As Saint Saviour, Becky Jones has trodden an unconventional and uncompromising path towards artistic salvation. It hasn’t always been easy. It’s a story that stretches from the workhouses of Dickensian London to the arena house concerts across the globe. But throughout it all, and with her spectral and hypnotic debut album, she may just have emerged as one of the defining solo artists of her time.
Her adventures began on escaping from her hometown of Stockton-On-Tees at the earliest opportunity, before moving to London for a traditional musical training. A developing love of electro however and a yearning to produce and write her own material saw her turn her back on music school and begin writing her own songs, simply to get the chance to sing. With the seeds of what would become Saint Saviour duly sown, suddenly her life changed.
An acquaintance with Groove Armada soon turned into a creative relationship, and as a co-writer and de facto frontwoman, she found herself plunged into the high life. “It was an amazing few years of insanity. It really was ‘the dream’ for a couple of years; posh hotels, flying around the world and living the high life.” And while that was great fun while it lasted, the experience gave her the final push needed to completely realise her own vision. Back entirely on the DIY circuit, Saint Saviour was ready.
Her incredible live shows - aside from the genre-hopping musical thrills - are as much notable for her extravagant, theatrical costumes (Joan Of Arc projections on the walls, exploding balloon full of petals) and set-ups as they are for her visceral stage persona. “I’ve been in situations as a performer where I’ve been told off, to learn to control myself,” she chuckles. “I tend to get very, very excited onstage. I just let myself go mad. It’s the best thing about what I do as well as the worst, because sometimes it’s driven by anger and it’s not very pleasant. It can sometimes be my absolute downfall!”
But from within that comes something truly magical.
