Singer Terrie-May takes some time out to chat with Breaktime News. Image: Ruby Walker.
Singer Terrie-May takes some time out to chat with Breaktime News. Image: Ruby Walker.

Westcountry singer talks gigs, NY and travel

7 min


Terrie-May takes time out to chat with BTN

Nightingale Music singer Terrie-May is quietly savouring a steaming hot pot of tea when Breaktime News joins her with a equally refreshing mug of coffee.

It’s a quiet Monday lunchtime in a café, in a theatre, in Plymouth. The weather outside is subdued but our interviewee is bubbling with excitement, writes Duncan Little.

Her phone is constantly buzzing with enquiries – and bookings. It’s been a busy few years for the Devon based singer. As soon as lockdown was lifted she was inundated with enquiries.

At one point, she was reaching 250 gigs in a single year. She has more than 100 events planned for 2025. In short, she’s busy. Very busy.

She may only be 39 but Terrie-May’s life has (so far) seen her visit more than 40 countries with her vocal abilities being appreciated by audiences around the world.

‘There is a certain element of being more comfortable on stage than off of it,’ she explains as she gently sips her tea. ‘I’ve always been very comfortable on stage and not had stage fright. Things are more controlled on stage than in real life.’

‘On stage you don’t have to worry about life’s little worries as you can focus on putting on a good show.’

‘The only Brit’ among 12 performers in LA

Our conversation interweaves between her time in New York through to her memories of living in LA as ‘the only Brit’ among 12 performers – all squeezed into a six bedroom apartment.

It’s a far cry for the singer who grew up in a council flat on a council estate – but always had dreams for the bright lights of the theatre.

‘I’ve always been very comfortable on stage’ says Nightingale Music’s Terrie-May. Image: Scott Williams Photography

‘I first decided to do theatre when I became jealous of a friend of mine who was getting a lot of attention when she was doing drama! The first time I was in a show was when I was ten and I played the role of the White Rabbit in Alice in Wonderland.’

Things quickly snowballed from there and her focus on success saw her sign up to all the local choirs and theatre groups. She took on her first paid job at just 14 to cover the costs of all of her singing classes.

Unsurprisingly, London beckoned and 2006 saw her pack her bags so she could head to Kingston University (where she was able to gain her Equity card during her studies).

We both chat about life as suburban students in West London with happy memories flooding back about Kingston nightlife. And, of course, the ubiquitous Student Monday nights with the resulting late starts to lectures on a Tuesday morning.

‘I studied drama and immediately got involved in music. I started to do ‘off West End Shows’ and was a freelance drama teacher. I also worked in a pub and regional theatres, such as Ye Olde Rose and Crown in Walthamstow.’

And then came a big break. Type in the words ‘Jeffrey Black’ into a search engine and the first result that’ll ping up on your screen is for one of Australia’s greatest opera singers. The Australian describes him as ‘a great star…with a fine acting talent.’

The perfect mentor

As a singer and actress then a Sydney Opera House alumni was always going to be the perfect mentor – and he was.

‘Jeffrey said: What are you doing? You need to do musical theatre. So that’s what I did as a post graduate.’

‘I had done the Over the Rainbow TV Show and was in the final fifty for Dorothy. I was 25 at that point and went to drama school with the American Musical Theatre Academy. I was the oldest in the class. Ancient at 25!’

We’ve all seen the movies depicting the steam venting high into the Manhattan skyline. Of Hot Dog sellers on Ninth Avenue. The buzz and the vibe of a hustling, bustling New York. And Terrie-May was about to take her own bite out of the Big Apple.   

‘Part of the training was in New York where I was seen by producers and directors. New York was very cold and it was January. It was 2011 and everything was covered in snow. There was a city wide blackout.’

‘I have memories of $1 slices of pizza on the street,’ says Terrie-May as she smiles at the thoughts of her time there. ‘But my main recollection was watching Mary Poppins on Broadway. It was wonderful, just wonderful.’

‘You take a kid to the theatre and it’s a magical experience. It was the same for me.’

‘When Mary Poppins flies away at the end, she flies up and over the audience. It was just magical. Max Brennan’s Chocolate Café where half the menu is chocolate based. Their chocolate pizza was a highlight.’

The magic of Broadway. Image: Juan Carlos Alonso Lopez / Shutterstock.

Go West!

Our musings naturally shift to food (it is lunchtime) and we continue to chat about New York. About CSI: New York’s Detective Mac Taylor (played by Gary Sinise).

And from there the conversation moves to the west coast and CSI: Las Vegas. In short, we’re about to undertake a major scene change as Terrie-May moves from the East Coast to the West Coast.

Before The Big Move, she returns to The Big Smoke for her final year of study where she has the opportunity to be one of the dancers for the closing ceremony of the 2012 Olympics.

And then it’s time for her to pack her bags before flying back out to the States. And the chance of a lifetime: to work on cruise ships.

Remember we had mentioned the six bedroom apartment in LA and the culture shock of being the only Brit in the group?

Well, that was just the beginning as the rehearsals moved from on-land to the ocean and an incredible overseas tour (she still has the Hawaii Halloween tee-shirt).

To precis, places visited included: the Mediterranean. Russia. Australia. Iceland. And Fiji. The end of the contract saw a return to the British Isles and a chance to spend time in Ireland, where, in 2015, she set up a music business in Cork.

‘The process of researching and discovering new material does bring me a lot of joy and satisfaction,’ says singer Terrie-May. Image: Fran Minifie Photography

‘The biggest thing of all is confidence’

‘The biggest thing of all is confidence. If an opportunity presents itself then I’d rather take it and it all go down the pan than not do it and regret it. I don’t consider myself to be very confident.’

‘I have to have a word with myself beforehand if I’m going into a group that I don’t know. It’s a cliché for performers but it’s very common as the persona is very different.’

Two years later and she moves back to Devon where she meets her husband, Liam. They married during a break in the nationwide Covid lockdowns – and their feet haven’t touched the ground since as they set up a separate business to help people improve their hearing.   

Her passion for sound. Her drive for singing. Her goals to share her ability and talent with audiences around the world leaves Breaktime News with one final question. What drives her?

Terrie-May pauses as she considers her answer. She glances out of the window. The sun is coming out and the clouds are beginning to clear.

The footfall in the café is picking up and there’s the gentle clink of cutlery as lunch is served on the table next to us.

‘I don’t know. I would probably have to go to therapy to break it all down. There’s been certain times in my life when it’s been a welcome escape – absolutely.’

‘Discovering songs that never heard before and the process of researching and discovering new material does bring me a lot of joy and satisfaction.’      

Main image of Terrie-May (Nightingale Music): Ruby Walker Photography