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Ex-Communards singer on female musical inspirations

Danny Pikeand
Patrick Barlow,South East
Getty Images A woman, Sarah Jane Morris, wearing a pink top and standing on a stage with a microphone.Getty Images
Sarah Jane Morris, formerly of The Communards, says she has "fallen in love" with some of her musical inspirations after writing songs in their honour

A former singer in The Communards says that researching her female musical inspirations has helped her to "fall in love" with their stories and helped her produce music in their honour.

Sarah Jane Morris cited Tracey Chapman, Amy Winehouse and modern artists including Raye among her inspirations, some of whom she has dedicated songs to.

The singer-songwriter discussed her female musical inspirations ahead of performing her second concept album of songs written about and inspired by Chapman, Winehouse and Dolly Parton.

Morris, from St Leonards in East Sussex, said: "I wanted to find out about the singer-songwriters who had paved the way for me."

Morris added: "I realised I was falling in love with their journey and realised how much they did shape popular music.

"The stories are all about men, so I realised it could be an album."

Getty Images A woman wearing a pink dress holding a microphone and singing. Getty Images
Raye recently headlined Brighton's Pride in the Park

Morris said that she started the project during the first Covid-19 lockdown in 2020, which lead to her first concept album, The Sisterhood, with co-writer Tony Remy, who has worked with Annie Lennox, Simply Red and Gary Barlow.

The sequel album, released in March, features songs inspired by 11 different female artists including Sinéad O'Connor and Peggy Seeger.

Morris also cited Raye, who recently headlined Brighton's Pride in the Park, as a modern inspiration for her music, adding: "She is one of the few young singer-songwriters who meet my requirements. She stands on the shoulders of these women."

Getty Images Two men, Richard Coles and Jimmy Sommerville, wearing black tops.Getty Images
Richard Coles and Jimmy Sommerville, of The Communards

Prior to her solo career, Morris originally rose to fame as a member of The Communards alongside Jimmy Sommerville, Richard Coles and June Miles-Kingston.

All four of the members of The Communards are now based in Sussex, with Morris stating that they regularly kept in touch.

"We have kept in touch and remain friends. I played in Lewes recently and everyone came there", Morris said.

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