We get the latest from London musician Louise Golbey..

Hotly tipped as Caffe Nero’s Artist Of The Month for November (following Jack Savoretti in October), Londoner Louise Golbey returns with her emotive new soulful ‘Love It Or Leave It EP - Deluxe Edition’ and kicks it off with some select Live dates kicking off this Sunday October 29th at the Supa Dupa Brunch Party 90s-Now Hip Hop party at the Ace Hotel, Shoreditch at 1.30pm.

Having played alongside Ed Sheeran at one of his very first London gigs at Kentish Town’s iconic Abbey Tavern and also at his last surprise intimate show at The Green Note in Camden, singer/songwriter Louise Golbey has built up an impressive reputation over the last few years.

Currently one of the most in-demand openers on the UK Live circuit, Louise has performed to 6,000 people ahead of the legendary George Benson at a Kenwood House Picnic Concert, landed support slots for En Vogue, The Stylistics sold out UK tour, Roberta Flack at The Indigo2 and has performed at the Glastonbury Festival on the BBC Introducing stage, and has performed at legendary venues such as Ronnie Scotts, the Jazz Cafe & the London Jazz Festival.

Louise’s first album, ‘Novel’ (2015) featured special guests including UK Soul legend Omar and Morris Pleasure (Ray Charles, Earth, Wind and Fire and Michael Jackson’s 'This Is It' Tour), finding favour and plays with Radio 1, 1Xtra, 6Music, BBC London, Jazz FM and Mi-Soul. Louise has also featured on tracks Example and Newham Generals (on Dizzie Rascal's Dirtee Stank label) and has shared the stage with incredible talents including Jessie J, Roy Ayers, Katy B, Paloma Faith, Lianne La Havas and Loose Ends.

soundcloud.com/louisegolbey

Describe yourself in five words…
Small, hardworking, creative, social, fomo.

Where’s the most musical place in London for you?
Ronnie Scotts - Soho. It's just magical in there and I’ve had the pleasure of performing there a few times and seen some incredible artists and musicians and also partied hard there. Soho is still one of my favourite areas of London even though it has changed quite a bit over the years.

What’s one of the highlights and one of the weirdest things to have happened to you during your career?
My biggest highlight was supporting En Vogue last year at The IndigO2.

One of the weirdest things as don’t really experience those sort of things - was performing with my band at a private party for a very rich Russian family at a beautiful old town house in Mayfair. We literally played to one table of 6 people for the whole night.

If you could sing alongside any artist, who would you choose and where would your dream gig in London be?
I would love to sing with John Legend. I adore his singing tone and think our voices would blend well together! I also would love to duet with Beyonce! My dream gig would be to sing the Albert Hall. It's on my bucket list of venues and I very nearly played there a few years ago as I was put forward to open for Earth, Wind & Fire there but they went with someone on the same label in the end! So close...

What’s your favourite Live venue to play and what makes it so special?
I love playing at The Jazz Cafe in Camden Town. It was a milestone for me (as a Soul artist) when I first got a gig there.

Since then I’ve probably performed there at least twice a year at various promoters' nights or as a support act - the legendary Roy Ayers last year and Omar this year. The venue is so intimate and they have huge Soul, R'n'b and Hip Hop artists from USA who play there. It was recently renovated too and looks very plush now but it still has the same vibe! It's a special place.

What’s the best thing about London?
You can go out any night of the week and have a big night out. There is so much to choose from - art, comedy, food, bars, music and for me as a musician I still get excited about performing in this city. I love that London has such an influence globally even though it is one city in our little old UK.

What’s the worst thing about London?
The travel. Travelling by tube is so stressful especially if you are in a rush and have lots to carry! Often with gigs/meetings etc I'm rushing about carrying lots of things! Oh and the rain.

Where is the most relaxing place in town?
I like sitting on the South Bank.
I grew up in Bournemouth and I miss the sea so the River Thames is the closest thing I have to the beach! Water calms me…

What’s your favourite building?
The Renaissance Hotel in Kings Cross, St Pancras.
I used to do a regular covers gig there and was obsessed with how beautiful the venue was. I probably could have given guided tours the amount I knew about it! They did an incredible job restoring it. The grand staircase where the Spice Girls famously filmed their Wannabe video on is so stunning!

What’s your favourite shop…
There's a lovely little independent gift shop in Archway called Map. I know everyone who works there and probably get most of my friend's birthday presents and cards there! They also have amazing handmade jewellery by a designer called Lady V Designs London and I wear her earrings all the time! I'm her biggest fan - lol :-)

What’s your favourite restaurant?
Gapoli in Angel.
The restaurant is so popular there are three different ones on the same street a few doors down from each other. They do amazing Turkish food and it always has such a great atmosphere. They make you belly dance if it is your birthday too. And the portions are very generous..

What’s your favourite place to go for a drink London?
I like the Phoenix Artist Bar in Soho just off Charing Cross Road.
It's like a secret basement bar and lots of actors and arty people go there and they always play great music. I also like the Ladies and Gentleman Bar in Kentish Town - it's a converted public toilet so is very quirky and they do great cocktails. I think it’s owned by Jonny Burrell's brother or something and is the most hipster thing in Kenny T (apart from the kebab shop opposite where Taylor Swift filmed her music video the other week!)

Imagine you’re Mayor for the day. If you could create one law for London what would it be?
To make sure all cyclists wear helmets. The Boris bikes are a good idea in theory but unfortunately they encourage drunk people to cycle with no helmet and no knowledge of London roads!

The song that reminds me most of London is…
‘Me and My Girl’ from the musical of the same name. When I first moved to London after uni, my best friend and I used to sing it in very awful cockney accents really loudly on the way home from drunken nights out!

If I could change one thing about London…
I wish it was a bit smaller so that it was easier to pop round to friend's houses more conveniently without having to travel about an hour to get everywhere.

One thing everyone should do in London is…
Go somewhere with a great view of the city. My top places are Hampstead Heath, Parliament Hill, Oblix Bar at The Shard and my new favourite - The Rumpus Room at The Mondrian Hotel.

Tell us a London gem that everyone should know about…
Kingly Court, off Carnaby Street, W1.
It’s a lovely little area of restaurants and shops in a courtyard and is especially pretty at Christmas when it’s all lit up.


Louise Golbey releases her new ‘Love It Or Leave It EP’ Deluxe Edition on November 1st and is Cafe Nero’s Artist Of The Month for November. Catch Louise Live this Sunday October 29th at Supa Dupa Brunch Party 90s-Now Hip Hop party at the Ace Hotel, Shoreditch at 1.30pm; Saturday November 25th at Caffe Nero in Heathrow Airport Terminal 2 from 1pm onwards; Sunday December 3rd at Omeara, 6 O'Meara St, London SE1 1TE for an afternoon acoustic set and on Wednesday December 27th at Pizza Express, 9 High Holborn, London, WC1V 6LF. All info at www.louisegolbey.com