Nick Cave curated a music festival for which he included Nina Simone. In an interview he described going up to her hotel room as “fucking terrifying”.
A friend was in a gym /sauna in Switzerland in early eighties. Nina was in there too, a very large Nina as my friend described, stark naked and on the wall phone – absolutely giving it to her manager both barrels.
I have a DVD of a club performance of hers. I rarely watch it. She is just so hostile itis uncomfortable to watch.
But what an artist.
Lisa Simone on Nina Simone
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What an hilarious description: “a very large Nina as my friend described, stark naked and on the wall phone – absolutely giving it to her manager both barrels.”
A formidable woman! Not someone you would want to mess with.
But, a great artist, and, as we know from Desert Island Discs, her popularity just grows and grows.
Love the story one of her minders told about his job being to keep the fans safe from “Miss Simone” rather than the other way round.
There are live albums where it’s plain as day that she thinks the audience are beneath her. And they are.
Well aren’t we all?
BTW I notice the site is displaying the time as though we were on GMT.
Did I miss a memo?
I absolutely love Nina Simon Her persona and that of Grace Jones strike me as very similar.
We need more female artists like this and I would love to have net her. Very interesting person with her own mind.
I’ve often thought that, too – Miss Jones also has a habit of berating subordinates while in the buff (according to the documentary I saw).
Leonard Rigsby used to dream of such a moment
I was ambivalent about her, despite the protestations of Mark Lamarr on one of his excellent Radio 2 shows twenty-or-so years ago, until seeing Summer of Soul.
In a startling film of outstanding performances from beginning to end, her ten minutes may just be the stand out.
The blink-and-you’ll-miss-it bit where the drummer (the very, very good looking drummer) smiles at her with such affection during Young, Gifted and Black is etched in my mind.
It’s an excellent article, Junior.
Not the easiest of childhoods. Lisa is pretty remarkable in her own right. A real survivor.