Hazel’sreturn

THESE days Hazel O’Connor admits she couldn’t quite bring herself to watch the whole thing the whole way through.

But in its 30th anniversary year, the cult movie Breaking Glass in which she made her name, remains a good film and an important one, she says.

Hazel is on the road on the back of the anniversary, touring a full concert version of the film’s iconic songs including Eighth Day, Will You and Big Brother - and she’s particularly looking forward to playing Shoreham.

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“My brother used to have a boat in Shoreham and he got married in Shoreham. We had the whole wedding thing on the boat. I remember my grandad hitting his head!”

This would have been about 1977 or, at Hazel puts it, “pre-fame”.

“Breaking Glass and the whole thing was very bitter-sweet; it was great and it was horrible all at once. I do feel sorry for these X Factor bods that think fame is what they want. It’s not. People just think that they want to be famous, but it’s not really what they are looking for.

“If you hear people saying that they just want people to hear their songs, then that’s the old bardic thing. But just to want to be famous is different.”

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For Hazel, the film - and with it the accolades - brought “all the buzz that goes with recognition for what you do. That’s really what people are craving. We are all craving a pat on the back, and fame can be like that. And I was someone that had not had a lot of pats on the back, I was always running away, escaping from myself.

“But when I got it, that recognition thing was still not enough to feed the spirit inside. You think you are going to fill that gap inside by other people’s adoration or recognition. Recognition in my case. I would never cope with adoration!”

Hazel’s Shoreham date at the Ropetackle is on November 27. Tickets on 01273 464440 or www.ropetacklecentre.co.uk. The brand-new album Breaking Glass launches on November 25 and is a reworking of the original material.