Born as Victoria Christina Hesketh in Blackpool, England (UK) on 4 May 1984. From the age of five, Hesketh played the piano and began lessons at six, eventually winning a music scholarship. Besides also learning to play the flute and the harp, she was trained initially in classical singing by Janet Wunderley, by the age of thirteen Hesketh was writing her own songs.
At the age of sixteen she entered the ITV talent competition search ‘Pop Idol’. She reached the third round but was eliminated by the producers of the show. After singing with the Lancashire Youth Jazz Orchestra and performing with a jazz trio for some time Hesketh decided to prioritise her education and studied cultural studies at the University of Leeds, attaining a first-class honours degree. She subsidised her course by playing “awful, schmoozy lounge versions of Norah Jones songs” in hotels around the north-west. It was during her time at Leeds University that Hesketh, along with two of her fellow students, formed the all-girl band Dead Disco, Hesketh herself eventually becoming the lead singer.
With the success of several sell out gigs and an appearance at the Leeds Festival under their belt, the band moved to Los Angeles to begin recording their debut album with Greg Kurstin. However, it was around this time that Hesketh herself began to write songs not in keeping with the band’s “indie” style. Choosing a new musical direction, Hesketh left Dead Disco; they disbanded in December 2008.
With her departure from Dead Disco in August 2007, Hesketh decided to begin a new solo career in pop. She returned to her parents’ house to begin writing her own songs and posting covers on social networking sites such as YouTube and Myspace. Within a year she had narrowed down a list of her songs to create an album and by getting in touch with Greg Kurstin, Hesketh started production on her debut album ‘Hands’. In early 2008 she began using the stage name Little Boots, which came from a nickname given to her by a friend, a reference to her unusually small feet.
‘Hands’ was released in June 2009. The album peaked at number five on the UK Albums Chart and has produced the top twenty hit ‘New in Town’ and top ten hit ‘Remedy’. The album also did well in Europe and Japan. During live shows in 2010 and 2011, Little Boots performed a cover version of Running Up That Hill.
After several mixtapes and EP’s, Little Boots released her second album, ‘Nocturnes’, in May 2013. It featured the singles ‘Shake’, ‘Every Night I Say a Prayer’ and ‘Broken Record’.
Her third studio album, ‘Working Girl’, was released in July 2015 via her own label, On Repeat Records.
Little Boots about Kate Bush
The album Lionheart by Kate Bush was her second album, and a lot of people think it’s her worst record, which I totally don’t agree with. As this album came out and because it was such a success, she was so young but because of its success they rushed a second album and a lot of people [think] it’s all the off-cuts of ‘The Kick Inside’ and it’s all the rejects and they threw an album out, but I really really don’t think that’s the case. It’s one of my favourite albums. There’s so many beautiful songs on there and the title track ‘Lionheart’ just goes straight to my heart. It’s amazing. It’s just such a weird subject matter, it’s about England, which I think is just really weird and amazing.
