Alan Robson Metro Fm
Lorraine will be interviewed next week by North East DJ Alan Robson he will be holding competitions to win a signed CD of Mrs Louds debut album.
Rock Radio Newcastle
Mrs Loud will feature as Mark Gregorys record of the week Starting Monday 6th October 2008 He will be having competitions to win tickets to the city hall gig in November log on to Rock Radio for details
Mrs Loud interview in All Access Mag
Yes for any self respecting rocker who was mesmerized by the female vocals in Meatloaf’s only chart topping number one hit, “I would Do anything For Love”… Lorraine Crosby is a force to be reckoned with and a voice that is unforgettable. So much so, that when the song was released, it caused a stir as people were clamoring to figure out WHO was the voice that was named Mrs. Loud. Meatloaf’s wife? Daughter? Patti Russo under an assumed name? No— a undiscovered Scottish talent, who literally stepped into the glass slipper by circumstance.
On the verge of unleashing a new cd, the world will finally have a chance to hear “Mrs. Loud” in all her glory.
After years of searching out this talent, I finally caught up with Lorraine and had a chance to scoop out the story behind her…
AAM (Kim Thore): For those not in the know.. let’s start out with a little E True Hollywood Story about your life… Tell our readers about the identity of the woman known as Mrs. Loud? How did you get started in the business?
Mrs Loud: Well!.. according to my sisters who are 10 years older than me , I started entertaining at my father’s funeral at the age of 2,trying to cheer everyone up who was crying by giving them a song and dance. But I started singing after watching top of the pops ,Lene Lovich was on TV singing “My Lucky Number’s 1” and I thought Hmmm…“I can do that !”.So I found a band on a local notice board and joined as a backing singer, but the lead singer was shy so I did all the chit chat with the audience. I stayed with them till I found my feet and formed my own band .
AAM: You were the amazing voice on the only number one hit from the legendary singer and performer Meatloaf..How did that gig come about and why did you go by the moniker of Mrs. Loud instead of your real name?
ML: We sent a demo tape to Jim Steinman who loved it and flew us out to NY where we signed a management contract with him. It was difficult communicating with him over the Atlantic and it became evident that we would have to sell up and move to the states if it was going to work. We owned a small apartment then and the dollar rate was 2 to 1 pound so we sold it along with the entire contents, pictures on the wall the pots n pans and all ,in fact we left with only 2 suitcases and went to Glasgow airport to fly to NY. Jim then moved to LA to start Bat Out of Hell 2 and said it would be good for us come to LA to have talks with record companies out there and we were invited to the studio when Meat Loaf was recording “Anything For Love”. Meat was trying to imagine what the girls part would be on the last 3 minutes of the song but was having a hard time, Jim suggested that I sing it with him ,so we went around the piano to figure out the female part- then we recorded it twice with the band all in the same room . It was supposed to be a guide vocal for Meat to feed off , there were several names banded about for the female part ,Cher, Mellissa Etheridge, Bonnie Tyler, but 6 months later Meat called up and said “do you mind if we use your voice on the record and so my vocal was kept on the album. I asked if I could sing it again, properly! but Jim said it’s great just the way it is and Meat said .“if it ain’t broke don’t fix it “
The credits on the album were all a bit messed up, they should have read “Lorraine Crosby a.k.a. Mrs LOUD” but I only was credited as Mrs Loud on the album and NO credit on the single . This seems to be trend with Meat Loaf [not that it’s his fault ] as Cher is in the Guinness book of hit singles as “unaccredited vocal “ on “Deadringer for Love” and I am in the Guinness book of hit singles as” Unaccredited vocal for Anything for love “ . “Paradise by the Dashboard Light” was sung by Ellen Foley and in the video it is Carla Devito miming to Ellen’s voice , on “Anything for Love” it is Dana Patrick { a model } miming to my voice and I think Meat used Dana again on another song that Patti sang ? go figure .
Meat Loaf won a Grammy for “best rock vocal performance , SOLO” for,” Anything for Love” at the 1993 Grammys
Mrs Loud Came about as a nickname as I used to blow up PA systems and microphones and Jim Steinman Loved the name so it stuck! and it kinda sums me up too.
AAM: Meat Loaf promoted the single with American vocalist Patti Russo (who, while a great singer herself, wasn’t a mirror image of your vocal range) performing the live female vocals of this song at his promotional appearances and concerts. What was behind this decision?
ML: Patti is a good friend of mine and she’s a great singer and very genuine person. Patti joined Meat loaf after auditions in NY and used to be a hairdresser, as did I. I was never meant to be Meats Backing singer as I was recording in the Power station with the late great Bernard Edwards from Chic and had a deal with MCA as an artist in my own right… so I was never in the equation.
AAM: How has it been different for you as a woman in the music scene? Have you had to try harder or work the business differently to be taken seriously?
ML: As a girl I played violin at school and was picked on and bullied because of that . This went on for some time until I smashed my violin over someone’s head and fought back .I became the biggest fighter in the school –boys and girls until no-one would mess with me ,I turned from a nice young girl into a horrible teenager. My Mother left me at the age of 17 and said Get on with it so I was left in a council house with the rent to pay and food to buy and my two sisters were gone ,married ,moved out. Consequently, I learned to be independent .
As a woman I have had 7ft Gi’s trying to break down dressing room doors to tell me they love me while being restrained by 4 MPs on the US military bases ,I have knee’d DJs in the crotch for trying it on with me , I have fought with jealous women in toilets in clubs where I was playing ,head butted and kicked people who would try to do the same to me and even had to defend myself once by pulling a knife on a guy who would not get out of my car who got in uninvited. So, needless to say I was never able to enjoy the girlie girlie side of being a woman as I’ve always had to be one of the boys and ALWAYS had to fend for myself.
AAM: In 2005 you appeared as a contestant on ITV’s The X Factor. You performed “You’ve Got a Friend” and progressed to the second round and then got “simon-ed”…. For someone of your immense talent did you want to throttle him?
ML: No not at all! The X factor is a TV show, not to be confused with a talent competition .That’s not to say there aren’t talented people on the X factor but it’s a TV show! Which means it has a recipe, a format, it needs hardship , betrayal, death, birth, tears and joy amongst other things to make that TV show to keep the audience riveted ,what will happen next ? I didn’t enter the X factor to enter the competition, I entered because I wanted 8 million viewers to connect my face with my voice on the Meat Loaf song. As I didn’t get the chance to appear in the video, millions of people recognise my voice but don’t know my face.
AAM: Who has influenced you the most and why?
ML: People who have had a lot of hardship but still come out smiling, they are to be admired, I love Billy Connelly!
AAM: If you were to give advice to a young girl starting out today what would be the 5 rules you’d give her to follow?
ML: Well! I’d like to say
Drink lots of water
Always warm up
Don’t abuse alcohol
Get plenty sleep
Always be well spoken
But I won’t, because I’ll just sound like a hypocrite.
AAM: You have collaborated with Bonnie Tyler… tell us how you two met and what the future holds?
ML: Stuart, my Partner and songwriter was put forward by Jim Steinman to record and produce some songs for Bonnie in 1995 on her Free Spirit album. Bonnie loved the songs and we went to work with her. She was actually a bit nervous to meet me and have me in the studio when she was singing but after 2 bottles of red wine it was like we had always known each other and we’ve been mates ever since.
Stu wrote a song called “I’ll Stand by You” which is about the first time we met and me and Bonnie sang as a duet on her Wings album.
I have a gig planned for November the 27th at Newcastle City Hall to promote My new Cd Mrs Loud and I asked Bonnie if she would come up and sing our duet on stage together, without hesitation she said yes and she is also going to sing her biggest hits Total Eclipse of the heart, Holding out for a hero, It’s a heart ache and another of Stu’s songs All I need is love. She is a beautiful person and we hope to work with her again soon in the studio as it’s always a great laugh.
This is the link to the city hall…
AAM: Who are you listening to now?
ML: I like the Pretenders, Foo Fighters ..I love Etta James and John Farnham, I’d love to sing with him he’s fantastic!
AAM: You have a new cd coming out—tell us about the creative process that it took to get there and what it is like?
ML: It was 20 years of struggle to get it finished and it’s probably another interview altogether, but it is the culmination of all we’ve learned on our musical travels and there are songs of hope like “Follow Your Heart“ and tongue in cheek songs like “Face to Face “ and “Let It Roll” which are a bit Spinal tap if you like .
We decided that in our early days of recording we mostly just had fun with the music and didn’t take ourselves too seriously at all and we really liked that! So, we kept that youthful side of the music and mixed it in with the deeper material. People have thousands of emotions and hopefully our album Mrs Loud will connect with some of them.
AAM: Will you be touring?
ML: Yes please! If any major rock band would like to put us on their tour as opening act then we would love it! “Shy bairnes get nout! “ As they say in the North of England and Scotland which means, “If you don’t ask, you don’t get”
AAM:If you had to pick one moment from your life thus far that would go into your hall of fame, what would it be?
ML: There’s too many moments to pick , like the time me and the band drank 16 bottles of embalming fluid in Korea and I thought my teeth were going to fall out , I used to make Amy Winehouse look like Mother Theresa but if you could find my old car you could put that in !
It was Nicknamed “The Rocket“ cos I had bashed it off so many walls it was pointy at the front . A girl friend of mine slept over at my flat which was number 169 which is 13×13 on the 13th floor and when she woke up she opened the window and looked down to where my car was parked, it was parked over 3 spaces ,sideways with the doors open ! She said Lorraine I think someone has been trying to steal your car! The doors are open and it’s parked sideways! I said “That’s just the way I left it!”
AAM: Ok this begs the question embalming fluid??? What were you thinking??
ML: We were very young and drank the local hooch when we were in Korea and the booze was called soju- we found out that it was laced with embalming fluid which is why it was so cheap!!!!! When we found out what we were drinking we changed to a different option called Purple Haze that was much better. We were working for the US military and toured Japan and Korea we were all wasted 24/7.
Final thoughts for our readers?
Always keep your mind active , get one of those Brain Trainer devices… what are they called again ?… (laughing) And don’t forget to buy your Mrs Loud Album !!!!!
By Kim Thore
Orchard download for Mrs Loud
Mrs Loud is in talks with Global Music UK to make the Mrs Loud album available for download through The Orchard.This will be available from October 13th 2008
Choir For City Hall gig
Lorraine Crosby AKA Mrs Loud has confirmed 42 piece choir for the concert with Bonnie Tyler on the 27th November 2008
They are all pupils of HEATON MANOR SCHOOL
The names are as follows ;
Ammena Al-Janabi, Darren Allan,Graeme Beaton,Beccah Campbell,Yasminah Carlton,Alice Clark,Emma Coates,Louise Collins,Jo Collins Fawcett
Jo- louise Craggs, Ellie Cresswell, Rachel Deeble,Katie Donaldson, Amy Douglass, Andrew Graham, Holly Hope Hume, Erin Hope Hume, Sara Jackson
Lucy Jeffries, Laura Kennedy,Bethan Kitchen, Cahtherine Knight, Claire Lusk, Lauren O’Dowd, Bethany O’Keefe, Helen Pattison, Charlie Pattison
Varpu Polvikoski, Paul Roberts, Hanna Schweppe, Bethany Scott, Molly Sharp, Lauren Stewart, Niomi Stone, Izzie Taylor Herbert, Beccah Unwin
Thea Van Der Velde, Tom Walker, Anya Wancke, Natasha Wancke, Quentin Whittaker
Bonnie Tyler with Mrs Loud
Bonnie Tyler has confirmed that she will sing 5 songs at the Mrs Loud concert at Newcastle City Hall on the 27th November 2008. She is currently listening to Mrs Louds new album and raving about it!
