Tom talks to the icon that is Sandie Shaw about Eurovision, The Smiths and how she literally moved a river in lockdown.

About Sandie Shaw:

Multi million record selling, multi award winning: Sandie Shaw was the most successful International British female recording artist and fashion icon of the Sixties. Unusually Sandie independently produced and owned all her own work and styled her famous look. She delighted and surprised everyone with her re-emergence in in the Eighties with her musical collaboration with The Smiths, an album entitled Hello Angel, and a self penned book,The World At My Feet. For this she received an MBE from the Queen.

During the Nineties Sandie trained as a psychotherapist founding the first ever mental health clinic exclusively for those in the creative industries: - The Arts Clinic, offering clinical, mentoring and training services and in particular writing papers on the effects of fame. She received an Honorary Doctorate from Essex University and was invited to be a professor of music in the Royal Society of Musicians.

Post millennium she became a director of the ground breaking pioneering recording artists' organisation, The Featured Artist Coalition, the first of its kind to represent the rights and interests of recording artists in the world, becoming its Chair in 2012. Having established the FAC as the voice of recording artists in the music industry and in government she is now the FAC's Honorary President.

Sandie remains true to her roots and is proud to continue being the Patron of Alumni of her old school, the award winning Robert Clack in Dagenham. Among many guest speakers over the years Michelle Obama made a recent inspirational visit. 

Of late as well as her duties at FAC and as UK Director of the International Artist Organisation, Sandie has fulfilled a life long desire to design and build an eco conscious grand design home that harmonises with and enhances the beauty of its environment - even moving a river to accomplish her dream.

Throughout her life and career she has fought injustices, pushed at closed doors, challenged established unfair practices, and overcome much personal adversity.

Sandie attributes her inner strength, creativity, courage, zest for life, and happiness to Nichiren Buddhism, which she has practiced since her late twenties, and her mentor, Daisaku Ikeda.

Currently she is not sure what to do next... Maybe a film script or just put her feet up with a glass of chilled Meursault.

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