Everyone’s favourite hairstyle icon and electro-pop songstress Elly Jackson of La Roux has returned from a five year hiatus with a brand new album, ‘Trouble in Paradise’.
The title seems reflective of the turmoils that the singer faced since La Roux’s phenomenally popular debut album was released. Since then she’s struggled with her abrupt rise to fame, broken up with her songwriting partner Ben Langmaid and lost her voice.
Now that she’s returned with a brand new musical offering, she’s back in the public eye, and finding herself facing the same rumours that surfaced when her androgynous appearance first attracted comments from the press.
Jackson has remained characteristically mysterious when discussing her sexuality. In 2010 she made the following comments:
“I don’t have a sexuality. I don’t feel like I’m female or male. I don’t belong to the gay or straight society, if there is such a thing.
“I feel like I’m capable of falling in love with other people.
“I’m not saying I’m bisexual, I’m just sexual!”
The singer has elaborated on the topic in a recent interview with The Observer, her first major interview since her return to the scene. One of the tracks off her new album is entitled. ‘Cruel Sexuality’, a song Jackson says is about “10 subjects linked together”.
“Of course, because people see the word ‘sexuality’ and think: ‘Oh my God you’re gay!’ But sexuality just means you are a sexual person, and that song’s not about me being: ‘Oh no, I’m a lesbian!’ or anything like that.”
Jackson says she feels that putting a distinctive label on her sexuality would compromise her personal life.
“I debate this a lot – do we need everyone to be 100% open about everything before we get to the stage it doesn’t matter? And I agree to a point, I am aware of the conflicts.
“But the problem is, if I say, ‘I’m straight,’ nobody will come around to my house and take a picture of my boyfriend. If I say, ‘I’m gay,’ then somebody will come around and try to take a picture of my girlfriend.”
“It’s all very well people telling me to be open about it, but it will impact on my life.
“Why should I have to bear the brunt of what would happen? All I know is that if it’s not something I have any interest or desire to talk about, then that needs to be my only reason.”
The singer also stated that she doesn’t feel like she particularly identifies with the labels ‘gay’, ‘straight’ or ‘bisexual’. Indeed, her view on both gender and sexuality appears to be rather more fluid.
“I don’t feel like I belong to any of those. So I’m not going to put myself in that camp, or under that title. I don’t feel one thing or the other, I don’t feel man, I don’t feel woman – that’s where the androgyny comes from. I probably feel more feminine than I do masculine… but if people want to hold me up as a gay role model, absolutely, I’m proud to be that, but I don’t feel the need to say that I’m gay to do it.”
Sophie Joske
The gay political machine is awful. What this lady supposed, to do pretend she’s gay to please them? How is that “embracing who you really are?” But it’s apparent that the “embrace who you are,” stuff was a lie and their real goal is to put straight people in the closet. Well–they’re gonna need a pretty big closet!
The gay political machine is awful. What this lady supposed, to do pretend she’s gay to please them? How is that “embracing who you really are?” But it’s apparent that the “embrace who you are,” stuff was a lie and their real goal is to put straight people in the closet. Well–they’re gonna need a pretty big closet!