Marcia Hines on Tina Turner, grief, gratitude and taking advice from Tom Jones
American-Australian singer Marcia Hines, 70, on admiring Tina Turner, grief, stage fright, gratitude and taking advice from Welsh singer Tom Jones.
After 50 years of performing and touring, the weirdest thing I pack when I’m on the road is… food. I always have Up&Go, those breakfast (drinks). I need to eat when I need to eat. Probably too much make-up; too much stuff, but that’s the girl side of me. I find it fascinating that a guy can get a little case and put everything he owns in it, and look good. I don’t pack lightly, I never have; I’m a “just in case” packer. (Laughs).
The first money I ever made was… working with nurses at the Peter Bent Brigham Hospital in Boston, during summer when I was about 14. We weren’t allowed to do anything except maybe serve food or work on the ward, behind the nurse. I learned how selfless nurses are. Doctors are on another level of kindness as well, but I don’t think the world would be a good place without nurses. I watched kindness, and when I worked there, it was during the Vietnam War, so I saw some pretty bad injuries.
Here’s what I’ve learned about dealing with grief… I was taught by my very wise mother, the moment a baby draws breath, that’s when they start to die. That’s deep, isn’t it? (laughs) My mother taught me, “Don’t dwell, Marcia; you mustn’t dwell. What’s done is done.” Life goes on; you have to remain plugged in to life, and try and enjoy. That doesn’t mean I didn’t mourn my brother; it doesn’t mean I didn’t mourn my dear mother. I believe they spiritually stay with you, and that’s probably why I’m OK.
My mother’s take on my career as a singer was… To be encouraging, but she wasn’t a sycophant. With any luck, if you are a musician, your family aren’t impressed. (laughs) My mother wasn’t, which is great. Tina Turner was her girl. She loved this woman and said, “What a great performer, what a great looking person, what a great singer…” One night, we were sitting at the Hordern Pavilion (in Sydney, 1977) and I’d gotten tickets to see Tina with my Ma. The lights started to dim, and the vibe happened when somebody’s coming on stage. She learned over and said, “Marcia, you’re good. She’s great.” (laughs) She was right! I love me some Tina.
Tom Jones told me… To use in-ear monitors when performing on stage. He said, “It’ll save your voice forever.” I took his advice, and I’ve used them for about 25 years. I don’t use two; I always just use one, because it’s very important to be able to hear what the band and the singers are doing, and what the audience is doing.
My routine for warming up before a concert is… I eat a lot of naked ginger; that’s really good for your throat. And then if I can, I try to do 45 minutes to an hour of vocal warm-up of a cappella scales, on a tape. It doesn’t matter if I’m going to sing one song or a full repertoire; I really do try and warm up my throat, because it gives you a road map of what’s going on.
The last time I experienced stage fright was… Probably the last gig I did. (laughs) You know, shit can happen, and I want it to be all good. I don’t want to fall on my face, I don’t want to forget lyrics – but it’s a live situation, and that’s what we all love. You can be nervous when you go on stage, and so you should be, but you’ve got to meter your nerves. It’s nervous energy, no matter how you look at it; there’s no drug on this earth that can get you to that place of euphoria, when you’re on stage, and you’ve done a great show.
On my bedside table… Up&Go, jelly beans, insulin – I’m a diabetic – a lamp, a pen and a book of gratitude, which I open up every once in a while and write about what I’m grateful for. That’s an interesting exercise.
Today I was grateful for… Let’s start with waking up. I’m grateful for the life I’m living. I’m grateful for this interview. I’m grateful for the chat I had with my manager last night. I’m grateful for the dinner I went to last night, with good friends I hadn’t caught up with for a while. I’m grateful for the friends I have; for my partner; for the sunshine. I’m grateful that my album [Still Shining] is doing as well as it’s doing – you never expect stuff like that. I’m grateful.
Marcia Hines’ Still Shining 50th anniversary concert tour continues in Maryborough, QLD on Saturday, August 12, Coffs Harbour on August 18-19. She will visit 13 cities in NSW and Victoria before concluding in Tamworth on November 24-25.
More Coverage
To join the conversation, please log in. Don't have an account? Register
Join the conversation, you are commenting as Logout