UK dance diva Tina Cousins became a big favourite of Australian audiences through the late ’90s and early 2000s.
She danced her way into the top 20 down under with songs like ‘Forever’, ‘Wonderful Life’ and, of course, her biggest hit ‘Pray’.
Tina is headed our way for the first time in what seems like an eternity later this year as part of The Vengaboys’ national tour and, as she tells us in our latest #TBT interview, she can’t wait.
“This is going to sound really silly, but I am so excited about coming back,” she tells us. “It’s unbelievable. I absolutely can’t wait.
“It’s probably been… maybe about ten years since I was there. I came back a couple of times doing little mini tours and stuff, but this time with the Vengaboys and all the other artists that are on the bill, it’ll be quite phenomenal.”
Australia was one of Tina’s biggest markets outside of her native UK and, she tells us, she was genuinely surprised to step off a plane after a 24 hour journey to find audiences here taking her and her music to heart.
“I was actually quite taken aback, to be honest. As an artist, when you go to a country – especially, for me, coming from Britain – a million miles away, it was actually quite amazing. I couldn’t believe that people knew the words to the songs.
“As an artist, it’s amazing when something like that happens. I’m the little girl that everyone used to say to, ‘okay, what do you want to do when you grow up?’ And I used to say, ‘I’m going to be a singer’. And everyone laughed at me. So you have no idea what it actually meant to me when it happened.”
That said, it seems that connection with Australia might have had more of an effect on Tina than we’d previously realised.
“Do you know what? When I get on the bus here, I still get, ‘you’re not from around here, are you?’. They say they think I’m from Oz,” she reveals.
“Seriously! I’ve picked up your accent, it would seem, so I go up at the end of my sentences and stuff like that!”
Tina will get the chance to brush up on her Australianisms in October this year when she swings by as part of The Vengaboys national tour. Naturally, sharing the stage with not only The Vengaboys, but the likes of Sonique, Whigfield, Crystal Waters and our own Joanne means that, sadly, there won’t be time for her to perform all of her hits.
“It’s really difficult. In the ideal world, I’d probably be performing more than what I’ve been allocated, but it will definitely be ‘Forever’ and ‘Pray’ and ‘Killing Time’. But there might be a few new little bits chucked in there. Seriously, I’m really excited.”
Wait, wait, wait… new bits, Tina Cousins?
“I’m going to give a little hint of the new album when I do the tour.”
Wait, wait, wait… new album, Tina Cousins?
“It’s still slightly dancey, but the melody and the lyrics are very poignant,” she reveals. “I’m going to give a tiny little hint with the words… ‘My Space’.”
We deduce from that that the album will lyrically deal with both the public’s obsession with social media or that it’ll be an incredibly personal album.
“A little bit of both, yeah. ‘My Space’,” she responds.
Though new music will no doubt be welcomed with open arms by her dedicated Australian fan base, Tina will, of course, be rolling out her biggest hits, but when asked which is her favourite track to perform, her answer surprises.
“To be honest, because it’s one of the first songs I ever did, it’s probably ‘Killing Time’,” she admits. “It’s something that sticks in my head. When I first went to record and I listened back to my vocals afterwards, I was really taken aback that it was me.
“Seriously, I couldn’t believe that little Tina from Essex had recorded a song. I was blown away a little bit. So maybe that song. That and ‘Pray’, I’d say. Every single gig that I do… those are the two songs that no matter what, everybody goes bananas about.
“At the end of the day, when you’re a performer, you feed off the energy of the audience. So if the audience is having a good time and you’re having a good time… I seriously think it’s going to be such a great gig,” she says.
One thing is clear from our all-too-brief chat; Tina’s still loving performing to her fans all across the world and she can’t wait to get on stage for her Aussie fans once again in October.
“This is going to sound really silly, but I count myself so lucky that I’ve done all the things that I’ve done and that I get to tour the world and I get to do all these different things,” she says, confirming that she’s not ready to close the door on her career for a long time yet.
“I’ll be one of those little old women at 80 years old singing ‘Pray’ in the bingo halls. I really will, because I absolutely love it.”
Tina Cousins plays as part of The Vengaboys’ upcoming Australian tour at the following venues;
October 30 : Melbourne (170 Russell)
October 31 : Melbourne (170 Russell)
November 03 : Hobart (Wrest Point Entertainment Centre)
November 04 : Brisbane (Eatons Hill Hotel)
November 05 : Sydney (Luna Park Big Top)
November 06 : Sydney (Luna Park Big Top)
November 08 : Melbourne (170 Russell)
November 09 : Melbourne (170 Russell)
November 11 : Adelaide (Thebarton Theatre)
November 12 : Perth (Metro City)
Australia's first stop for pop!