1Can you remember what either of the two NME Awards you won in 1999 were for?
“I won the ‘Most Desirable Person’ award, but I’ve got a bone to pick with NME because I never received a trophy for it! Can I have one that I can put in my loo? I’ve got a ‘Most Fanciable Award’ and I want to add this to the collection!”
CORRECT. As well as the ‘Most Desirable Person’ accolade, you were also voted ‘The Pop Personality That You’d Most Like As Your Doctor’.
“[Laughs] That’s so fucked up! Really?! I want a trophy for that too! They’re going to be the two pillars of strength that supports my ‘Most Fanciable Award’. God, bring back the ’90s and noughties!”
2In Netflix’s The Crown, which member of the Royal Family turns up the radio when your 1997 hit ‘Torn’ comes on and remarks ‘I like this one’?
“King Charles.”
CORRECT. In the season 6 episode ‘Willsmania’, Prince Charles (played by Dominic West) attempts to bond with his son William over the song.
“That was a career highlight for me. Watching it, I couldn’t believe it was happening.”
Any idea if any of the Royals were actually fans of the song?
“I don’t know if they liked my music. I met Prince Harry because someone brought him to my [34th] birthday party, but asking him about my music was not on the tip of my tongue! It’s not something I normally ask people – you never know what answer you might get! [Laughs]”
Olivia Rodrigo memorably brought you onstage at her London gig in 2022 to perform ‘Torn’. What has it felt like to be championed by the new generation of pop stars?
“I’ve got a lot to thank Olivia for because she got me onstage to sing ‘Torn’ and a lot of young children might not have even known who I was. I’m grateful for that stamp of approval and she’s an incredible songwriter. And then, last year, Gracie Abrams and Camila Cabello each sang ‘Torn’ whilst they were in Australia. I’ve DM-d all of them with so much gratitude. Because of them doing that, I can still have a career. Also, I didn’t have many friendly people – that I admired and looked up to – supporting me, so I’m conscious of what it feels like to come into this industry.”
For a bonus half-point, which British dance-pop star covered ‘Torn’ at her Melbourne show in March this year?
“Dua Lipa.”
CORRECT.
“YES!! I can do quizzes. I’ve got a complex about quizzes, even if it’s a jokey one!”
Similarly, you covered Dua Lipa’s ‘Levitating’ on The Masked Singer in 2022.
“[Laughs] While dressed as a panda! I think her songs had panda-vibes – there was more than just ‘Levitating’. I could have done her whole repertoire! I was able to live out my pop star fantasies doing Dua songs, because I previously had this chip on my shoulder that I was a stage school kid, so I was bred to do that. I was one exam away from being a tap teacher. So, I should have dancers behind me, but I got to 16 and thought that wasn’t cool. There’s a part of me that thinks that was a mistake now, so getting to be a panda and do dance routines? Are you kidding me?”
3When Dave Stewart performed his single ‘Happy to Be Here’ (plus two Eurythmics classics) on TFI Friday in 1999, he recruited Kylie Minogue, Sinéad O’Connor and yourself as backing singers. What was your supergroup named?
“Bloody hell! I remember I had a blonde wig on, Kylie was in a red dress, and Sinéad looked gorgeous. But I’m going to blame perimenopause for not being able to remember the name of our band.”
WRONG. You were officially called A Tramp, A Drunk, And An Unfit Mother.
“[Laughs] That’s brilliant. Love it! A Tramp, A Drunk and An Unfit Mother? I wonder which one I was?!”
“Dave is in his own universe. He’ll say, ‘Hey Nat, I’m on Paul Allen’s yacht, do you want to come and write a song? We’ll pick you up in the chopper.’ Next thing, you’re in a helicopter landing on a boat. You come home and you’ve been scuba diving and you’ve written a song on a boat. He is like a fun rollercoaster ride that you get on and you never know what’s going to happen.”
“My new album, ‘Algorithm’, has some songs that are very Eurythmics-inspired. The opening track, ‘Debbie’, is me imagining I’m Annie Lennox with Dave playing next to me.”
What was it hanging out with the late Sinéad O’Connor?
“I was nervous because I didn’t know if she was a ‘girl’s girl’ or whatever, but she was the softest, sweetest, most beautiful human being. And with Kylie, I was at her feet. I was a kid watching Neighbours, wanting to be her like all the other girls. In the early days, I would be at every one of her shows backstage.”
4You’ve recorded and released two songs co-written by members of The Strokes. Name them.
“’Maybe It’s Great’ and I covered ‘Instant Crush’.”
CORRECT. Albert Hammond Jr co-wrote your 2021 track ‘Maybe It’s Great’, and you covered Daft Punk featuring Julian Casablancas’ ‘Instant Crush’ in 2015.
“Yay! I’m an original, front-row fan of The Strokes, and I knew Albert from going to the shows, so I asked him if he would write with me, and he brought Gus [Oberg, Strokes producer] out to Byron Bay and we had a great time. I hope we get to write some more together. He’s got an energy about him and he brings his own vibe to the song – a distinctive flavour that I happen to like.”
5Who do you play in the 2003 spy comedy film Johnny English?
“Lorna Campbell.”
CORRECT.
“It was incredible, but I was doing a terrible English accent! I look back and think, ‘Why was I playing a slapstick comedy so seriously?’ [Laughs] I think that film made me terrified I was a terrible actress. But you know what? The younger generation is so into that film. I’ve had people recite lines from it to me, which is very touching. It was great to be a part of, and I can’t say enough great things about Rowan Atkinson. I wish they’d asked me back!”
6What unusual headwear was comedian Simon Amstell wearing when he interviewed you for the anarchic T4 show Popworld?
“Um… I don’t know.”
WRONG. He quizzed you with a paper bag over his head, replete with expressions drawn on to react to what you were saying – because you were too beautiful!
“Oh my god, I’d like to see a picture of that! That’s great, but I don’t remember being interviewed with a bag over his head, funnily enough! [Laughs]”
7What is track seven on your new album ‘Algorithm’?
“Now that’s just mean! [She starts listing the tracks in order] 1. ‘Debbie’, 2. ‘Upside Down’, 3. ‘Catastrophe’… I can’t remember my own tracklist! Once I’ve done it, I put it out of my head! Is it ‘Breathe With The Fire ‘?
WRONG. ‘Who Dimmed the Lights’.
“Well, ironically that’s about perimenopause. Funny that I can’t remember – that’s what the song’s about! [Laughs] I’d love to play stadiums and ‘Algorithm’ was written with that intention. I was listening and enjoying a lot more electronic music. I took the time to listen to my CD collection and figure out: What do I actually like in a song? What hooks me in?”
Despite being a dance-y album, the lyrics are personal.
“Debbie’ is a song to myself – to not be a Debbie Downer, because your time is coming. I was having a lot of struggles mentally during that period, so songwriting was a way to vomit it all out to my collaborators. I tried to bring a sense of humour to it, because I didn’t want the song to bring me down, which is why ‘Algorithm’ is such an upbeat album. When I listen back to some of my albums, I think, ‘oh my god woman, smile!’ The song ‘Jesus on Mars’ has a few funny in-jokes about my OCD. Like I can’t have the sheets in the house mixed up. If my equipment didn’t turn up to a festival, I’m fine with a big problem, but if my pillowcases get mixed up, I will have a nervous breakdown. I’ve never had this much fun making an album before.”
8One of your earliest UK TV appearances was on the cult Channel 4 video game challenge show GamesMaster in 1995, where you were beaten by a child from Milton Keynes. Can you remember what game you played?
“No! If it was Space Invaders, I would have kicked arse! But I think Atari was a thing of the past then!”
WRONG. You lost at the Super Nintendo title Kid Klown in Crazy Chase.
“I have no memory of that at all. That’s an ADHD trait – we don’t remember.”
9You sang INXS’ ‘Never Tear Us Apart’ with Tom Jones on his 1999 ‘Reload’ album. Name two other singers who appeared on that record.
“I’ve just had a psychic flash of Robbie Williams, and Cerys Matthews was on there too?”
CORRECT. Among many others, you could have also had: The Cardigans, Stereophonics, James Dean Bradfield and Portishead.
“I remember walking into the room and hearing Tom’s voice for the first time and I was blown away. When I watched him after supporting him this year, I felt as if was watching Elvis. If you closed your eyes, he could have been aged 30.”
10What number did your debut LP ‘Left of the Middle’ reach on the UK album charts?
“Two?”
WRONG. Five.
“Should have been Number One! [Laughs]”
Did you ever see the 2019 Saturday Night Live sketch where Ben Stiller, impersonating Michael Cohen testifying to Congress during the Stormy Daniels/Donald Trump scandal, recited the chorus of ‘Torn’ during his opening statement?
“No way! That’s brilliant – I’m going to look that up. Playing Saturday Night Live [in 1998] was a career highlight. It was nerve-wracking, but what an experience to be asked to do that. One of my friends recently told me that when we left the building, we had to pull the car over, go into the pub and call the police because there were so many people mobbing us. I don’t remember that, but she swears it happened. The late-’90s were a blur!”
Bonus question! For an extra half-point, which Conservative former UK defence secretary claims he persuaded you to release ‘Torn’ as a single?
“Liam Fox?”
CORRECT. Any truth in that?
“He didn’t have a say in which song I released, but he might have said something to my manager because they were friends. My recollection is I went in with a bunch of songs on a cassette, and [then BMG president] Jeremy Marsh heard them and signed me on the basis of them. One of those songs was ‘Torn’. But it’s all right. He can take credit if he wishes. Everyone else does! He’s not alone!”
The verdict: 6/10
“I can live with that score. I got more than half right! I’m serious about that award though – can I have the two trophies that I can put either side? It would be the best party chat.”
Well, James Blunt finally received his 2006 NME ‘Worst Album’ award for ‘Back to Bedlam’ in 2023 after 17 years of asking for it…
“James is a friend of mine in the Cotswolds, so maybe I’ll take mine round to his next dinner party!”
Natalie Imbruglia’s new single ‘Just Drive’ is out now. Her album, ‘Algorithm’, is out September 4 and available to pre-order here.
