It was the fourth time that we’ve presented Suzie Ungerleider aka Oh Susanna, over the years. Ever since Ron first heard her singing one of the murder ballads from her Johnstown album on Radio 4’s Woman’s Hour back in the late 90s (he was getting in touch with his feminine side while building a cupboard!), she has been one of our very favourite singer songwriters. Nearly twenty years and eight critically acclaimed albums later she is still delivering performances that send shivers up your back with that spine tingling voice and lyrics that cut to the bone.
Her latest album, ‘A Girl In Teen City’, is a collection of autobiographical songs, about love, lust and longing while growing up in Vancouver. From ‘My Boyfriend’, about a girl with dreams of becoming a singer, but stuck on the sidelines listening to the boys play at being rock stars, to ‘Tickets On The Weekend’, a great singalong, conjuring pictures of young rebelliousness at the local hall, the album is a bitter sweet memoir of teenage life that many of us will recognise.
Suzie also gave us a ride through her amazing back catalogue, with songs such as ‘River Blue’ from ‘Sleepy Little Sailor’, ‘Pretty Face’ from ‘Short Stories’, and the heart breaking but uplifting ‘See What Promises Can Bring’ from ‘Soon The Birds’. Always warm and lovely company, she is accompanied on this tour by BJ Baartmans from the Netherlands, who provided beautiful and understated guitar that complemented her songs perfectly.
Photos courtesy of Graham Smout