Siobhan Dillon, last seen in the West End and on Broadway alongside Glenn Close in “Sunset Boulevard”, is to release her stunning new album, Siobhan Dillon - One Voice, in support of the Breast Cancer Haven charity.
I started telling stories that I wanted to tell because I let them resonate with me. Crying ugly tears and just being honest.
Four years in the making, Siobhan has teamed up with globally renowned producer Steve Anderson (producer/musical director for Kylie Minogue for over 20 years, along with Steps, Westlife, Leona Lewis Luke Evans and Susan Boyle), for a stunning collection of songs that each hold a special connection to her.
The 11 eclectic tracks include She Used to be Mine by Sara Bareilles from her musical Waitress, Roxette’s It Must Have Been Love, Mad World, originally performed by Tears For Fears, Roberta Flack’s The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face and Without You from the musical Rent.
Dillon said “I’ve been writing songs and recording all sorts of music since I was 17 and was lucky enough to have a record deal with Universal when I was 22, but it felt like someone else’s dream. As appealing as the idea of being a recording artist was, the songs never really resonated with me. It didn’t feel right and so i came to the conclusion that I wasn’t “doing it properly” Something just felt wrong.
“It was only after my experience with breast cancer in 2015 that I was able to drop the idea of what a recording should sound like and how a story should be told and honestly, I started telling stories that I wanted to tell because I let them resonate with me. Crying ugly tears and just being honest. For the first time ever a producer encouraged me to just go for it and nothing was “wrong”, in fact the more flaws the better! It was a way of creating and recording that worked exceptionally well for a recovering perfectionist! Steve Anderson and I really took our time with this album. We had no idea what it would be or when it would all be complete but we started anyway. What a wonderfully rare position to be in. It started with Steve asking me to send him a list of my ‘desert island’ songs, which slowly progressed into ‘the songs that I had always wanted to sing’ which very quickly progressed into ‘the stories that my heart wants to tell through song’. The decision to have my vocals front and centre - warts and all - was deliberate. Maybe uncomfortable at times, for me and the listener, but the only way I could express myself in the way I wanted. I will always be eternally grateful to Steve Anderson. A master producer, arranger, friend and all-round legend.”
Producer Steve Anderson said “I first heard Siobhan’s voice (as I think most people did) when she took part in Andrew Lloyd Webber’s TV talent show casting Maria. I fell in love with her tone and believability instantly and knew I wanted to work with her at some point. We first met when she auditioned for a part in the production of “Rent” I was Musical Director for in 2007 but that didn’t work out. We met up again over the following years when I saw her starring in “Ghost” and “Cabaret” and got to talking about making a record.
“I asked her to write a list of the songs that meant most to her in the world but limited it to a certain amount and categories. In 2016 we finally got into the studio and starting routining songs, trying different styles and approaches but it became clear to me that I wanted to capture the very essence of her, that believability I had fallen in love with all those years ago; honest, vulnerable, beautiful and as powerful as it was sometimes broken. From then we recorded in stolen moments when she was in the UK and created the essence of the album, always trusting each other implicitly and never afraid to try things to see if they worked.
“It became very clear to me how much the wonderful Haven charity had impacted her life in so many ways so it was inevitable that the album would be for them. As a producer I try to capture magic wherever I can. I try to create something that will spark an emotion in the listener that may take them by surprise and that can only happen when humans respond to other humans. So to be able to produce and arrange for a voice like Siobhan’s is a true gift and one that I am truly indebted to have been able to be a part of.”
Dillon rose to fame in 2006 when she performed in the BBC1 talent show series How Do You Solve a Problem Like Maria?. Since then, she has performed in the West End, playing the roles of Sandy in Grease at the Piccadilly Theatre, Vivienne Kensington in Legally Blonde at the Savoy Theatre, Sally Bowles in Cabaret, Molly in Ghost the Musical at the Piccadilly Theatre, Ellen in Miss Saigon, and Betty Schaefer in Sunset Boulevard at the London Coliseum. Dillon made her Broadway debut in this role at the Palace Theatre in New York City.
