Last week i released a song called I Better Run, it was accompanied by a black and white video filmed on the hottest day of the year at Crosby Beach. I Better Run is my second love letter to the north, after the release of Cold Hearted Woman earlier this year.
The song came about when producer, Paul Rawson, began writing songs potentially to be synced on TV, the brief was Killing Eve, Peaky Blinder’s… that sort of thing. I loved what we were making, so much that I said ‘no no, I need this one for The Faux Faux’; of course it was developed 100 times more after this moment until we ended up with the final version. My favourite song by T. Rex is Ballroom of Mars, the first time i heard it was in a pizza shop in NYC, I was sat with my husband and we were both like ‘what IS this song??’ I’d always liked T. Rex, my Dad was a fan so I’d heard Electric Warrior plenty times in the car but now I really was smitten. I used Ballroom of Mars as the inspiration for the production of I Better Run, along with some more modern references like Unloved, HTRK and Deep Tan.
My dear friend and former bandmate, Lois, recommended I spoke to Georgiana Ghetiu when I mentioned making a music video for I Better Run, I’d actually met her when she sang backup vocals with The Manchester Indie Choir at a Christmas PINS show a couple of years ago. I headed to Tak in town to meet Georgiana to discuss our ideas for the video over coffee, I had my 4 year old daughter with me so the conversation was often interrupted by curious questions about the world. The video was to be timeless and classic, we used photo’s of couples in love like Serge Gainsbourg and Jane Birkin as the inspiration, along with old film references such as Masculin Féminin. [watch the video here]
The cover photo for the I Better Run single was shot on a street near my house, I liked the telephone poles and the way it looked like it could be from a Cindy Sherman photo set. I asked my husband to take the photo of me, we shot a role of black and white film on an old point and shoot camera. I’ve attached some of the outtakes.
Thanks for listening/watching/reading/supporting me. I’m doing a few acoustic shows with Honeyblood next month and I’m performing with a full band at Beyond The Music Festival in Manchester on the 12th October, it’s free entry so all you have to do is register
Love, FV x
I Better Run cover shoot
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