The Red Bulletin June 2019

Chelcee Grimes
“There’s no
yellow brick road
to making a hit.
You’ve just got to
feel it as you go”
of slog,” she says. “And it hasn’t been given to me. If it had, I’d
be like, ‘Whoa, what’s happening?’ But I’ve literally fought my
way to be where I am, so I feel like I deserve it.”
Another pursuit Chelcee missed was playing football. When
watching the 2015 Women’s World Cup, she realised a number
of girls she used to play with were now wearing an England
shirt. “I thought, ‘I need to get back into it.’ So I googled a few
teams and got trials with Wimbledon, Spurs and West Ham.
They all offered me a contract – it was crazy.” Chelcee is now
settled at Fulham – she also lives nearby – though the relegation
of the men’s team from the Premier League and its knock-on
effect on revenue has created uncertainty for the women.
Chelcee’s top festival
picks for 2019
Billie Eilish
“She’s 17 and smashing it right
now. [The California-born singersongwriter]
makes all her music with
her brother, so it’s not manufactured.
Billie’s breaking boundaries, and the
whole industry is talking about her.
She’s different and I appreciate that.”
King Princess
“She’s a new singer signed to Mark
Ronson’s label. King Princess [aka
Mikaela Straus] is big in the LGBTQ
community and she’s not selling any
part of herself, just being authentic.
She’s also super talented and plays
all the instruments on her songs.”
Michael Kiwanuka
“I already knew Michael through
the industry, but then his song Cold
Little Heart was used as the title
track of [US drama] Big Little Lies
and I became a fan. It’s an amazing
record. The show is really good, too.”
Tom Grennan
“Tom was my first-ever guest on
Chelcee Away. I became a fan after
hearing his song Found What I’ve
Been Looking For on the FIFA 18
soundtrack. We became friends
and wrote two songs together.
They might be on his next record.”
Girlpool
“I don’t know anything about the
[LA indie-rock duo], but I saw the
name Girlpool on a festival line-up
and wanted to know more. So you
should definitely go to see them.”
King Princess
Much has changed in women’s football over the past
five years, and Chelcee believes the sport is healthier
and wealthier than ever. In March this year, Barclays
announced a £10 million three-year sponsorship of
the FA’s Women’s Super League – the biggest investment by a
brand in UK women’s sports. In Spain that same month, more
than 60,000 fans watched a match between Atlético Madrid and
Barcelona in the Primera División Femenina – a world record
attendance for a club game in women’s football – and in Italy
around 39,000 people saw Juventus Women beat Fiorentina.
“My little sister is nine now and she plays football,” says
Chelcee. “When I was playing, I was the only girl, but she’s one
of six in the team. That growth from a grassroots level is all you
need. And to turn on the TV now and see [former England and
Arsenal Women right-back] Alex Scott as a BBC pundit… that
would never have happened when I was a kid. It’s awesome.”
In terms of investment and profile, the women’s game in the
UK still lags behind that of the European continent and the US,
but 2019 promises to be its biggest year yet. Chelcee believes
that change is gradually coming, but a lot of the problem is
down to the perception and presentation of the sport.
“It’s like having the best song in the world but the video is shot
on an old Nokia phone: it won’t look good,” she says. “No part of
the women’s game is as well-publicised or up-to-date as the men’s.
You’ve got to give it equal leeway. Hopefully, with this injection
of money, everything will become a lot more professional.” She
hopes her reporting of the Women’s World Cup in France for the
BBC and COPA90 will inspire yet more girls to get involved. “I’ll
show it’s not women’s football, it’s just football,” she says.
The multitalented Liverpudlian is, in her own way, redefining
what it means to be a woman in 2019. “I’m showing you don’t
have to be just one thing now. I go in the studio and write songs
with some of the biggest acts in the world. I’m playing for Fulham,
making my own album. I’m standing up for that, 100 per cent.”
Chelcee Grimes, in her life as in her career, is far more than
the sum of the parts.
Chelcee’s latest single, Girls, is out now on TaP Records;
chelceegrimes.com
STYLING: EMILY ROSE MOLONEY; HAIR & MAKE-UP: ALICE HOWLETT USING KAT VON D BEAUTY AND BUMBLE AND BUMBLE;
PHOTOGRAPHY ASSISTANTS: PAOLINA STADLER, MARIA MONFORT PLANACHELCEE WEARS PRETTY LITTLE THING HIGH-NECK,
RIBBED LONG-SLEEVE CROP TOP
72 THE RED BULLETIN