MARTINE McCutcheon, who first found fame as Tiffany Mitchell in EastEnders in the 1990s, is making tracks for Redditch.
There then followed her platinum-selling debut solo album ‘You, Me & Us’ in 1999 containing the No. 1 single ‘Perfect Moment’.
West End and TV roles followed and along the way she became the nation’s sweetheart.
In 2003, Martine memorably played Natalie opposite Hugh Grant in ‘Love Actually.’
Now 41, happily married and a mother of a two-year-old, the time felt right to return to the studio.
She has co-written most of the songs on the new album ‘Lost and Found’ with her husband, the multi-instrumentalist/vocalist Jack McManus, and she has never sounded better!
Martine is back not only musically; she also reprised her role in the Comic Relief reunion of ‘Love Actually’ earlier this year and has just wrapped a film with Alan Davies called ‘The Bromley Boys.’
However it’s music that’s her main focus.
First single ‘Say I’m Not Alone’, is a song like nothing Martine has ever recorded before; big, bold, brash, merging clanging guitars, thumping drums and a hard hitting lyric.
Other album highlights include the rocky ‘Any Sign Of Life’, the beautiful ‘Stay With Me’ (which is a duet with Jack) and album closer ‘Rebellion’.
The album is a deeply personal record that deals with everything from relationships to Martine’s debilitating illness that saw her unable to work. “Life brought this album about very gradually,” said Martine.
“It was a really unconscious thing; I started writing the songs at a time in my life when I’d lost everything.”
As a bonus she will also be holding a Q&A session for fans.
Tickets are £27 / £26 / £22 from the box office in person, on 01527 65203 orr online at http://www.redditchpalacetheatre.co.uk/
