Pegasus Post: January 10, 2017

PEGASUS POST Tuesday January 10 2017 9
News
Crummer looking forward to reunion
Annie Crummer found
fame with hits such as
Language and See What
Love Can Do. She spoke
to Tom Doudney about
working on new material
and seeing dyslexia
as a blessing, ahead
of her performance
with Debbie Harwood,
Margaret Urlich and
Sharon O’Neill at
Lincoln’s Selwyn Sounds
concert in March
IT HAS been a long time since
we’ve heard anything new from
Annie Crummer but the singer
is hopeful her fans won’t have to
wait too much longer.
Crummer hasn’t released a full
album of original material since
1996’s Seventh Wave. Since then
fans have had to make do with
a best of collection in 2002 and
three songs released in 2010 as
singles only.
While she is reluctant to talk
about release dates, she has been
working on songs for an album
which has a working title of Project
Annie C.
“I have got a bunch of songs
that I am dying to get out of the
demo situation and get into the
studio and smash that stuff out,
I’m the only one stopping me,”
she said.
“I’ve got a lot more to say musically,
I will just have to get over
myself and get on with it.”
Crummer said that while she
was known more as a singer than
a songwriter, she had become
more confident dabbling in song
writing.
“Melodies come really good to
me but the way I write lyrics is
quite odd because I am fully dyslexic
so the way I explain things,
I don’t think it’s the same as a
non-dyslexic song writer.”
Crummer only discovered she
was dyslexic well into her adult
years but the revelation came as a
big relief.
“When I look back I think: ‘Oh,
I have been blessed with dyslexia,
that’s all.’ I just learn things differently,”
she said.
“I forgave myself for feeling
so dumb all these years because
I left school really early and
now when I look back at all the
subjects I took it had nothing to
do with anything technical, it all
had to do with creative stuff.”
Those subjects included
classes on art, Maori culture and,
perhaps surprisingly, typing –
because she could just copy the
patterns without thinking about
the words.
That ability to recognise patterns
helped her land a leading
role in the Australian version of
Ben Elton’s hit musical-theatre
production We Will Rock You,
based on the songs of British rock
band Queen, in 2003. To get the
part of Killer Queen, Crummer
had to audition in front of Queen
guitarist Brian May and drummer
Roger Taylor.
“I had to learn the English phonetically
and that is actually how
I learn music too, I listen to where
heart is needed and where anger is
needed and all the emotions, I just
SONGSTRESS: Annie
Crummer has been working
on material for her first album
of original material in two
decades.
emulate those inflections without
really knowing what I am talking
about, but I have just fooled everyone,”
she said.
“I can’t believe I got that role, if
only they knew how I did it. But
it did catch up on me a couple of
times on stage where I’d fumble
BEST OF FRIENDS: From left, Margaret Urlich, Debbie Harwood
and Crummer will perform together at Selwyn Sounds, along
with Sharon O’Neill (not pictured).
over a word because I didn’t fully
understand it and I had to dig my
way out of it, live.”
She said that while the way
dyslexic people figured things out
might be different, the outcome
could be incredible.
Crummer, who lives in
Auckland, said she loved that
performing enabled her to travel.
She always looked forward to
playing with Harwood, Urlich
and O’Neill, sometimes joined
by Shona Laing, with the singers
typically doing about three or
four shows together a year.
She was looking forward to
reuniting with them for Selwyn
Sounds.
“I’m a huge fan of theirs and we
have the utmost respect for each
other so it’s a joy all round, a real
buzz.”
The concert will also feature
Kiwi rock heavyweights Mi-Sex,
Dragon, The Jordan Luck Band
and Jason Kerrison.
When she was not performing
with Harwood and co or
going solo, she often joined her
father’s band, Will Crummer
and the Rarotongans, playing
songs which mostly sung in Cook
Island Maori. Crummer took a
more low key role in the band,
playing the pahu and putting in
some occasional backing vocals.
She didn’t mind stepping back
from the spotlight and credited
her father with setting her on the
path to stardom.
“He gave me the gift of music,”
she said.
“I do count my blessings, that’s
a daily ritual for me, the fact that
I can do music and have never
had a job.”
•Selwyn Sounds will be held
on March 4, from 11.30am-
8.30pm. Tickets can be
purchased via Ticketek and
buyers will be able to prepurchase
a return bus ride
between pick-up points in
Christchurch or Rolleston
and Lincoln Domain.
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