INTERVIEW: By Hilary Porter

FORMER 80s teen icon Tiffany who is among the sparkling line-up at Saturday’s Let’s Rock Festival has over-come her fear of flying to return to England after 12 years away.

And she told the Daily Echo how thrilled she is to be back with a new album and sharing the bill with arguably the nicest man in pop – Rick Astley.

The Titian-haired popstress was only 14 when she became big in America and that success only escalated when she arrived in the UK aged 16 armed with teen anthem ‘I Think We’re Alone Now’.

Today, aged 44, with a grown up son and married to an American businessman, Tiffany lives in Nashville, Tennessee where she ran Tiffany’s Boutique from 2012-15 and continued to produce music and appear in films and TV shows.

A new album and the lure of Let’s Rock and other retro shows prompted her to finally get on a plane and return!

She told me: “It’ been 12 years since I came back so it’s a big deal coming here; we are so excited about this.

“I’m a workaholic and get flooded out with stuff but we decided we needed to come back and bring our new music for people here to hear.

“The new single ‘Right Here’ is out and I’m adding to the new stuff I’m doing. I’ve been asked to do a lot of retro/Let’s Rock-style stuff so I’ve been busy.”

“I became scared to fly. I had some bad experiences kind of back to back so I became fearful but when you love what you do you get on that flight! Praying and meditation works and just feeling the good energy from everybody and wanting to be here and part of a live show.”

She is looking forward to working with a great line-up- especially with Rick Astley who is back with a chart-topping new album ‘50’.

“Rick Astley is such a great talent and a wonderful person. It’s going to be a great celebration too coming out and singing those songs that made my dreams come true.

I was 14 when I recorded my first album and when I came to the UK I was 16. I’d already taken off in the US. When I came here and it became bigger than I ever imagined!

“I still love doing the old stuff. I’m very proud and grateful and it makes me feel great. The 80’s was a party era for me: as a fan I got to be part of the shows and also got to perform. It takes me back to those days when we were cool and getting ready to go out. Music connects you to that original person you set out to be. There’s a sparkle there and it’s good to reconnect to that woman you used to be. It’s sometimes healthy to reconnect with that person. I have photos from photo shoots I did back then in the house. I used to love doing them but now I’m in my 40’s I hate doing them! I look at those pictures and think I was confident then and I reconnect. I don’t have to do that with music. I’ve really grown as a performer.”

Tiffany has a new album called ‘A Million Miles’ and she explains:

“I’ve been doing this for 30 years, and I know I’ve done a million miles worth of travel.

I’m a road dog! It also feels like I’ve been on a life journey. This album is very reflective on my life. It’s a piece of work that is more of my heartfelt stories. It’s very personal.”

The world is very different to when Tiffany, who grew up in California, started out and she says embracing social media is now a central part of her working life .

“Today you have to learn all the social media stuff - and I’m still learning! The record company I’m with are very driven on the social media front and I was always very lack lustre about it. I do Facebook and Twitter but the record company expected me to post something every day such as pictures and live video footage – a daily check-in – which was great because fans got to see the album from the raw stage to what I’ve produced – like we showed how we added strings or some guitar part. It’s great – it’s been very positive. That’s how Pledge Music – my record company, works and that’s what really interests me, the social media so fans can be with me on a daily basis. Making records is so different now but it’s good to keep a little bit of old school: there’s nothing like that one on one contact but we can’t always be there and I have fans all over the world. Through social media you can let people learn who you are. They are with the person, the artist, the personality behind it all. I’m learning to let that in.

“My music now is just an extension of the original stuff – contemporary pop. It’s grounded, straight forward pop.

‘Right Here’ is radio friendly. I’m writing songs and lyrics that apply to my age group. It’s not Urban. I love that stuff but it’s not me. There’s a lot of ballads on this album. Some people come to me and say ‘I didn’t know you could sing!’ and I say, years later I’m still trying to get that message out! ‘History’ from the album is very dramatic. I wanted strings, cello, rock opera guitars and things that influenced me. It’s still pop based but on the road in a live venue it is amazing.”

Tiffany closed her boutique in Nashville, Tennessee last year because of the demands of touring.

“I closed it as I was on the road so much. It really was my baby and I wanted to be hands on. A lot of it was meeting Tiffany in the store. The girl stylists who carried on with it were great but they are not me! I could start it again at some point. We pushed ‘pause’ on it on a high note.”

Finally, how does she feel about performing alongside all those 80s icons?

“Well I’m really excited to see Rick Astley. He’s had such success recently . He’s a wonderful guy and a great talent. He’s so genuine and nice. I did a show with him in Canada about five years ago and he’s someone I’ve crossed paths with in my career and he’s always been a wonderful, genuine person and his album sounds amazing and he is always true to himself.”