Sultry Rebecca Poole is being rebranded. Tim Hughes reports

Rebecca Poole is an artist whose time has come. One of the most exciting jazz singers playing today, her sultry voice has been compared to as Nina Simone, Nancy Sinatra, Julie London, Sade and even Amy Winehouse.

If the name is unfamiliar, fear not... because she has now got a new one.

“I’m getting a name change,” says the singer, who hails from Nettlebed, in south Oxfordshire.

“From now on I’m going to be known as Purdy!”

The rebranding exercise is the brainchild of legendary manager Alan McGee — founder of the Creation and Poptones record labels. The man who made stars of Oasis, Primal Scream, My Bloody Valentine and Peter Doherty’s band The Libertines became an instant fan of Rebecca’s after she got in touch on Facebook. The Glaswegian got her a gig at London’s Borderline and came to hear her sing. After the show she approached him and asked what he thought. Shortly after he signed her to his 359 label.

“It’s amazing to think the man who discovered Oasis discovered me,” she says.

“We are so different — it’s an absolute chalk and cheese situation. That’s what so funny about it. People do love him — though he thinks I have some gall to have approached him.”

Rebecca has spent the past week in the studio recording her debut album called, reasonably enough My Creation. The record is being produced by Andy Wright who has previously worked with Imelda May, Mick Hucknall, Jeff Beck and Annie Lennox.

“I feel like all my work leading up to this album was the little girl,” she says. “This new album is going to be the woman.

“It’s my first proper album for a label and it’s been exciting to record it in a studio. I had a load of songs and ideas just waiting to be developed — most about my broken heart. I wrote a train of 12 songs last summer which take the listener on a little journey — through the other side.”

So what inspires the songs? “Matters of the heart,” she says cheerfully. “Love, tragedy, passion and things that touch everyone. Life stuff.”

The name Purdy is a tribute to her musician brother whose first band had the name — in turn inspired by Joanna Lumley’s high-kicking character Purdey, in ’70s TV series The New Avengers. “I love the name,” she says. “I wasn’t sure at first, because I’ve built up a bit of a reputation with my own name. But it’s nicer for people to feel they’re discovering something fresh. They are like two sides of my personality — and as I’m a Gemini, it suits me.

“Purdy is definitely the bad one though. ‘Rebecca’ has to keep things clean, but Purdy doesn’t care! I can push the limits and have a bit more fun.”

It’s not just McGee who has been won over by her vocal charms. She has captivated audiences everywhere from the Royal Albert Hall to Wembley, where she performed her tune This is The Song to 90,000 people before England’s World Cup qualifier against San Marino, backed by 32 members of the band of the RAF’s Red White and Blues Choir. All proceeds from the single went to Forces charity Help for Heroes, and saw her branded the new Vera Lynn.

“I believe in remembering the important things,” she says. “I’m an old fashioned kind of girl!”

It also earned her an invitation to play at London’s Ronnie Scotts jazz club by the venue’s artistic director James Pearson, who arranged the song. It was Pearson who introduced Rebecca to Andy Wright.

She has also played for Mick Jagger, Jools Holland and Andrew Lloyd Webber’s annual charity event at his home near Watership Down. Part of her appeal is her quintessential Englishness; she doesn’t pretend to be anything else.

Born in Henley, educated at Nettlebed Primary, Gillotts School and Henley College, she admits to traditional views. “I think women should be woman and men should be men. But everyone seems slightly confused.”

So what’s her secret? “Hard work, determination and self-belief,” she says. “Everybody in this day and age is accessible. I’d encourage anyone to be confident, not to be afraid to push the limits and talk to people.”

On Saturday, she is joined by her own band for the Chairman of South Oxfordshire District Council’s annual charity concert. All profits from the gig go to councillor Dorothy Brown’s charities: The Chilterns MS Centre and The Oxford Heart Centre Heartfelt Appeal.

The show will give her a chance to perform new songs and a few older favourites.

“It was a real honour to be asked,” she says. “They are wonderful charities. I love doing stuff like this. As a musician it’s great to give something of what you do for a good cause.

“It will be a great night. I’ll mix up some of my new songs with older ones and a few well-known ones that people can sing along to. My older stuff is happier than my darker new songs — and, at the end of the day, I don’t want to depress anybody!”

Rebecca Poole
Cornerstone Arts Centre, Didcot
Saturday (January 18), 8pm
Tickets are £14.50 (£13 concs). Call 01235 515144 or visit cornerstone-arts.org