LOUISE Redknapp is contemplating getting older. It’s hard to believe that the singer, who still looks as fresh-faced as she did in girl band Eternal, is turning 50 next year.
“Am I going to be 50? Are you sure?” she laughs.
“Someone said to me yesterday: ‘What are you doing for your 50th?’
“And I thought: ‘Oh god, I forgot I was that old!’ But then I look in the mirror sometimes and go: ‘Oh, yeah, there it is.’”
Despite occasionally forgetting it’s happening, there are already plans underway for her half-century celebrations in November 2024.
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Louise, 48, explains: “I want to do something really special and meaningful, like an incredible walk for charity.
“I really want to trek Machu Picchu in Peru with some of my girlfriends and raise as much money as I can.
“That’s my goal for the end of next year. I just think it would be really nice to do something like that rather than a big party.”
One thing Louise isn’t worrying about ticking off her bucket list before getting to 50 is finding a new man.
She’s been single since splitting with former footballer
Jamie Redknapp in 2017, after 19 years of marriage.
He’s since remarried and had a baby with new wife Frida Andersson.
“I’m just open to what may happen,” she says. “I’m not actively out there looking. It’s not my number-one goal in life.
“But, if it goes that way and I met somebody who swept me off my feet and was amazing and kind and great, then I’d be so open to exploring that.
“But no, I’m not downloading apps. Well, not at the minute…
“I’ve put so much into rebuilding my career after a long break. Opportunities don’t just happen because people know who you are.
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“And for me, it’s really important to be respected in what I do.
“If I did meet that great person, I would never hide it. If they are right, they are right. And I would be the first to embrace it and share it.
“But I’m not at the stage in life where I want to just do something for the sake of it. If it happens, it happens. And if it doesn’t, it doesn’t.”
Still making pop music at 50 might not have been something she would have contemplated when she was younger, but she is grateful to trailblazing women such as Kylie Minogue, 54, and Beverley Knight, 50, for paving the way.
She explains: “I went to see Beverley Knight in concert and then watched her win an Olivier Award. For me, that’s really inspiring that she’s blowing up [at this stage in her career].
“I’m a big fan of Kylie, too. I think she’s great. She’s putting the fun into music and she’s not afraid to camp it up.
“She would definitely be somebody I’d look up to. We have the same musical director, so I always know what she’s up to.
“And definitely, I would take inspiration from what she has achieved, 100%.
“There are certain women – even though I’m not much behind them in age – who are inspiring me that there’s still so much I can go out and accomplish.”
Louise has another milestone to celebrate before her own big day – it’s 30 years since she first burst into the charts with Eternal and their hit single Stay.
She’s commemorating it with her new Greatest Hits album, which has all of Louise’s best songs and four completely new tracks.
“I didn’t want it to be: ‘Oh, we’re just gonna stick a few songs on an album and take a few nice pictures,’” she explains.
“It felt like I was cheating myself out of an opportunity to celebrate, and the fans as well.
“So we re-recorded a lot of the hits, including some of the Eternal tracks, and put four new songs on there.
“I am not a big-headed person, but I probably can sing the songs better now. I was so young then.
“As you get older your voice deepens and matures, and I’ve learnt how to control it.
“I listen back to the original Naked and I wish I’d pushed it more. I am probably more confident as a singer now. I don’t feel as inhibited.
“It’s been 30 years and I’m reflecting on how hard it is to stand the test of time.
“This industry isn’t always the easiest to maintain a career in, so I’m proud. It’s nice to be doing something I love.
“And I think it’s all about timing, as at the moment there is a real love for artists that bring back nostalgia.”
There’s been much criticism of how women are not allowed to age in pop music, with Pink at 43 being deemed too old for Radio 1 listeners, while Madonna is ridiculed for her behaviour on and off stage, all while men such as Mick Jagger or Paul McCartney are lauded for performing into their 70s and 80s.
Louise thinks the only way to have longevity in music is by adapting.
“You can be defeated and be like: ‘Oh, it’s so hard’,” she admits. “But it’s the way it is. I’m lucky Radio 2 has been so incredibly supportive of me.
“They supported Super Magic [the lead single on her new album] and invited me to perform live in the piano lounge. I’ve just had to change course and get into a different age group.
“Is it frustrating? Of course, as maybe my music would be on more radio stations if I was 20 years younger. I’m sure it would, but it’s not how it is. And it still does all right.”
Speaking of Eternal, surely it’s time for a reunion with Loose Women’s Kelle Bryan and fellow band mates Easther and Vernie Bennett?
“We might do something,” Louise says. “All I’m gonna say is, it’s not just down to me.
“All three girls are the most talented singers I know.
“Being part of Eternal was what set all of this up over the last 30 years. I could never have done it if I wasn’t in Eternal.
"I’ve always said to the girls that if everyone’s up for it at the same time, I’d love to work with them again; embrace female solidarity, being older and being fierce.
“I saw Kel a few weeks ago. She’s very happy. We always just giggle about the madness that was Eternal and all the things we achieved.”
Of course, for a large part of the past two decades, Louise hasn’t worked.
After marrying Jamie in 1998, she became pregnant in 2002 with son Charley, now 19, followed by her second son Beau, 14, and decided to concentrate on being a mum.
But taking part in Strictly Come Dancing in 2016 motivated her to return to the limelight and release music after a 17-year hiatus.
Does she ever regret stepping away from her career when she was doing so well?
She sighs: “There’s always a part of you that thinks: ‘Oh, I wish I hadn’t had such a long break and just kept on pushing through.’
“But life happens. I was at home and I had my boys and I was a mum.
“Yes, some days I would have loved to have been back out there singing, but there were things that I would have missed, such as school plays.
“It’s give and take – everyone knows that as a mum or dad. So part of me thinks: ‘No, I enjoyed such a lot of special moments of them growing up, which I wouldn’t have missed for the world.’”
Louise’s focus has always been her two sons – even taking her latest role of Teen Angel in Grease in London’s West End because it fitted around school holidays.
But she’s trying to get used to the idea of them both leaving their home in Surrey, with Charley having already flown the nest to study sport at the University of Arizona.
“It’s been pleasantly good,” she admits. “I was really worried. But it’s worked out well.
“He’s having an amazing time and because of the way the holidays are structured, he comes home a lot.
“He’s done a year already, so he’s back at the moment for four months,” she says with a smile.
“And I get to visit him, too. So of course, there are times I miss him, but I speak to him every day.
“We’ve got the time difference worked out, so I call him really early in the morning on the school run or he rings me late at night.
“Having him back is amazing, but I’m also pleased he’s living his life and having all these amazing experiences.
“He’s playing rugby there, so he gets to travel all over America. I was doing the same at his age, just with Eternal.”
While Charley is in the States, Louise’s younger son keeps her more than busy. “Beau is loving all the attention,” she says.
“He misses Charley, but it’s nice for him to have his own time, and he moved into his brother’s room.
“He’s 14, so he is not going anywhere. Don’t do that to me yet!
“He does a lot of sports, so both me and Jamie are really busy with him.
“He plays football for Sutton and he trains with them three nights a week and then plays football Saturday and Sunday.
“So between Jamie and I, one of us is always taking him to football.
“When it’s really cold, I’m like: ‘You do it J, I’ll do it when the sun’s out.’”
It doesn’t look like either of Louise’s sons will follow her into the music industry, however.
“I’m still trying,” she says. “I do tell Beau: ‘You’ve got such a lovely voice and you’re great at rapping,’ but he just gives me the side-eye.
“We always sing in the car. Although when Super Magic came out, Zoe Ball used to always play it every day when we were driving to school.
“When I would start singing it, he would either turn it down or get out of the car quickly,” she laughs.
It’s clear how much she dotes on both her boys, but what’s she like to their girlfriends?
“Beau and dating? He won’t tell me anything. I get told nothing – he’s just like ‘Mum!’ and rolls his eyes.
“But I encourage both of my boys to have girls that are friends. I really think that’s important. I grew up with two brothers and I always remember them having boy and girl mates come around.”
The boys are equally as protective of their mum, although they were left embarrassed by some of her more raunchy costumes in a few of her music videos.
“When the Stretch video came out [in 2019, in which Louise is scantily clad and flashes her bum] both of the boys were like: ‘Really? You’re doing this to us now?’ So I’ve kept my trousers on ever since then!
“I feel like now they’ve got that little bit older they get it a bit more. I think when they were younger, they were more sensitive to it.
I would never go out in the evening in a way that my kids would be like: ‘What on earth are you wearing?’
“They are more the other way, like: ‘Are you wearing my tracksuit?’ They’d like me to not go out in their hoodies!”
With the boys growing up, Louise is constantly thinking of the future and where her career might go, though she scoffs at the idea of still performing in another 30 years.
“No, I definitely won’t,” she laughs. “Can you imagine? ‘Louise has three people turn up to see her – and they are all her mates!’
“It’s weird, because I don’t particularly feel older than when I first started releasing music – I don’t feel any different.
“I’ve got the boys, but music has been a big focus for me. It’s what I’ve always wanted to do, so I do still want to be in the industry, because I don’t know what else I’d be doing.
“Or maybe in five years time, I’ll give it all up and just go and open a dog sanctuary.”
- Louise’s Greatest Hits album is out now.
