About
In a special finale to the inaugural YES 2024, Imelda May discusses in conversation her songwriting and her debut poetry collection, A Lick and A Promise, and performs an acoustic set of some of her favourite songs.
Born and raised in The Liberties area of Dublin, Imelda has become one of Ireland’s most celebrated female artists in history. Her 2008 self-written & produced album ‘Love Tattoo’ is the best-selling album of all time by a homegrown female artist in Ireland and her most recent album ’11 Past the Hour’ marks her fourth Number 1 album in Ireland and fourth Top 10 in the UK. Imelda’s recent albums are a departure from her early rockabilly revival style with a sound that sits firmly outside of any sharply defined genre box, widely spanning blues, rock, soul, gospel and jazz.
Imelda was discovered by Jools Holland, who asked her to support him on tour, she has gone onto perform alongside legendary artists including Lou Reed, Bono, Tom Jones, Noel Gallagher, Elvis Costello, Van Morrison and most recently joining Hollywood actor Jeff Goldblum on his debut album The Capitol Studios Sessions, and Ronnie Wood on his Chuck Berry tribute album ‘Mad Lad’ & tour. She’s performed all over the world in front of royalty & politicians like Obama, to the 52nd Grammy Awards with Jeff Beck to singing the Irish national anthem in Las Vegas ahead of the Floyd Mayweather/Conor McGregor fight in 2017 with a reported TV audience of 1 billion people across 200 countries.
Imelda has co-hosted BBC’s Later with Jools Holland, and presented her own series ‘The Imelda May Show’ for RTE Ireland in 2018. 2021 saw her shoot her first major film role opposite James Purefoy in Fisherman Friends 2 and present the SKY Arts literary travelogue series ‘The Voices of Ireland.’
As well as selling millions of records worldwide, Imelda is also a Women’s Rights activist and poet. Her debut poetry collection, A Lick & A Promise, explores heartbreak, sex, nature and womanhood, and includes her powerful poem ‘You Don’t Get to be Racist and Irish’, written in support of the Black Lives Matter movement.
