Ahead of her Irish gigs this November, 90s star and singer-songwriter Gabrielle talks about the highs and lows of her three-decade-long career
It's all too easy to underestimate the sheer impact Gabrielle had on the charts and indeed, music in general, in the 90s and early noughties.
A true era-defining artist, her list of achievements is extensive – her first single, Dreams, released in 1993, was the highest-charting debut single from a new artist ever in the UK, shooting to number two in the charts.
Subsequent hits like Give Me A Little More Time and East 17 duet If You Ever ensured that she went on to win two BRIT awards that decade - the first in 1994 for British Breakthrough Act, and the second in 1997 for Best British Female.
Despite being known for her mantra that "dreams can come true", the singer looks back in near-astonishment at the success she has had in the music business.
The 54-year-old revealed, "I never imagined that I would actually become a singer, but I always wanted to sing. I didn’t care if it was in a pub or a club or on a street corner, busking. I just loved music. It was my life."
However, her deep insecurity about having a lazy eyelid held her back. Born with an eye condition called ptosis, she has a dead muscle in one eye which caused it to droop, and a corrective operation left her with a shortened lid. She still hides her eye to this day using sunglasses, her hair and of course, at one point in her early career, that famous eye-patch.
As well as causing very poor eyesight, her disabiity caused uncontrollable flickering in her eyelid and it led to her being bullied in school.
It also cemented her belief that she would never be accepted by the music industry because of how she looked.
"I never felt that being a singer was a dream I could have, because having a lazy eyelid - there were no females out there who represented someone like me on TV," she says.
"I never thought it would become a reality."
She passionately continues, "And now I say to everybody, who has a dream, who’s passionate - it doesn’t matter if you don't have representations of yourself - you could be the first.
"Just because it hasn't happened before, it doesn't mean it won't happen.
"I’m testament to that - with me, with a lazy eyelid, on Top of the Pops, wearing an eyepatch, going against the grain of what women are supposed to look like. You can do it too."
It’s hard not to feel uplifted when speaking to Gabrielle. Her positivity is genuine and infectious, something she says she tries to bring to her fans at her gigs.
She says that Out of Reach consistently gets the biggest reaction from crowds. "People go nuts. People go mental!"
While acknowledging that the song will forever be associated with Bridget Jones’s Diary ("a chick flick, I know", she jokes), Gabrielle says anyone who has a preconceived notion of what her audience might look like, should think again.
"When you come to my shows and you see the audience - you've got big bearded men singing Out of Reach – singing at the top of their voices!"
Laughing, she adds, "When you're singing and you see people in the crowd standing up singing your songs, feeling their feelings. I'm like, wow - I love it, I love it."
"I love that music can bring everyone together."
But things were not also easy for the singer, and along with the highs, came major and almost nightmarish lows.
As her music career soared, she was dogged by her association with Tony Antoniou, her ex-partner and the father of one of her children, who gruesomely murdered his stepfather in 1995.
The pair were estranged at the time of the crime, and it was reported that had ended their romantic relationship the day after their child was born.
Reflecting (very briefly) on that dark period of her life, she says, "I only had one major tough time publicly", and described how she tried to stay strong, despite intense media scrutiny. [Antoniou received a life sentence in 1997].
Several years after this, in 2000, she released her third studio album, Rise. It topped the UK charts, which she cites as a major career highlight as it defied the critics who thought she was finished.
"If I do shows, and sing Rise for example, I talk about [that time], how low I felt, and explain how that song came about in my life".
She references the lyrics, "Look at my life / Look at my heart / I have seen them fall apart / Now I'm ready to rise again."
She says, "Now, I reach out to people - if you’re ever feeling that things are getting too tough, talk to somebody. Hang on in there. You have Samaritans, you’ve got all the helplines.
"Once you overcome all the negatives, life can be pretty good, life is what make it."
She continues, "I’m a mum, I’m a grandma - my little grandson is five months old. I’m just living my best life.
"Because I have been to that place when it’s dark… it’s so dark, that you never feel like you make it out the end.
"Just hang on in there, speak to people - you’re not alone, you’re never alone," she says emphatically.
In 2007, Gabrielle took time out from music to focus on rearing her two children. Since then, she has lived her life mainly out of the public eye - with occasional gigs - until she decided to take part in the 2021 edition of The Masked Singer.
Putting herself out there once again was a bold and successful move. She released her covers album, Do It Again, in the aftermath of appearing on the kooky singing show, where the celebrity contestants' identities are concealed by outlandish costumes. The album hit number four in the UK album charts, which shocked the singer.
She says, "I’m still shocked to be honest. It was incredible.
"I’ve been around for years, so it was obviously because I had done The Masked Singer.
"[Doing the show] was really nice - it piqued people’s interest, I gained new fans and new people liked what I was doing."
Chuckling, she says, "You gain the tiny tots too - the little kids watching the show, and their parents having to explain who I am. It was so cute."
"That was a covers album, but I’m nearly finished my album for next year", which will be original music.
Despite keeping herself mainly out of the limelight, she gigs semi-regularly in Ireland.
I ask her about the late Sinéad O’Connor, as they were both at the height of their fame around the same time, and both also faced intense media scrutiny.
She sighs and says, "I’ve never met her but when I heard the news [of her death], I was so sad. This was a woman who was an incredible talent, the most beautiful voice.
"And I know that people weren't always kind… it's not fair.
"It just shows us how fragile life is. She's an icon."
She also quick to rave about another Irish female singer-songwriter, Wallis Bird, who is supporting her on the Irish leg of her upcoming tour. "Wallis and I have history because many years ago she supported me. She came and opened up for me, and I thought that I should be opening up for her basically.
"She has the most stunning voice, the most incredible stage presence, and she's a performer… you’ve got an all-rounder, who’s phenomenal. I am really honored to be sharing my stage with this incredible talent that is Wallis Bird."
I ask her if younger artists, who she likely influenced greatly as they grew up with her hits, get in touch with her, seeking advice or guidance.
She responds, "Not so much for guidance, but my management tell me that a lot of young people 'reach out’ by commenting on my music, social media etc - trendy people, young and upcoming people!"
"They grew up listening to Gabrielle music, and now they’re making their own music. When that happens, I love it."
The Ivor Novello-winning artist modestly says that her advice is not needed by young artists: "These people are running things now. That's why the labels are having a hard time, cause the new and upcoming artists, they've got their own shows, they’ve got their own little YouTube things - they're showcasing their music themselves.
"So I've got nothing to say - I need to be following them, 'cos they’ve got it going on!"
Gabrielle’s 30 Years of Dreaming tour comes to the 3Olympia Theatre, Dublin on 15 and 16 November, Leisureland in Galway on 17 November, the Millennium Forum Derry on 19 November (sold out) and Ulster Hall, Belfast on 20 November. Tickets start at €39 and more info can be found here.
If you have been affected by any of the issues raised in this article, please see RTÉ's list of helplines.
