Ellie Rose

What are your best memories of Emanuel? I’ve never been particularly academic so I found school quite challenging, but I have so many beautiful memories of getting told off for running down the corridor to get to lunch early on Fridays for fish and chips. I used to love rowing and going to Barnes on the train with all my friends in our wellington boots. I have a very vivid memory of Mr Driver giving my friends and I policemen hats left over from a school play and refusing to take them off all day one summer. The building and grounds are absolutely stunning so I always enjoyed being outside to admire them.

Were you always interested in music? I was interested in music from a very young age; I had guitar lessons in primary school. At Emanuel, in Year 7 we took an aptitude test in a music lesson and I scored highly so I was offered free cello lessons. I joined the orchestra. Carrying a cello down that long driveway every morning aged 11 was the only pitfall.

What are the highlights of your musical career to date? I have had such an up and down time in the music industry, like most people I imagine. I think I am most proud of still being in a position to make and release music I love. I signed a publishing deal when I was 17 and I feel very lucky to have the same wonderful people surrounding me now encouraging me to do what I believe in.

Can you tell us how it felt to perform on the BBC Introducing stage at Glastonbury in 2015? It was a very enchanting experience; there’s magic in the air at that festival. I was so overwhelmed seeing the size of the stage and all the cameras, but once I was up, the crowd were so welcoming. The whole experience felt like it flew by in a couple of minutes. I’d love to do it all over again.

The building and grounds [at Emanuel] are absolutely stunning so I always enjoyed being outside to admire them.

What are you working on at the moment? I recently signed a deal with a very forward-thinking ‘streaming first’ record label. I finished recording my next releases and we are now working on mixing and mastering the tracks. I am also trying to learn how to cook. One of my closest friends, Sophie, is a brilliant chef so she is giving me lessons in my new kitchen!

What do you plan to do next? I have three singles coming out over the course of the next few months – it’s been a wild experience collaborating with so many people this time round. Alex Charles, my co-writer and producer, is very talented; it’s been an honour working on these songs with him. I’ve got a video coming out alongside each single, directed by Sirius Flatz. We’ve chosen to shoot on Super 8. I adore the way the film looks, so getting the visuals perfect is my next step.

How did you meet The Kooks frontman, Luke Pritchard? We met on a dating app for creatives… very modern! It can be hard to get our schedules together as Luke travels a lot, but we get to meet in gorgeous places all over the world – that is magic.

What’s something you might say to your former self if you came across yourself in the playground at Emanuel? Don’t stand on your tiptoes when boiling water on a Bunsen burner in your chemistry lesson because you will lose your balance, knock over the water and burn your arm! (This happened to me in Hill form).

Is there anything we’ve missed that you’d like us to include?

My next single ‘Audrey” will be out in April this year on Humble Angel Records. Available on Spotify, iTunes and Amazon Music.