Lucia & the Best Boys frontwoman continues stand for equality in the music industry

Despite what appears to be greater appreciation and understanding of the lack of opportunities for women in the music industry, there is still some way to go.

Festival line-ups and Spotify playlists are still heavily weighted in favour of male artists, amid continuing calls for gender-neutral policies as the norm.

Lucia Fairfull has spent the last few years building a name for herself both as a maverick and an advocate for women in the industry. Having fronted Lucia & the Best Boys for the last few years, and having laboured as a solo artist before that, she understands the challenges facing female artists in terms of gaining exposure.

She tells The Weekender: “There are times when we’ve played festivals and been the only act on the line-up with a female in the band. You do feel singled-out and you do feel isolated. It does affect you, personally, as well.

“It doesn’t really make any sense as to why it is this way. People are just lazy.

“There are some people trying to make a difference, but then there are some – bookers, or whatever – who just don’t acknowledge it. You’ll always get that: Laziness and people being stupid.

“It’s really unfair that so many girls are made to feel that they are not good enough for certain jobs. There is no gender that is better than the other – especially not in music..."

“There’s just not an excuse for it – If people find it so easy to make line-ups all male or predominantly male, then why can’t line-ups be, at least, 50/50?

“Nobody is bothering to search for all the amazing woman artists who are out there, who we are surrounded by, who we listen to and get comfort or fun from every day.

“I see it all the time – there are people who are not getting the recognition they deserve, simply because of their gender, or their ethnicity for that matter.”

While continuing to fight her own corner, Fairfull is adamant she will do what she can to light the way for the next cohort of young female musicians eager to enter the industry.

She says: “We always have a lot women at our gigs, but also a lot of young girls. I like to try and connect with everybody at our shows, but I do make an extra effort with younger girls because I feel like they often shy away from getting into music and performance.

“I think if we have the opportunity to try and inspire younger girls to form bands and enter the music industry, then I want to do everything I can to support that.”

She added: “I hate the idea that young girls shy away from music because of all that surrounds the industry for women.

“It’s really unfair that so many girls are made to feel that they are not good enough for certain jobs. There is no gender that is better than the other – especially not in music; it’s a creative industry.

“Creativity comes from a personality and has nothing to do with gender. But I feel there will be some young people who are potentially scared because they will look at things like festival line-ups and think I can’t compete there because it’s mainly male acts.”

The journey to the stage is different for everyone. Indeed, Fairfull herself had not seen it coming as a youngster. In fact, her heart had been set on another career path before a twist of fate changed her course completely.

“I wanted to be a dancer,” she says, as she recalls being hit by a car at the age of just 11 and sustaining a severe leg break which meant she was unable to dance anymore.

“After that, I picked up a guitar and instantly decided that I wanted to do music,” she continues. “Especially, in high school – I really got into it when studying music and found I wasn’t interested in anything else at all. I just couldn’t see myself doing anything else and I still can’t.

“Maybe it’s a bit of a blessing in disguise that that accident happened – [learning guitar] was certainly the best thing to come out of it, anyway.”

After taking up her newfound career, Fairfull performed under Lucia and previously released an EP called Best Boy, among others. After finding stability with bandmates Ally Scott and Chris Ballantyne, the band became Lucia & the Best Boys – a gesture of recognition to the contribution of her bandmates, but also a nod to her past work.

The singer adds: “We started out as a bit more punk and have incorporated more pop into our sound. I like a lot of different styles, and that still changes over time.

“I think I’m just less afraid of branching out now that I used to be. That’s what being a musician is about, expressing your emotions through different styles of music. I’ve got a wide range of taste and I’ve not really settled for any one style.

“I never really planned where I wanted to go or just up and change my mind about how I wanted to sound or anything. It’s all happened naturally; there was never a discussion about making a certain style of music.

“I like the fact our music is quite commercial but has its own little twist and also has some older influences that shine through it – like Stevie Nicks for instance.”

Lucia & the Best Boys have gone to new heights in 2020, despite being unable to gig since March. Indeed, they were the last to take to the stage at King Tut’s before lockdown.

“And it was the best response for an EP so far and it was really nice for me to have that because some of the songs are quite personal to me."

It had looked such a promising year and had kicked off on a high note with the release of the Eternity EP – only for their plans to be curtailed before it really got going.

They have since released another EP in the form of State of Things, which has only served to propel them to higher heights still.

Fairfull continues: “Before lockdown, we had only just started to play the whole of Eternity EP live. I think we played My God for the first time at our headline King Tut’s show – that was our very last show before lockdown came in.

“That was such a moment for all of us. The whole gig was amazing, but it was the first time we played that song and the last time we played it.

“So, it’ll be so nice to get back. Our set, when we play live again, will be completely different. We’ll still play some older tracks, but we’ll certainly have a lot more to offer at that point.”

That little bit extra comes in the four-track State of Things which has been well-received since its unveiling last month.

However, the singer admits that release was much different to any others. She had poured her very soul into it, delving into deep personal territory.

But her trepidation soon faded away due to the warm reception the material received.

“It’s been an interesting year for obvious reasons,” she says. “But I am glad we were able to put out the State of Things EP – in fact, most of the songs on that were written a year ago, which is mental to even think about.

“Releasing music is always exciting; sometimes when you have songs written and ready you feel you are carrying them around with you on your back, just dying to get them out there.

“And because of lockdown, we didn’t manage to re-record those tracks on the EP – they were all just demos. So, it is a very raw EP, but I think we thought it was something that people might like during a time like this – something that is very real.

“And it was the best response for an EP so far and it was really nice for me to have that because some of the songs are quite personal to me. They have a sort of sad meaning to them, I guess, but to have a positive outcome is quite satisfying; and to hear how they have resonated with a lot of people in different ways is cool.

“I was struggling with a break-up, as you do, and struggled to actually write for a long time. I guess I just didn’t want to face reality and I felt that if I was going to write that I would end up writing about that break-up, and I sort of shied away from that.

“But then, all at once, it just burst out of me. That’s why I feel the State of Things EP is a bit of a storybook in itself; it’s like a diary almost, and that’s why it’s so personal.

“I don’t get nervous very easily, but I’m not going to lie: releasing that one was a bit nerve-wracking and quite daunting. But that’s what I mean when I talk about it having a positive outcome when I hear that the EP might have helped other people who were going through things.”

Naturally, it is difficult to see what the future may hold for the band – or any band for that matter. But Lucia & the Best Boys are certainly in a terrific position to build on the momentum they have heading out of 2020.

With a brand-new set with new tracks never yet performed, it’s clear there is a huge stage in Glasgow with their name on it. But they are not ones to rest on their laurels and will be planning their next move very carefully.

Fairfull adds: “I’ve got a wee plan in my head, but I don’t want to spill the beans just yet. I guess what a lot of people think we are going to do next, is probably what we are going to do next. But I won’t say too much about that.

“I like to have goals, obviously, but I don’t want to think too much about it. We’re just striving for what every other band around is striving for. Fingers crossed we’ll be back on stage soon.”

Lucia & the Best Boys - State of Things was released on October 9