'I picked up my guitar the other day, and Isabel said to me, “Mummy, can you just stop singing?” I just went, “Er - okay!”'

George Luke interviews Greenbelt favourite Cathy Burton

How are things at the moment with your band Hummingbird?

Hummingbird’s on hold right now; Amy Wadge had a baby in January and I had one in May. Life’s changed for all of us, really. I’m still on maternity leave, but I’ve got some solo gigs lined up in the autumn. Just five or six, to get me back in the swing of things.

How did you experience with Hummingbird differ from your old band Blueberry?

Completely different. I think just working with two other singer-songwriters took a lot of pressure off me. We wrote together and did stuff as a team. In Blueberry, I was the main songwriter surrounded by these session musician blokes, and it was a bit scary. But I really enjoyed both experiences.

Aled Jones seems to have become quite a champion of yours…

Yes! He’s just picked up on a Lou Fellingham song, God of Mercy, which I sang on a Kingsway project. I remember I had a very big stomach at the time I recorded it, and wasn’t sure how it was going to turn out! But now Aled Jones has picked up on it and really likes it, which is cool.

How much of an effect has motherhood had on your creativity?

I don’t think it’s changed a lot, really. It’s been a lot more challenging to write songs, being a mum – because obviously there are physical time constraints. I picked up my guitar the other day, and Isabel said to me, “Mummy, can you just stop singing?” I just went, “Er - okay!”

Is there anything about parenthood I don’t like? Well, I don’t like the sound of my own voice saying “Stop it!” all the time. But on the whole, it’s been very enriching. It makes you grow up, and it’s made me appreciate my parents and grandparents more. You just see the circle of life from a whole new perspective.

When you become a parent, it deepens who you are anyway. So I think that’s reflected in the writing. Also, because I’m spending more time at home, I’ve been getting more stuck into home and church life, and getting more involved in the worship in my church.

And that’s led me to start thinking I should use my gift in church more, as well as on the road. So I’ve actually started writing worship songs – which is something I never thought I’d do before. So that’s been quite interesting. I’m just waiting to see what happens.

During your performance in the Performance Café on Saturday evening, you talked in between songs about having a cold, and having baby’s vomit on your jeans. Is that kind of ‘real mum’ talk going to be a constant part of your stage act now?

I think I’ve always been quite real at my gigs. I’m not really doing anything different there. I couldn’t get away from it last night – what with the timing of the gig. It was at six o’ clock; I had two screaming kids and one needed feeding!

What have you enjoyed at this year’s Greenbelt?

Now that my gigs are out of the way, I can really enjoy it. I saw Iain Archer in the Centaur, and absolutely loved it. The sound was just beautiful.

I love Greenbelt; it’s just great seeing friends. I tend to keep bumping into people I know. I just love the whole thing, really. It just feels like a community. Everybody is drawn to it for some reason. I can’t really put my finger on it. I just think it’s great.

When can we expect some new material from you?

Well, I’m hoping to get some help for my children pretty soon. And then we’re looking to record. I’m trying to get everything written before Christmas, and then record in the New Year. That’s the plan.

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