Linda Perry has spoken to NME about the return of 4 Non Blondes, and revealed that ‘1994’ – their first new album in three decades – will be arriving next year.
The singer, producer and label owner has penned countless platinum-selling albums and tracks over the years, including Christina Aguilera’s ‘Beautiful’, Gwen Stefani’s ‘What You Waiting For?’ and P!nk’s ‘Get the Party Started’, as well as fronting the legendary ‘90s band 4 Non Blondes.
The latter are best-known for their hit single ‘What’s Up?’, which topped the charts after its release in 1993 and has since been covered by Dolly Parton, Lady Gaga and many more.
Having reunited with the band last year and recently announced their first UK live show in 30 years, Perry caught up with NME at the Ivor Novellos, where she was awarded the Special International Award – joining an impressive list of past winners including The Killers’ Brandon Flowers, Bon Jovi and Shakira.
On the red carpet, she shared her gratitude at receiving the honour, and said that after three decades in the music industry she believes, that the secret to making a hit song is creating it from a place of authenticity.
“I can only speak for myself, and I just try to write from personal experience to make it as true and honest as possible,” she explained. “When I work with somebody and I write a song with them or for them, I have to dig into them to find out emotionally where they’re at. It’s then that I can create something that just feels authentic.
“That’s all I can do, and if that relates to somebody- awesome, but I think that people need to know that there’s other songs than just the hit. There’s these really great album tracks that people overlook that are super important, and those are the ones that are really filled with gold.”
When asked if there are any songs from her own catalogue that she thinks may have been overlooked, she told NME: “Yeah, tonnes… but I’m going to release that as a record! I’m actually planning on releasing an album of all the songs that didn’t make it, so you’ll hear about that more soon.”
As for the return of 4 Non Blondes and their upcoming show at Shepherd’s Bush Empire, Perry said that there wasn’t a specific turning point that made it feel like the right time, but rather a gut feeling.
“I felt like it was a good time to put the band back together. I get asked about it all the time and I always say no, but this time I put it out in the universe myself. It just felt like time,” she said, before going on to confirm that the band are going to be releasing a new album next year.
The new record will be the first since their hit debut ‘Bigger, Better, Faster, More!’, which dropped back in 1992.
“4 Non Blondes are going to release a record in top of 2027, but I’m going drop a couple songs on this side of the year too,” she said, before sharing more about the sound of the new material.
“It sounds like we wrote and recorded it in 1994… So that’s what I’m calling the record, ‘1994’,” she told NME. “It’s fun. It’s dumb and fun and it has my Linda Perry touches on there, where it gets a little emotional and deep and political.
“But it’s a rocking record, and it sounds like it would’ve been our natural second record.”
Perry was awarded the Special International Award at last night’s Ivors by James Blunt, whom she discovered and signed in the early ‘00s. He would go on to release his 2004 debut studio album ‘Back to Bedlam’ on that label.
As well as the 4 Non Blondes reunion, the award at the Ivor Novellos also came on the heels of Perry releasing the solo album ‘Let It Die Here’ earlier this month, as well as a feature-length documentary of the same name which explored her impact on the music industry.
Other winners at this year’s Ivors included Rosalía, who was crowned International Songwriter Of The Year, and Radiohead’s Thom Yorke who was handed the Academy Fellowship award by surprise guest Harry Styles.
George Michael posthumously received the Academy Fellowship, too, and others taking home trophies on the night included Jacob Alon getting the awards for Rising Star and Best Song Musically and Lyrically, CMAT getting Best Album, Fraser T Smith and Kae Tempest winning Best Contemporary Song, and Sam Fender getting Songwriter Of The Year.