Self-esteem: How often do I have sex? Oh, often. This is the only thing I won’t give up on Life and style

forIn Rotherham, South Yorkshire, Rebecca Lucy Taylor, 39, was in the duo Slow Club. 10 years later, she has a solo Self Esteem award and received a Mercury Prize and NME and Brit nominations for her second album, 2021’s Prioritize Pleasure. This year she won the Ivor Novello Visionary Award and released a book and album called A Complicated Woman. In March, she starred in David Hare’s Teeth ‘n’ Smiles at the Duke of York’s Theatre, London. She lives in London with her partner.

When were you happiest?
From five to ten, when I was just playing and didn’t realize I was a girl. Before my boobs came, basically.

What is your biggest fear?
Having no way to make money.

What is your oldest memory?
Crying on a birthday – I was three or four years old. I felt very sad that Christmas was not a positive thing because he was approaching death. My mom got me a new pair of red jeans and I remember they were around my ankles and I was crying and my mom was pulling my jeans down and saying “Come on.”

Who is the living person you admire most and why?
Julie Hesmondhalgh – She is the kindest, brightest, most honest woman. She is extremely talented, works hard, cares about the right things, and puts her energy in the right places. I adore her.

What is the trait you hate most about yourself?
Internalized misogyny that still manages to cloud some of my thinking.

What is the trait you hate most in others?
People who can’t wait to argue.

Aside from possessions, what is your most valuable thing? Bought?
I don’t like to know what my total budget is for a massage.

What is your most prized possession?
A little glow worm that has been by my bed since I was a kid.

Describe yourself in three words
Big, shy, angry.

What makes you unhappy?
When I let myself down because I wasn’t brave enough to say what I meant.

What do you dislike most about your appearance?
I hate my great big knockers.

If you could bring something extinct back to life, what would you choose?
George Michael.

What are your most unattractive habits?
I can be very whiny.

What is the book that you are ashamed not to read?
I never finished Simone de Beauvoir’s The Second Sex.

What is the worst thing ever for anyone He told you?
Lately I’ve been feeling like my mental health is the problem and not the system.

What do you owe your parents?
Cruise or caravan. I want to get them a caravan but my mom recently said she wants a cruise. My career choice has always been very scary for them, and I am grateful that they never put their fears first.

To whom would you like to say sorry and why?
Most of the people I’ve dated are between 23 and 33 years old. It makes me crazy to think that I could be friends with anyone before I discovered the things I’ve discovered now.

What or who is the greatest love of your life?
I have a few exes who are the loves of my life and my friends. I have a current male lover.

What is the best kiss of your life?
The second kiss I’ve ever had. He was with some boy at the disco. I didn’t accept until I was about eighteen. I had one terrible kiss and then a second, and the gloves were off, and I found my feet very quickly with the cuddling.

Who is the living person you hate most, and why?
There was a person in my life that I trusted and he was naive. I keep thinking: “I hate you so much.” I don’t want to feel that strongly about this person in the end.

What’s the worst job you’ve ever done?
In a pub in Rotherham. I was a really bad waitress and I ended up getting demoted to cutting potatoes and even got fired from that.

What is your biggest disappointment?
I’m always disappointed in the music industry. Every time someone says I don’t value myself, I’m so disappointed that I’ve done my part of the bargain.

If you could edit your past, what would you change?
I would have gone solo sooner.

When did you last cry? And why?
On stage at Brixton Academy on the third night of my stay there. I came out and couldn’t stop crying, I felt some crazy relief that it had all paid off and it was all worth it.

When was the last time you changed your mind about something important?
My opinion is changing about being a mother. I have a dog and I feel so much for him, and I realize I might want to be a mom.

How often do you have sex?
Oh, often. This is the one thing I won’t give up on.

What do you want to leave for your children?
High self-esteem.

What is the closest you have come to death?
I had some gynecological problems that were so sudden, about 18 months ago, I felt like I might die. I wasn’t but it was very dangerous.

How do you want to be remembered?
I would like all my effort to be noticed.

Tell us a joke
Nigel Farage.