The Northern Echo: Colin Vearncombe (aka Black)

Matt: Do you still like to be known as Black? Why did you choose that instead of your given name?

Colin: "It's a good name, and more importantly, people can pronounce it! Even my family pronounce Vearncombe differently!

Matt: Twenty-five years since 'Wonderful Life' and it still sounds as fresh as ever? Did you realise at the time the impact that song would have?

Colin: Not at all. The song's impact goes way beyond hit record! It's almost an instrument for social change now.

Matt: What is the story behind it?

Colin: I split up with my first wife, got dropped by first my record company and then my publisher. It seemed like a good time to write a song with that title. I was right as it happened!

Matt: Do you still enjoy performing the song?

Colin: It gets harder. I could perform it in my sleep - and occasionally have. How to find something fresh in it! Hmmm...

Matt: You are playing what you describe as intimate venues, what is it about these smaller places that you like as a performer?

Colin: The one thing that can't be counterfeited in the digital age is the presence of the performer. I detect a desire for intimacy out there; people are craving something real. Close enough to smell me is as real as it gets!

Matt: Your fans recently chose the tracklist for the album Any Colour You Like. What did you think of their choices?

Colin: The idea was: What would you play to someone who didn't know Colin's music? They chose what we might call 'song' songs - melodic, direct, passionate. I'm not going to argue with them, it's their record!

Matt: How do you think your music compares to what is around at the moment? Has time and experience given you a different perspective on things?

Colin: I think we exist in different worlds largely. We really don't share the same pre-occupations. Also it's getting harder for me to tell - I don't watch TV or listen to the radio or read music press - I work.

Matt: You have branched out in recent times into other forms or art, how did that come about and how do they compare with writing songs and performing?

Colin: I'm finding music either a) increasingly boring or b) not enough. I've also been a huge bookworm. I started reading poetry again not so long ago and found myself saying 'i can do better'. I heard myself and thought I'd better do it then or shut up. I write what I'd like to read, just like my music. Some people blush - it is kind of raw!. Before that I got back into painting again after nearly 30 years. At the moment I'm kind of putting the two together and seeing what happens.