Jade Bird likes to "power-dress" when she is on stage.
The 21-year-old singer is known for wearing a signature jumpsuit to complete her stage persona, and she has now revealed that she identifies with wearing the stylish all-in-one garment because it makes her feel "good" and she doesn’t have to worry about "tucking anything in".
Speaking exclusively to BANG Showbiz, Jade said: "The jumpsuit was like power-dressing, I always wore skirts when I first played when I was 14 and it was cool but I never felt any identity with what I was wearing.
"A jumpsuit for me was a way of feeling comfortable, I don’t have to tuck anything in and I can just roll it in my suitcase, so it just became I really loved to wear and feel safe wearing and feel confident wearing. It doesn’t matter what situation you’re in, when you wear something you feel good in – you’re fine. I never really associate with clothes or fashion but I’m learning!"
And the ‘My Motto’ hitmaker – who released her eponymous debut album in April – opened up about her signature sound, and explained that she would "practice" endlessly to make her voice "stronger" and "grittier" after she was influenced by male blues singers at a local bar.
She added: "I [can be] very shouty. I think I grew more confident and I was listening to a lot of blues singers.
"So when I moved to London at 16, I played at this bar called Number Four Ferdinand Street and it’s a spiritual bar in Camden so I watched all these burly men sing with big gruffly voices and I thought, ‘I want to be heard on a Saturday night and a Sunday night too.’
"So I just practised and practised and started singing with my grit and it just stretched me and made my voice stronger."
And Jade insisted that her own music is influenced by the riot grrrl movement – an underground feminist punk movement that began early on in the ’90s – to help her "aggression" on stage.
She added: "I’m not a calm human being, not 90 per cent of the time, I’m calm usually, and I have a lot of anger as I think a lot of young women day when you figure out how you’re treated on the norm in certain places. So that fuels that aggression, which I love – music with pure aggression. I’m inspired by the riot grrrl movement."
Jade will take to the main stage at the All Points East festival at London’s Victoria Park’s on June 1, 2019 alongside headliners Mumford & Sons, Leon Bridges, Dizzee Rascal, The Vaccines and Sam Fender.
Jade Bird ‘power-dresses’ on stage
