English artist Bobbie Dazzle – aka Siân Greenaway – is on a mission to revive the evocative sounds and vibes of the glam rock era. But the singer and flautist is also steeped in prog, as she explains.
“I was taught the flute at school, but at 10 years old I hated being told it had to be played in a clean, pristine way. So I stopped playing what felt like a stupid instrument and forgot all about it.
After I’d left school I stumbled across Jethro Tull, which in turn led me to discover the Dutch band Focus. I watched a live clip of their song Hocus Pocus on YouTube, and I was surprised to see Thijs van Leer pick up a flute and proceed to do all of the things I’d been told not to – but within the context of progressive rock.
He used the flute as a percussive instrument and made all of these weird sounds, pulling crazy faces; he looked like an absolute madman. But the best thing of all was that Thijs was having fun with the flute. I just thought, ‘Wow!!’
I rescued my flute from where I’d left it and the first song I tried to play was House Of The King [Focus’ 1970 debut single]. I was surprised how much muscle memory helped. It’s become my go-to song with the flute – whenever I warm up, it’s always to House Of The King.
I like to listen to Focus on shuffle because each of their albums tells a different story. But if you pushed me for my favourite I’d say In And Out Of Focus (originally released as Focus Plays Focus) because House Of The King is on that one.
I’ve yet to see the band live – I need to set that right because Thijs still plays lengthy tours, even at the age of 78. Big respect for that.
After falling in love with Focus I discovered Genesis, and Traffic, and it opened a whole new door to progressive rock for me. I already knew about Heart, but I didn’t know Ann Wilson was a fantastic flautist – she can rip out a solo just as well as Ian Anderson.
I’m considered a glam rock artist, but I also see myself as a prog one. I don’t think the two genres live too far away from each other. Both have lots of layers. I’m very proud of my attempt to bring glam into the prog world.”
Bobbie Dazzle’s second album, Star Power, is on sale now.
