BTJ: Are you from a showbiz family?
JA: There aren’t really any other performers in my family. I used to hang out with the rough girls then fell out with them and one of them stabbed me in the leg with a compass and some other girls asked me to join them in the music room.
Officially I’ve been doing this for two years. I went to Edinburgh in 2011 after Jenna died, I thought just go for it, but I only officially started doing it, actually writing material and taking in seriously, two years ago. I ran The Painted Grin club this year in the Voodoo Rooms. MCing is my thing, Graham Norton was regarded as best MC and he made his way through that. I love topping and tailing and middle bits and like to do a finale.
I’ve never had a singing lesson in my life. My friends used to put their fingers in their ears when I sang. I was ironing and singing Time To Say Goodbye and my flatmate said ‘do that you are really good’. so I do that as a finale.
BTJ: You’ve got your own YouTube channel haven’t you?
JA: I’m quite controlling about what’s online. I don’t want crap out there. If I’m going to be bolshy onstage I’ve got to be able to back it up with good stuff. When I do a full show I want smoke machines, dancers. I like epic and theatrical, not skimming on anything. At the moment the plan is to do a longer show next year – the same number of acts but more MCing.
I worked with Scottee. I was the eponymous fat lady singing at the end when he did his club/competition Hamburger Queen. I sang something different every week, one week I did an Adele pastiche. Another week Pavarotti, When I’m alone walking down street I feel at my most powerful so like if I’m on the bus and people are listening to Iphone music I will get up and tell them to turn it off. I did it on a train to Methyr and I went back to my seat and got my boombox and sang along to the music from Shawshank Redemption. That was what I sang for the Funny Women final. I used to be a doorwoman so I’m a tough old broad. I used to fear for my life most evenings but I got paid well.
BTJ: Where did you study?
JA: I went to Uni in Glamorgan, in Treforest. I didn’t like it but I did direct and adapt a stage version of Edward Scissorhands before Matthew Bourne. And I was obsessed with Howard Hughes so I did a promenade performance with actors playing all the people in his life and took over the whole building.
I auditioned for the Welsh College of Music and Drama and I was supposed to do a happy and sad piece but I did the sad one first and it was just when my sister had got ill and I collapsed onstage in tears. So I didn’t get in. I was in a bad place. I feel like the last ten years I’ve been asleep. I feel like I’ve been in denial. Then in the last 18 months it just got better. I feel alive and happy for the first time. And I went viral for the first time on YouTube this weekend.
BTJ: What were you like as a child?
JA: I had no friends. I spent most of my primary school years being very lonely. Then I did disco dancing and doing stuff online and I had so much joy. Remember Napster? I’d make up dances. The first time I went onstage and people were chanting my name and clapping it was amazing. It’s addictive – I’m glad I’m addicted to making people happy and not addicted to drugs or alcohol. I’m lucky and unlucky that I have my sister. It does give me a reason to do this. We’ve had enough crap, it’s about time we had some luck.
Having imagination stopped me from being bullied. I’ve met a lot of stand-ups who have been lonely and used stand-up to socialise and are still as awkward offstage. I love being a social butterfly. I love cooking and being a host in general. Making people feel welcome is what I want to do. I’ve lived two lives in one. Maybe three.
