Interview by Adrian Hextall
Get your platforms on and prepare for a sugar-rush of stomping beats, gang vocals, and… unexpected flute solos? Meet Sian Greenaway, the force behind Bobbie Dazzle, injecting a much-needed dose of 70s glam sparkle back into the 21st century, and she’s about to hit stages with rock royalty.
There’s a moment on Bobbie Dazzle’s debut album, Fandabidozi, that throws even seasoned rock listeners a glorious curveball. Midway through the driving, T. Rex-infused strut of ‘Merry-Go-Round’, just where you’d brace for a fiery guitar solo, a shimmering flute melody pirouettes into the mix. It’s pure Thijs van Leer meets Ian Anderson, a delightful prog-kissed detour within a glam rock stomper. It’s unexpected, slightly bonkers, and utterly brilliant, much like Bobbie Dazzle herself.
But the beauty with Bobbie Dazzle, because it’s all mine, because it’s not a band where I have to compromise anything, I can do whatever I want. So, if I want to stick flute interludes into my song, I can!”
That uncompromising vision, delivered with infectious enthusiasm, is rapidly propelling Bobbie Dazzle from a nascent project fuelled by passion and personal history into one of the most talked-about new acts on the UK rock scene. Her music is an unashamed celebration of 70s glam rock – the glitter, the stomp, the soaring choruses, the sheer, unadulterated fun of it all.
“Glam rock is actually nostalgic to me, even though I was nowhere near alive at the time,” Sian explains. Like many, her musical DNA was forged in the fires of her parents’ record collections. “My mum was a big Bowie fan, she loved T. Rex, and then my dad loved New York Dolls, Iggy Pop, Lou Reed.
For those of a certain vintage, specifically me, whose first word might have been “Noddy” (Holder, not the Enid Blyton character), this revival hits a sweet spot. It recalls a time when rock music wasn’t solely defined by angst or introspection, but could also be about communal joy, singalong hooks, and getting gloriously dressed up.
“The 70s had so much good music,” Sian reflects, “and it really paved the way for so many modern-day artists. But I do feel like glam rock got lost along the way, and I really don’t understand why. All of those songs are such classics, even bands like Queen. You don’t hear it so much in modern-day music, even though things like blues rock are still really prevalent. It’s quite an innocent kind of music where it is literally just joyful. And who doesn’t need a bit of joy in their lives?”
Joy is the keyword. Tracks like ‘Revolution’ on Fandabidozi perfectly encapsulate the Bobbie Dazzle sound. It’s built on the essential pillars of glam: that unmistakable, driving drumbeat – yes, reminiscent of the Glitter Band’s powerful twin-drum attack (let’s acknowledge the sound, if not the disgraced frontman), coupled with insistent guitar riffs and those crucial gang vocals.
It taps into a desire for something uplifting, a counterpoint to the often navel-gazing intensity found elsewhere. “I’ve got so many friends that say rock music’s supposed to be angry, it’s supposed to be fighting,” Sian laughs. “I’m like, no, no, no! Sod off! It’s supposed to be fun, uplifting, and put a big grin on your face. That’s what this is doing.”
Even the album title, Fandabidozi, leans into the playful spirit. It’s a catchphrase instantly recognisable to UK audiences who grew up with the 80s children’s entertainers The Krankies, a deliberately daft choice Sian felt perfectly mirrored her artist name.
“When I was coming to decide the album title, I thought, well, if I’ve got an artist’s name as ridiculous as Bobbie Dazzle, I can’t have a serious album name!” she chuckles. “Really, ‘Bobbie Dazzle’ and ‘Fandabidozi’ mean the same thing, and they’re both from the era of music that I’m paying homage to. It felt like the correct description for the album. Nothing in glam rock ever took itself too seriously; there was always some kind of silliness and cheekiness to it. I’m trying to embody all of that, not forcefully, it does come naturally to me. I’m not the most serious of people.”
This embrace of cheekiness extends to songwriting, though perhaps not quite as far as some unearthed family relics might suggest. Sian mentions finding lyrics her dad had written for a song called ‘Castrator’. Could Bobbie Dazzle go there? “I just don’t know if I can talk about guys’ balls being chopped off in music,” she muses, before adding with a grin, “But, you know, I am writing album number two, so maybe. We’ll see.”
She acknowledges the unique position of tackling glam as a woman. “It was a very male-dominated genre,” she notes. “There weren’t as many women, but my God, the women that were in it were powerhouses, [think Debbie Harry, Suzi Quatro]. When I listened to their music, though, there wasn’t that kind of cheekiness and silliness as much. It was very much like strong, feminist, that’s how I took it anyway. So, yeah, to do the tongue-in-cheek thing has been a play on more of what the men gave to the genre, for sure.”
Like Bowie morphing into Ziggy Stardust, or indeed Vincent Furnier becoming Alice Cooper, Sian Greenaway steps into Bobbie Dazzle on stage. It’s not just a costume change; it’s an amplification.
“It’s stepping into what you consider to be your glam rock rock star,” she explains. “It’s this character where you’re able to fully express yourself in this kind of larger-than-life persona. I’m not walking around every day, popping down the supermarket in platform boots and a catsuit… although, why not? To be able to step into being Bobbie is so freeing for me. It’s complete expression of your full self. Even though people might think you’re playing this different person, it’s not; you’re being true to yourself in the fullest form.”
And that authentic, fully formed persona is about to get some serious exposure. In a move that surprised even Sian herself, Bobbie Dazzle has landed the support slot for two of Alice Cooper’s solo UK dates this July, with Cardiff on the 22nd and Edinburgh on the 23rd. Until recently when explosive performances by The Meffs made the audiences sit up and take notice, Alice’s usual touring companions often hailed from his own vintage. Securing a relatively new act like Bobbie Dazzle marks a notable shift.
“Honestly, I literally got asked to do it,” Sian says, still slightly incredulous. “Having that phone call was the strangest thing because my music is so new. My album only came out in October last year. I only got signed last year, only started doing gigs last year. It’s crazy. This has been insane, and it still doesn’t feel real quite yet.”
The upcoming shows hold profound personal significance. “My dad was such a huge Alice Cooper fan,” she shares, her voice softening. “This feels really special, kind of bittersweet because I wish he was around to tell me he was proud. Bobbie Dazzle wouldn’t be a thing if it wasn’t really for my dad. So, this really feels like this kind of closed-circle thing for me. I really need to not have that Wayne’s World moment where I get on my knees shouting ‘I’m not worthy!’”
The Alice Cooper dates form part of a truly stellar run. The day after Edinburgh, Bobbie Dazzle heads to London for the aptly named ‘Girls Night Out’ show, opening for genuine rock icons Lita Ford and Vixen (July 24th). “It’s playing with my heroes,” Sian beams. “Not many people get to say this. It’s a real honour. Even without me being on it, that’s such a strong line-up. My voice is going to be gone by the end of that night because I’m going to be singing along to absolutely everything!”
TICKETS: https://www.theo2.co.uk/events/detail/lita-ford
Before those July highlights, there’s another massive date, a newly confirmed slot opening for ELO at their British Summertime show in Hyde Park, on July 13. Maid of Stone Festival will then follow, where Bobbie Dazzle will grace the second stage on Saturday July 19th. “I’m quite early on,” she admits, “but I’m just happy to be on the festival at all! Sweet are playing the next day, obviously a huge fan, so I’ll be staying for that.” She’ll be easy to spot. “I probably will stay Bobbie Dazzled up,” she laughs when asked about festival logistics in a catsuit. “Getting changed in a portaloo is not really something I want to be doing! I’ll be around to meet fans, do interviews, photos… just hang out.”
TICKETS: https://www.skiddle.com/festivals/maid-of-stone-festival/
The momentum doesn’t stop there. A support tour with Thunder’s Luke Morley is booked for September, followed by Bobbie Dazzle’s own headline UK tour in October to coincide with the release of album number two. Yes, album two is already well underway, less than a year after the debut dropped. A standalone single, featuring an original track and an ABBA cover (“If you go to ABBA’s deep cuts, you’d be surprised how heavy some of the stuff is!”), is also slated for release around June.
This prolific work rate echoes the 70s bands she admires, but it’s also driven by a deeper, poignant motivation. “Starting Bobbie, and having the loss of my sister, which was an encouragement for me to do this too, made me realise how short life is,” Sian shares candidly. “So I’m just with this project, like, I’m going balls to the wall. I’m releasing as much music as I can physically and mentally do, whenever I want. That’s why I want to do a single, another album, get on the road. I just want to take this drive and just run with it. Because music is important to me, and I believe that music is medicine. I want to heal the world with music.”
With a sound that’s pure, unadulterated fun, a stage presence that’s larger-than-life yet utterly genuine, and a relentless drive fuelled by passion and purpose, Bobbie Dazzle is more than just a nostalgia trip. She’s the glitter-covered, flute-wielding, stomp-inducing shot of pure rock ‘n’ roll joy we didn’t know we needed. Get ready! The Dazzle is coming.
BST Hyde Park with ELO (July 13th).
Bobbie Dazzle appears at Maid of Stone Festival (Saturday, July 19th);
Bobbie Dazzle supports Alice Cooper in Cardiff (July 22) and Edinburgh (July 23),
TICKETS: https://www.ticketmaster.co.uk/alice-cooper-tickets/artist/734811
plays alongside Lita Ford and Vixen in London (July 24), with a
Luke Morley UK Tour in September and a UK headline tour following in October and more.
Tickets and More Info are here:
https://bobbiedazzle.com/#803802f6-942f-4e08-a3ec-91cbb03e0688
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