It was fab to be back for a warm-up gig at my favourite pub in the UK, the infamous Square & Compass Inn (surely the only pub with a dinosaur in the back room).

I sang my first ever song in public in this pub thanks to my great-uncle Tony Viney who said very firmly he was going home unless I took my guitar in. It was a music night.

Being a bit frightened of my great-uncle I reluctantly took it in and hid it in a corner and I thought I’d got away with it until this booming voice (my great-uncle) announced to the whole pub that EMILY IS GOING TO SING A SONG. I nearly died of embarrassment. Ah well, I’ve come a long way since then :).

The Square & Compass Inn is in Worth Matravers which is in the Isle of Purbeck which is my spiritual home and I try and do a gig there at least once a year. Well worth a visit for the beer alone… and the dinosaur of course.

Thanks to Kevin Hunt (pictured) for having us again and to everyone who packed in the room. It was a great night.

xx

Another song recorded in my attic, this one ‘Old Valentine’ from my album ‘Bird Inside A Cage’ which seemed appropriate for Valentine’s Day. Some of the songs I write take a lot of time and effort but others just seem to come out of nowhere. This one just fell out of my head onto the page.

xx

Counting down the days now to the release of my fifth album ‘A Bit Of Blue’ on 24th February. I’ve been so delighted reading the reviews – the latest one in from Maverick Magazine.

Thanks to BBC Radio Scotland who have been playing my single ‘For Free’. The song has also been getting airplay on BBC Radio Wales, Ulster, and Merseyside. You can watch the ‘For Free’ video here. This is the radio mix… the album version has two extra verses.

Finally one of the highlights of my career so far… watching my 7-year-old nephew Vincent Taylor sing my song ‘Anything You Do’ today with which he has got through to the second round of the St Stephen’s Got Talent contest. I am so proud of him. Next round on Wednesday…

Hope all’s well in your world.

xx

Here is another song recorded by me at home in my attic studio. This is ‘Falling On My Feet’, a song I wrote in a hospital in London called Park Royal Centre For Mental Health. The staff there very kindly let me keep my guitar with me on the acute ward. In the midst of a psychosis, I scrawled the lyrics over and over in my book trying to put the words into some kind of order.

When I recorded it in Australia the following year for my album ‘Stranger Place’ it took several takes and some sangria to get through the verses without tears. But despite the fact that it was written at a terrible time the song turned out to be a premonition – I’d thought I was just falling but actually I was falling on my feet.

xx

We’ve just released the first in a series of videos called ‘Songs From My Attic’, basically me performing acoustic, unplugged versions of my songs at home in my lovely attic studio. I’ve been wanting to do this for ages.

Here’s the first one which is ‘Start Over Again’, a song very close to my heart (it’s on my third album ‘Believer’). I’ll also be doing readings from my books as well as singing songs. If you follow me on Facebook or subscribe to my Youtube channel you’ll get a notification when I put a new one up.

xx

I love Christmas. I love the lights and the carols and the cold and most of all giving presents.  So I was gutted to find myself on Christmas Eve stuck in bed sweating like I was in a sauna with the most horrible pain in my legs and back.  Ah the joys of flu.  I slept for 5 days, missing all the fun we were supposed to be having.  Never mind, there’s always next year…

Just been finishing the artwork for my new album ‘A Bit Of Blue’ which goes to press this week.  I’m looking forward very much to the album launch in London next month.   If you’re free on Friday 24th February it would be fab to see you there.

Hope all’s well in your world.

xx

It’s been, for me, an amazing year.  This time last year I couldn’t play my instruments at all and had lost all my confidence in performing.   Now I’m doing gigs again and looking forward to the dates we’ve booked for next year.

Doing hospital gigs, working for The Big Issue, playing pubs and clubs, getting such a fantastic response to my fan-funding campaign for ‘A Bit Of Blue’, seeing fans again at gigs, has all rebuilt me from the ground up.

Big love and thanks to all of you for your support.  I wish you a very merry Christmas and a happy new year.

xx

Just got this amazing feedback from one of the Manchester mental health hospitals I played in last week. Made my day. Thanks so much to Ann Jones for passing it on.

Service User, Poplar Ward:
“It was emotional. She was telling her story. Especially at this time of year when people reflect on their own life. It was done with compassion and empathy. I think it touched a nerve with everyone.”

Service User, Elm Ward:
“Emily Maguire was a standout performance and lifted my spirits, since I miss seeing bands, being a service user.”

Service User, Maple Ward:
“It was brilliant. It explains exactly how you feel coming in these places and how your head goes. It showed that someone else has been there and come back. I will play the CD at home. It was lovely. Everything she sang about describes the road you go down. I would go and watch her in concert. It was true to life. When you have depression you are so low but you’ve got to try and pick yourself up. It was marvellous.”

Service User, Laurel Ward:
“I found it inspiring and enjoyed the music. I particularly liked the words: “Keep Walking”.”