# KT Tunstall

Kate Victoria Tunstall (born 23 June 1975), known professionally as KT Tunstall, is a Grammy nominated, BRIT Award-winning singer-songwriter from St Andrews, Scotland.

## Quotes

* "Black Horse and the Cherry Tree" is inspired by old blues, Nashville psycho hillbillies & hazy memories. It tells the story of finding yourself lost on your path, and a choice has to be made. It's about gambling, fate, listening to your heart, and having the strength to fight the darkness that's always willing to carry you off.
** As quoted in "What's On: Soul's latest talent" in Birmingham Evening Mail (12 February 2005)
* I went down to London with the idea that I was going to do vocals over this crazy, crazy trip-hop digital beat. Within two or three months, I heard Hunky Dory by David Bowie and that changed me in one way, and I realized what I actually wanted was to have an E Street Band — individuals, not session musicians.
** Barnes & Noble Interview with David Sprague (February 2006)
* Growing up in such a stunning landscape is inevitably going to have an effect on you, whether you rebel or whether you embrace, because it's so striking. I lived on this rugged, rugged coastline with the North Sea hammering at the cliffs, and the weather changes literally every half hour. My parents met as rock climbers, so they're absolute outdoors fiends, and we were constantly up hills and under canvas and camping and tramping around. They're very fond memories and something I still love to do.
** Barnes & Noble Interview with David Sprague (February 2006)
* I was traveling in Greece as a teenager, and for those who haven't been to Greece, it's absolutely covered in olive groves — stunted, gnarly little bonsai-type trees. And I was driving on a moped and a huge black stallion had pulled away from its stake and was just going nuts in this tiny, tiny, hobbit-like forest. It was just such a powerful image, this enormous beast let loose and going wild in a fairy-tale wood of tiny trees... The song itself is really about going through the process of making the first album. It was a very strange experience and a very steep learning curve. For the previous 10 or 15 years, I'd been completely my own boss — when you play a gig, you just play your new song, the new song is always your favorite. And here I was having to make an album of stuff that's never gonna go away. I was being asked to make these huge decisions, so really the song is just about learning to listen to your guts again. There's actually very few times in our lives now when we have to do that.
** On influences in writing her song "Black Horse and the Cherry Tree", in a Barnes & Noble Interview with David Sprague (February 2006)
* It's lovely to get to say hello to people you've always admired from afar, but the fun really starts out front with people going commando whilst wearing daring mud suits.
** On attending the Glastonbury Festival of Contemporary Performing Arts, in a Glastonbury Festival site interview (22 June 2007)
* I had that Paul McKenna come up to me once and he said, 'I love that song of yours about bicycles.' So I said to McKenna, 'And I loved the stunt you did in that glass box above the Thames.'
** contactmusic.com quote (24 August 2007)
* Many good things come from the left! [at the House of Blues on August 12th, 2008, while instructing the crowd to do a 'side-wave.']

### Eye to the Telescope (2004)

* Over the sea and far away She's waiting like an iceberg Waiting to change But she's cold inside She wants to be like the water.
All the muscles tighten in her face Buries her soul in one embrace They're one and the same Just like water.
Then the fire fades away And most of everyday Is full of tired excuses But it's too hard to say I wish it were simple But we give up easily You're close enough to see that You're the other side of the world to me.
** "Other Side of the World" · Video at YouTube
* Can you help me Can you let me go And can you still love me When you can't see me anymore? The fire fades away.
** "Other Side of the World"
* Well my heart knows me better than i know myself So I'm gonna let it do all the talking.
** "Black Horse and the Cherry Tree" · Video at YouTube
* I can feel everything you do Hear everything you say Even when you're miles away Coz I am me, the universe and you.
** "Universe & U" · Audio at YouTube
* When you're on your own I'll send you a sign Just so you know I am me, the universe and you.
** "Universe & U"
* Her face is a map of the world Is a map of the world You can see she's a beautiful girl She's a beautiful girl. And everything around her is a silver pool of light The people who surround her feel the benefit of it — It makes you calm She holds you captivated in her palm.
** "Suddenly I See" · Video at YouTube
* Suddenly I see (Suddenly I see) This is what I wanna be Suddenly I see (Suddenly I see) Why the hell it means so much to me.
** "Suddenly I See"

### KTTunstall.com

    Quotes from her official site kttunstall.com
* I grew up knowing I could have had a million different lives. It makes your life mysterious and your imagination go wild.
** On knowing that she was adopted
* My songs examine and explore little specific emotions or situations or stories... They're kitchen table songs, like a conversation between me and one other person. It's almost like an alien has been sent to get emotional samples from human beings and put it all together on a record.
* I was really into sci-fi books as a kid. My dad is a physicist and he used to take my brothers and I into his lab when we were little. We played games with liquid nitrogen and Van de Graaff generators. He had the keys to the observatory at St Andrew's University and he'd get us up in the middle of the night to show us Halley's Comet. That's partly why the album is called Eye To The Telescope.
* I managed to win Battle Of The Bands with one mandolin player! It was me and eleven goth bands and I won.
* On the whole, I'm a positive, skippity-la-la person but I love the dark side of music and I will always want to explore that. It's a positive-sounding album but there's stuff underneath for sure.
** On Eye to the Telescope
* It was blazing sunshine and I went on in a turquoise neck muff, glamorous dress and muddy boots and just had the best gig, really emotional. I've had emails from people saying that they cried. They promised it wasn't the drugs.
** On a performance on the Avalon Stage at the Glastonbury Festival
* I'm not exactly sure what has driven me so hard... I've never questioned it. I've never had a back-up plan. I was never going to do anything else.

## External links

* Official site
* KT Tunstall at IMDb
* "Mercury nominee Tunstall rocks on" by Neil Smith BBC (15 August 2005)
* "KT Tunstall : Eyes to the Skies" interview by Jay S. Jacobs
* Glastonbury Festival interview (22 June 2007).
Video:.
* "Black Horse and the Cherry Tree" for Austin City Limits (PBS)
* Austin City Limits interview (PBS).
Audio:.
* NPR interview (2 February 2006)
* NPR interview (4 February 2006)
* Interview and performances at AOL Music