Joss Stone is an independent woman who isn't about to let having two kids under three get in the way of her music career. But while the 36-year-old singer, whose youngest son Shackleton is just six months old, is loving being able to juggle performing with motherhood, the Devon native admits she's on borrowed time. And while jetting around the world with the family, and setting up home in Tennessee works fine for now, she's already making plans to return to the UK once her eldest, Violet, 2, hits school age. And the school run is going to become her ultimate priority.
Talking at the media showcase for the new musical she's been busy writing with Eurythmics' Dave Stewart, the mum-of-two revealed her move from pop to the West End is all part of a motherhood masterplan. She admits the move is daunting. "It does feel a little bit scary because I've kind of got a handle on my little world," she says. "It's still scary though because it is a performance. So it always will be a little bit nerve wracking. But it’s nice to be out of your comfort zone, I learned. I like to learn."
Embarking on a new career direction with two tiny children at home is quite an undertaking and Joss admits she has questioned if it was the right choice. "People do tend take it easy at this stage in motherhood and I'm thinking hang on, I should be doing that," she laughs. "But I think it's fun. The way I see it, these years before the kids start school are when I can do it. Whatever I'm doing, the babies are just down the road. My partner is with me. He works remotely and they come with me everywhere. They were here earlier today - I'm still feeding Shac, he is six months old, and Violet is two and a half. They are not in school. They are running around the world with me. The school years are when it's going to be like, 'Oh my God, what am I gonna do?' Because I want to take her to school. I want to pick her up from school. I'm talking about Violet because she's older but I want to take both of them. I want to make them dinner. I want to make them breakfast. I want to do that. If I can write songs for others to sing, I can drop her off, go home and write a little tune, pick her up. That's like my dream right now. That feels like my dream."
Joss' dream started coming true thanks to her long-time collaboration with singer, songwriter and producer Dave Stewart. The pair have worked together since Joss was just 16 and she jumped at the chance to collaborate on a different sort of project, bringing The Time Traveller's wife to the West End. The musical was conceived during lockdown and their work together got off to an interesting start when her visit to Dave's home in the Bahamas became a two week enforced lockdown. And not only did she suddenly find herself unable to leave Dave's (admittedly luxurious) home for two weeks, she was also battlig morning sickness due to being newly pregnant with her first baby. "I was feeling so sick," she says. "I remember I was trying to eat, but the sickness."
Thankfully she had turned up at Dave's home with her entire family so the unexpected lockdown wasn't too much of an imposition. "I was there with Cody, my partner, and my two dogs and Violet was in my belly, so she technically was there. We were all together. Everyone that needed to be there was there. So, if we did get stuck there forever, it would have been alright. But I couldn't have cocktails by the pool, I was pregnant!"
The pair made the most of their enforced time together, working hard on the musical in the basement to Dave's home, which used to be a pirate lair! And when they weren't making music, they were keeping busy in other ways! "I taught her archery,” Dave says. Joss laughs, adding, "He is very good."
And despite a tricky start, the finished product is something the pair are very proud of. Joss says: "We do the lyrics together. We pass the baton. I'll run with it, then I’ll say what about this?" Dave adds: "Sometimes we are just on the phone or we share little voice notes backwards and forward. We have been through a lot. We can't wait for the show to open."
The Time Traveller’s Wife opens in October at the London Apollo.