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I spoke to East Kilbride’s answer to Adele, Gillian Christie, to find out more about her passion for music.

Gillian is only 20 years old yet has packed a lot of punch into her musical act. I asked her for a bit of background about how she started singing. Gillian explained “Well, at the moment I am the only member of my act, so I suppose you could argue that Gillian Christie Acoustic formed 20 years ago. I’ve been writing and performing for about 6 years now though, so that’s when the music all started.”


I asked Gillian who she counts as her influences. Being a solo act means that she doesn’t need to consider anyone else’s influences, which can only be a good thing! Gillian explained “Musically, my inspiration comes from a diverse range of artists. Anything from Damien Rice to Nirvana, Bob Dylan to The Cure, Jeff Buckley to David Bowie. I’m a real music lover and to be honest, I’ll find something to love in just about any style of music, as long as it’s got soul.”

Gillian has been a busy girl, cramming a lot in since she started gaining a name on the underground music scene. Gillian has released two recordings on iTunes, Thinking Space Part 1 and Thinking Space Part 2. But that’s not all, as she said “I also have two new recordings on the way as well though, so look out for them in the very near future.” Gillian also hopes to start work on a music video before the end of the year.

Gillian has been gigging hard on the underground scene, getting lots of top class performances under her belt. At the start of this year Gillian supported Glasgow’s very own Glasvegas. Last year she played at the sold out Acoustic Affair in Glasgow City Halls, as well as a slot on the bill at the famous Wickerman Festival in Kirkcudbright. I asked Gillian if she could single out one gig as her favourite and she replied “Hmm, that’s a hard one. The gigs I’ve enjoyed playing the most have probably been ones at festivals. Best gig though? I’m really not sure!”

Gillian also recently played at a festival, Oxjam. She said “I’ve played Oxjam for the past few years and I just think it’s a really great cause. Everyone always has an awesome time at it and I feel honored to playing it again this year.”

Gillian remained upbeat when I asked if she ever had a gig from hell. She answered “Again, that’s a hard one. Even gigs which haven’t gone quite to plan, I’d still say have been positive experiences because of what I’ve learned from them.”

Gillian tries to behave well whilst on tour. In an attempt to get her to dish the dirt I asked her if she had ever got into any trouble whilst on tour. Gillian replied “I can’t say I’m much of a rock star, at least when it comes to gigging. I usually stay out of trouble, or at least, if I’m going to be naughty, I don’t get caught.”

I’d love to go back in time and be in some peace and love 60’s band, just because.

My fantasy festival would probably have to be some kind of interdimensional affair because half the people I’d want to play are no longer alive, but I’d have to have Nirvana headlining, there would be Bob Dylan, The Cure, Jimi Hendrix , Elliott Smith, Radiohead, Jeff Buckley…


I asked Gillian what bands she is excited about at the moment and she said “At the
moment, I’ve not really been listening to a great deal of new music, so nothing has
really been sticking out for me. However, there are a couple of bands I’ve heard recently
ho have been absolutely excellent. Mathew and the Atlas are fantastic, I played the same
stage as them at Wickerman Festival this year. Timber Timbre are another band who I
think are going to get pretty big, they’re fantastic.”

Finally, I asked Gillian if she had any pearls of wisdom for other local bands or vocalists. She said “Don’t feel intimidated by the massive quantity of new bands out there. There may be hundreds of other people trying to make it, but if you have a talent, you have just as much right to be doing it as the next person, and as long as you keep working at it your lucky break could be just around the corner.”

Keep an eye out for this girl, she’s building a fan base and is going to be huge! Find her on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/pages/Gillian-Christie-Acoustic/142981522408222?sk=info and listen to her music on Soundcloud at http://soundcloud.com/gillianchristieacoustic.