The Puppini Sisters
When you start out retro, you don’t expect to become true originals – but that’s the position the Puppini Sisters are delighted to find themselves in. A trio of classically-trained singers, they began performing in 2004, inspired by 1940s swing and jazz music, the stage perfection of Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers, and a lost golden age of glamour. Yet in the five years since they began, it’s extraordinary how many others have followed their trailblazing lead, whether it’s the gorgeous close harmony singing style, the swing-style reworkings of modern pop songs, or that cocktail hour charisma.
Remember the girlband who performed a swing version of Britney’s Toxic on the X-Factor this year? They were inspired by the Puppinis, whose arrangements of Crazy In Love (Beyonce), I Will Survive (Gloria Gaynor) and Wuthering Heights (Kate Bush) are as popular with their army of fans as their takes on older classics such as Jeepers Creepers and Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy. New Woman magazine admitted that “we want to be them”, while Vogue described the Puppinis as “fabulous” and the Evening Standard called them “the big hit of the summer”.
When the BBC made a documentary about the Andrews Sisters, the only musicians they interviewed were the Puppinis, who spoke at length about their heroines. And then there’s that nice chap Prince Charles, who did a double-take after he spotted them in the meet-and-greet line-up at the Royal Variety Show. “Oh it’s you,” he said, retracing his steps to chat with them. “Somebody gave me your album for my birthday,” he added, “and I think it’s just splendid!”
Having met at Trinity College of Music on the Jazz Performance degree, the trio were frustrated by the formulaic expectations of such a standardised course. They were more inspired by the film Belleville Rendezvous, so when they were offered a gig in an outrageous gay nightclub, they jumped at the chance, despite not having any songs. Marcella Puppini, who gave the band her name (no, they are not real sisters), worked out a hasty arrangement of Wuthering Heights, which the crowd adored, and suddenly the threesome realised what potential they had on their hands.
Ms Puppini is an Italian brunette who could sing along to the whole of La Boheme by the age of 13, dreaming of becoming the next Maria Callas – or the next Puccini. (Her hobby is composing orchestral music.) Then there’s redhead Stephanie O’Brien, who started playing the harp at age seven and whose vast musical instrument collection now also includes a red electric violin and a ukelele. And Kate Mullins, the feisty blonde who sings like an angel, swears like a sailor, and has a surprising penchant for heavy metal and Alan Partridge.
In 2005 they signed to Universal’s classical crossover label, UCJ, alongside Jamie Cullum and Katherine Jenkins, whose sales figures they were expected to match. Indeed, their first album, Betcha Bottom Dollar, went gold on international sales. But they were reluctant to make the kind of gimmicky compromises that would have seen them rocket to fame for five minutes, rather than stay true to their vision for a lifetime, so they parted ways amicably. (Don’t be fooled by any girl band connotations – these women are highly accomplished musicians and composers, in the driving seat of everything they do.)
And really, their hearts are devoted to their live show, in which anything can happen, because the band are so acutely well-tuned to each other that, unlike many of their contemporaries, they can afford to play with their material without missing a beat. Backed by three male musicians,who bash the living daylights out of their instruments, the Sisters dance and dazzle, to much audience euphoria. This isn’t just three pretty girls in pretty dresses singing pretty harmonies. This is a show. They also perform their own compositions; songs with a very modern take, about tolerating a boyfriend’s football games, reaching for the gin, lugging the shopping up three flights of stairs.
Not that their lives are lacking in glamour, since the Puppini Sisters are in constant demand as guest performers at private parties around the world: Asia, Russia, Europe and America. There was the Governor of St Petersburg’s party on a private island, the Golden Age of Couture ball at the V&A with every supermodel and fashion designer in the world in attendance, and an American stadium tour supporting Cyndi Lauper. Oh and then there was that uber-glamorous gig at the Womens Institute in Epping, where the delighted elderly ladies thanked the Puppinis by stuffing them full of cucumber sandwiches and pinching their bums. Television appearances include Loose Women, This Morning, and Hells Kitchen. (They were even asked by the BBC to audition for Eurovision!)
The Puppini Sisters are not nostalgic though. “We’re not revivalists,” says Marcella; “we’re not historians. We started with the Andrews Sisters as inspiration but we really created our own sound. The approach we take to close harmony is more modern, so we sound like the Puppini Sisters. And that’s why so many bands are looking to us as inspiration. We’re the modern alternative.” And recent changes in the music industry have actually been to the Puppinis’ advantage, as Kate explains: “The acts that survive now are the acts with a great live career. which we have always had. In a way, the climate has turned to suit us – there are quite a lot of pop acts not having a sustainable career now because they can’t cut it live. We’re standing the test of time.” Of course, it’s the girls’ inimicable characters that steal the show too. As Stephanie puts it, “We haven’t watered down any personality in the music, which is why our arrangements as well as our originals are so greatly loved by so many people. We’re unafraid to be original, and I love the way our music is relevant but also timeless. We’ve found the perfect balance of the two.”