With
the release of his second album Victim of
Love modern soul icon CHARLES BRADLEY tells ANDY HAZEL about life, the
universe and how to look back without breaking down.
‘Oh
man, it was a beautiful feeling and God knows it’s way overdue because I’ve
been fighting for this opportunity for a long time and I have a lot I still
want to do,’ says Charles Bradley, not stopping for breath. Expounding on his
second album Victim of Love, the soul
singer whose explosive performance was a highlight of last year’s Golden Plains
is clearly overjoyed at having another record out. ‘Each album is just a
product of these experiences I have and a lot has happened to me,’ he explains.
A bigger understatement you’re unlikely to ever read.
His
trials and misfortunes are almost unprecedented in any living performer; an
unknown father, homeless from the age of 14, near death from an allergic
reaction to penicillin, the violent and graphic murder of his brother, two
counts of wrongful imprisonment…it’s the real deal. It’s also something that
Bradley is very willing to talk about, despite often being brought to tears. In
fact, few interviews or concerts don’t result in his breaking down, something
he confesses to doing when recording too.
Like
Jimmy Scott, Bradley is a performer who exudes the hope that sustains him.
‘Singing is to me a great joy and pain,’ he says in his rich expressive voice.
‘When it hurts, I go to the joy part, and when it’s joyous, I can go the pain
part. I’m learning that heartache and pain bring the lyrics out of me, and I’m
learning how to do it without breaking down now. I write all of the lyrics, and
even though they hurt, I’d rather be able to express myself a little more
deeply without trying to avoid the hard parts. This is what I’m learning about
myself now, about how to talk about my life and my experiences, which is so
hard.’
Victim of Love is, like his
2011 debut No Time for Dreaming an
astonishing collection of soul songs, and again features members of the
Daptones stable backing him with reflexive proficiency, always keeping
Bradley’s searing voice at the centre. “I’m very happy with how it sounds,’ he
explains. ‘There are some songs I really love on this record, Victim of Loving You, Love Bug Blues, Confusion; I can really get into them, get nasty with it,’ he
chuckles hollowly. ‘I love every moment of singing those.’
Working
with bandleader and co-writer Tom Brenneck may seem logical from an outsider
standpoint – Brenneck and other members of Daptone Records brought Sharon Jones
to international attention - but with a natural distrust of those who offer to
help a side-effect of Bradley’s years of rough living, their musical
partnership didn’t develop easily. ‘At first it was hard,’ he says slowly. ‘We
came from different backgrounds. He’s white middle class, he came from a loving
background, and he was trying to help me. I felt very bitter, and coming from
living in the hood, I did not know he was being real. I had to learn where he
was coming from. I was not use to races living and working together like that,’
he pauses. ‘Tom and I got really into writing and recording, into bringing my
soulfulness into the world as pure as it can be. That’s what people like to
hear. He chose the name too,’ he continues. ‘When he chose it everybody asked
me about it and I am the victim of love. It’s brought me low, it’s brought me
up again too, but I’ve never had one true love in my life.’
With
hopes to return to Australia later this year, his main love now, he says, is
people. ‘By travelling all over the world and meeting so many people, I’ve seen
that everybody wants the same thing; all they’re looking for is love and
understanding. And that’s what I found, it took a while, but it’s real now.’
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