a huge boost,” said Stephanie.

Now living in Cornwall, Stephanie regularly makes the trip back to this area and can occasionally be found behind the counter of her mum’s flower shop The Secret Garden in Preston. She grew up at the family’s converted farmhouse on Longridge Fell before moving to Chipping. “I had an idyllic childhood,” she said. “I went to Hurst Green Primary School where there were only five people in my year.”

Stephanie is also an accomplished artist and anyone ordering Tiny Spark from her website receives some of her artwork along with the CD. But music is very much her priority.

“I always have melodies coming into my head,” she said, “and I have got a lot of songs ready for another album. “I do not play an instrument so I tend to sing into my phone when I have an idea.” This process worked well until the New Year when Stephanie lost her voice for a few days. She said: “I did have a couple of ideas for songs but I could not do anything with them. If they are any good they will come back to me.”

Tiny Spark is available from www.stephaniekirkham.com.

Stephanie will be playing live at the BBC Radio Lancashire studios in Blackburn at 2pm next Friday.