Self Esteem: “People don’t think women write songs”

Self Esteem has spoken to NME about the challenges and doubts that female songwriters face, as well as bringing her ambitious new album ‘A Complicated Woman’ to life. Watch our video interview above.

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Rebecca Lucy Taylor, AKA Self Esteem, was in London yesterday (Thursday May 22) where she picked up the Visionary Award at The Ivors 2025 – where the likes of U2, Robbie Williams, Brandon Flowers and Lola Young all honoured.

“It means everything,” she told NME about the ceremony that celebrates songwriters, and what she described as “honouring the bit of this industry that is pure and true”. Winning an uphill battle to critical acclaim and to be respected as a voice after emerging as one half of Slow Club, Taylor explained the obstacles that many females have to overcome in music.

“Not to start going on about women like I always do, but people don’t think women write songs,” she argued. “It still gets questioned. People think I’ve got writers’ camps and all these things. No judgement if you do that, but it’s the art and I take ages over it. It ruins my life and all I do is try to create that art. I need to.

“The older I get, the more tired I am and can’t be arsed to whinge about it. For someone to notice and care and tell me that I’m good at it is like, ‘Thank god for that’.”

Taylor recently released her third album ‘A Complicated Woman’ – an ambitious record brought to life via a theatrical stage show debuted on the West End.

“It was all in there, unfortunately, so it had to come out,” said the Sheffield singer-songwriter. “I took a big risk and my live show is now very expensive. That was a shame, but I did that to myself. It was legacy stuff, really. I’ve done that now, and I know what the next thing is.

“The closer we get out here to what it looked like in there, every step is one closer to me being peaceful.”

Now also boasting a career on stage and screen, having appeared in Cabaret and on Taskmaster among much more, Taylor recently spoke of how she was “desperate to diversify” with her music industry earnings leaving her “depressed and stressed”. Speaking at the Ivors, she explained how it was “impossible” to survive as an artist.

“You’ve got to pray that they pay you to hold a bottle of shampoo, which I hope someone will,” she added. “It’s a different game, but I came into an industry that was long gone in terms of being fair to an artist’s workload versus what’s in your bank account. It’s like, ‘Tough shit, you’ve just got to do it’.

“I don’t compromise. I do what I can handle while trying to have a career. I want a roof over my head. I want to buy my mum and dad a caravan.”

At least she recently received love from Madonna.

“Oh yeah, maybe she can give me more money,” Taylor laughed. “That was amazing.”

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Taylor will be heading out on a headline tour later this year with support from Moonchild Sanelly – who previously teamed up with Taylor on ‘Big Man’ – appearing on all dates, and Nadine Shah joining from October 3-18, for all nights bar the Brighton show. Tickets are on sale and available here.

Self Esteem’s 2025 ‘A Complicated Woman’ UK and Ireland tour dates are:

SEPTEMBER
15 – O2 Academy, Birmingham
16 – Usher Hall, Edinburgh
18 – O2 City Hall, Newcastle
20 – Barrowland Ballroom, Glasgow
21 – Barrowland Ballroom, Glasgow
24 – 3Olympia Theatre, Dublin
27 – Academy, Manchester
28 – Academy, Manchester
29 – Academy, Manchester

OCTOBER
3 – Beacon, Bristol
4 – Beacon, Bristol
5 – Beacon, Bristol
9 – O2 Academy Brixton, London
10 – O2 Academy Brixton, London
11 – O2 Academy Brixton, London
17 – Brighton Centre, Brighton
18 – Utilita Arena, Sheffield

The artist has said her newest album was made “for stadiums” after taking inspiration from the likes of Coldplay and Biffy Clyro. “I don’t know how the album’s going to get received, but then I’m also like, ‘I don’t give a fuck’, because I’ve made what I want to make,” she said. “I think it’s going to be a massive challenge, being a 38, 39-year-old woman putting a pop record out and getting it where it needs to go.”

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