Steve:

Working with you as a producer you've always been willing to experiment vocally with whatever was required. Does any example come to mind?

Sheila:

Yes. One of the more bizarre - and certainly unbeautiful - vocal moments occurred during the recording of the track "Nada Brahma".

About 12 minutes into the track, I sang various notes into the back of our upright acoustic piano with the loud pedal held down. Totally bizarre. I'm still not sure how I allowed myself to be talked into that one!

On a different note, if you remember, we made an unusual executive decision in 1992 about which I still have no regrets (fortunately)! All my 5 Indipop albums were by then released on compact disc - in effect each one is a digital master. My contract with Indipop stipulates no remixes. So in a moment of boldness and clarity we boxed up all the tapes and back-ups connected with my 5 Indipop albums, went to the tip and binned them! Excellent feng shui!

Steve:

Yes, people pay therapists a fortune for that kind of cleansing. The title "Roots and Wings" is from a famous quote, isn't it?

Sheila:

"If you only give your children two things, give them roots and give them wings." Anyway, nice chatting with you. I must dash - I've got a new album to write and my cat needs feeding...

Steve:

Oh, just one more thing Sheila. You started out with Monsoon and were very happy to be mainstream and singles-orientated. Then in your solo career so far you've decided to be defiantly left-field and uncompromising. Why did you decide to do that? You haven't got a private income, so how on earth have you got away with it?

Sheila:

I was the only Asian to have a mainstream hit in the 80s - which gives me a kind of edge...