It has been an incredible journey for Bobbie Dazzle. She has worked hard in the industry, but the last few months have turned into a wonderful new phase. The debut album, Fandabidozi, was released last year to great acclaim, and this month, Bobbie Dazzle will be on stage at the excellent Maid Of Stone Festival.
Bobbie Dazzle told MetalTalk that being asked to play Maid Of Stone was surreal. “I didn’t put myself forward for it,” she says. “I got asked to do it because I never in a million years thought I’d even be worthy of doing something like that.
“So soon after releasing my debut album. I’ve only just started, and you don’t expect to get the ball rolling that quickly. Then, from that, I’ve had the Lita Ford and Vixen shows offered to me. I’m playing with ELO in Hyde Park. It’s a dream venue, but I’m so thrilled.”
“It doesn’t quite feel real yet,” Bobbie says, “and I’ve got a lot of logistics to sort out and preparation to do. But meeting Alice Cooper? I just really need to not have that Wayne’s World moment of being on my knees, saying I’m not worthy.”
For Bobbie Dazzle, it has been amazing to create music that is solely her vision, without any compromise and without any restrictions. “This has been so freeing and such a blessing,” she says. “And then for it to have taken off as it has been a dream come true and completely unexpected. I’m just loving every minute of it.”
Bobbie Dazzle – Glam Rock
Glam rock is more or less the style of Bobbie Dazzle. For something timeless to catch the zeitgeist is quite a juxtaposition. The world out there is quite dark, but this band have brought a real spark in life, musically and a real splash of colour and joy.
“I think everyone enjoys it without even really knowing that they do,” Bobbie Dazzle says. “Every year, you’ve got Slade’s Christmas song that rolls around, and everyone absolutely loves that song. It’s such a staple glam rock song. But for some reason in modern music, it’s been forgotten a little bit. So, I’m just giving everyone a gentle reminder of how great it can be.”
Like many, Bobbie says her love of music had its roots in the ’70s. “My parents grew up in the ’70s,” she says. “What they listened to in their childhood became what I listened to in my childhood because obviously, you listen to what your parents show you as you were growing up. So it’s such a nostalgic time for me, musically, even though I was nowhere near alive.
“But it’s great, and there is some kind of innocence to it, especially when you’re a child. It’s fun, and then when you’re an adult, and you relisten to it, you kind of understand all the innuendos and realise how naughty some of the lyrical themes are. It’s funny how something can be accessible to completely opposite ends of the age spectrum in completely different ways.”
Bobbie says her mother was into the British side of glam rock while her father was into the American side. “So I really got to hear all of the different facets of what it could be,” she says. “Then, as I grew up, I discovered more for myself because actually my favourite band are The Sweet, and my parents didn’t show me them. That was a complete discovery on my own.
“Bands like The Sweet, everyone knows a few songs without really knowing how huge and what a big deal they were. They had so many number ones, and they were on Top Of The Pops. Same as Slade, an incredibly huge band in the ’70s, but for some reason, they don’t have the same legacy as bands like Black Sabbath or Led Zeppelin do.
“I’m not really sure why it’s such a forgotten genre or doesn’t have the same appeal now, but yet it still does have the same appeal at the same time. It’s very confusing.”
Bands like Slade had the poppy side with chart success, but many of their b-sides were heavier. Even the film Slade In Flame showed a darker side to the band. “Incredible songwriters,” Bobbie Dazzle says. “It is actually quite heavy music without it being so, so offensive that people that aren’t into heavy stuff turn their nose up at it.
“I’ve listened to a lot of Metal. I have a lot of fans from my previous band that enjoyed Metal, and they’ve come along. I’ve taken them to the light side, and it’s been easy enough. Because people that do listen to the heaviest stuff can appreciate the musicality that goes into glam rock.”
For Bobbie Dazzle, the variety in the ’70s glam rock scene is not unnoticed. “From bands like Queen to bands like Slade, a completely different sound, but still within the glam rock vein,” she says. “You’ve got Blondie to Suzi Quatro, completely different as well, but all in the glam rock vein. Even acts like Lou Reed and New York Dolls. Everything is so varied but with the underlying theme of the glam rock vibe going on.
“Glam rock is the only way that you can describe all of what they’re presenting. So it’s so different, but it’s more of a feeling and also an aesthetic, which makes it what glam rock is.”
Fandabidozi is a great and varied album. Tracks like Merry Go Round have this wonderful juxtaposition of really classic ABBA when they were a rock band and bits of Focus in it as well, especially with the flute playing.
“Well, both of those bands are incredibly influential to me. Thijs van Leer from Focus is one of the main reasons I got back into playing flute as an adult. I learned flute at school; it was really boring and stifling. Then, when I discovered him playing it in rock music, I decided to pick it up again.
“ABBA? A huge influence. If you listen to ABBA’s deeper tracks, it’s way heavier than you ever would expect. And a little fun fact here that I’ll give the listeners. I’ve just recorded a single, which I’ll be releasing on a seven-inch, and the B-side is an ABBA cover.”
The Krankies?
Fandabidozi is a colourful album in so many different ways. Picking a word that was popularised by The Krankies is a bold move. “I’ve discovered within the last year that they’re swingers,” Bobbie says, “and I really wish I didn’t know that.”
Along with early inspiration from her parents, the creation of Bobbie Dazzle came from tragedy as well. “The loss of my sister made me want to be able to create music which was a different vibe, let’s say, to how I was feeling in my everyday life,” Bobbie says. “So I decided to make really happy music.
“Music is medicine, and it really took me through my grief. I know that others have been able to listen to this album when they’ve been feeling down or going through a hard time, and it’s helped, at least for a moment, take them out of what they’re feeling and just bring them into a more positive way of living for a few minutes.
“And that’s a real blessing for me to be able to give that gift to other people because it really did work for me. So I really hope that people feel like they can take themselves into some good spirits for a little while.”
With Maid Of Stone on the horizon, Bobbie Dazzle will bring that element of fun to the stage. “I’m not the kind of person to ever take myself too seriously,” Bobbie says, “and I think that’s really important. So whenever I’m performing on stage, at the end of the day, I do it for me, and I just have fun.
“I think because people can witness that, it makes other people open up too. So I look into that crowd, and everyone’s smiling and dancing. I’m smiling and dancing. So I’m able to feed off the energy of the crowd, and they’re feeding off mine.
“When people come to visit me, it’s just an all-round really good time. Obviously, we have lots of stacked vocal harmonies. I work with an extremely talented band. We’re very energetic, very fun, and there’s lots of crowd part participation, whether that’s with hand claps or haze.”
Maid Of Stone will be a great chance to switch off and have a party. With tracks from Fandabidozi, you can experience the real journey that this band can take you on.
The album makes for a fun listen that you can explore and revisit time and time again, enjoying the many different facets of glam rock.
“It is a visit to all the different types of glam that’s out there,” Bobbie concurs. “I didn’t even really touch on everything that there is because the beauty of it is that there is so much to visit. I never made this album for anyone else, but I did want to be able to put something out there that wasn’t too samey to listen to.
“So it’s nice, and I can tell that I’ve done that because whenever people say what their favourite songs are from the album, it’s always something different. There’s just something for everyone on there.”
This all makes the talk of album number two quite exciting, and work on this is well underway. Bobbie says she has absolutely no rules when it comes to writing. “It’s just if I connect with a song and I put it out, that’s all that’s gonna happen,” she says. “So I can’t tell you exactly how it’s [the new album] gonna be, but I will say that half of the album is already written.
“I will be recording the rest of it in June, and it will be out this year. So I’m really going balls to the wall with releasing and just gigging and doing everything. But before the album comes out, I do have a single coming out as well. So there’ll be lots of little bits of new music here, there and everywhere.
“Then, really, this year, I have to do a Christmas song. I’m not a glam rock artist until I’ve released a Christmas song.”
In talking to Bobbie Dazzle, you are pulled along by how passionate and so enthused she is about music. There is a real joy in what she does. “It really feeds me, honestly,” she says. “Because I just feel so free, and it’s been such an amazing experience. Growing up and being in your early twenties, you’re doing everything to kind of please everyone else. As you grow and you get into your later twenties, you realise what makes you happy and what you want to do for yourself, and I’m really leaning into that.
“It’s been such a strengthening experience as part of my character and stepping into Bobbie, even though I’ve made this pseudonym. She is me. She is completely me. I’m my freest self to be able to perform, and, yeah, it’s amazing.”
Maid Of Stone: A Festival That Rocks
Now in its third year, Maid Of Stone has firmly established itself as a must-attend event for rock fans. With a wide variety of music styles covered, their festival’s reputation continues to grow.
Set to be a highlight of Festival Season, MetalTalk will have more news very soon. All our coverage for 2025 will be found at MetalTalk.net/maid-of-stone.
Tickets Available Now. For full details and to grab your tickets, visit MaidOfStoneFestival.com.
MetalTalk’s Maid Of Stone 2024 coverage can be found at https://www.metaltalk.net/tag/maid-of-stone-festival-2024.
For MetalTalk’s Maid Of Stone 2023 coverage, visit https://www.metaltalk.net/tag/maid-of-stone-festival-2023.