Local country sensation, Bella, head to Belmont 16s on their Farewell Tour on Saturday 19 September, giving fans a chance to hear the girls performing together one last time. We spoke with the lovely Lyn Bowtell ahead of their Newcastle show about her time in Bella, and saying goodbye…
You’ll be heading to Belmont 16s as part of your Farewell Tour, has the decision to ‘hang up’ the Bella hat been a difficult one?
Not really, because to do the Bella legacy justice requires more time, expense and effort than any of us are able to commit to. I have a busy touring schedule and am writing for my next album, Kate has a full time career as a teacher and Karen has a solo career and a young family.
The three of us have always been best friends and we spend a lot of time together anyway so our decision to say farewell to the professional aspect of our relationship won’t come as a great blow. We will all definitely miss performing live as Bella though because the three of us singing together is so very special and we love it (which is why we have lasted so long)… but all good things must come to an end.
Kate, Karen and yourself have been performing together for over a decade, what has been your favourite memory as part of Bella?
There have been so many great moments, from our earliest days when we signed to BMG and recorded the ‘Gravity’ album, the awards and attention that flowed from that, the glamour and designer clothes, the limousines, the electricity of performing on the main stage at Gympie Muster on the Saturday night with a massive crowd, bright lights and adrenaline pumping , recording and performing ‘Bird on a Wire’ with Jimmy Barnes and Troy-Cassar Daley amongst many others. But the laughter and love we have shared is what really shines through in my memory. I’m proud of every moment, every song, every note we’ve ever sung together…and we’ll have that forever.
After being a trio for so long, you’ll no doubt miss performing and touring together – But are there any funny or annoying tour habits from the girls you WON’T miss?
Karen is usually late, by which I mean even later than me, Katie is always at least 15 minutes early. This makes working to a schedule a little fraught at times. Karen is a heavy breather, (it’s been alleged that) I snore, and Katie is an extremely light sleeper…. so sharing a room together can be a little tricky.
Is there one particular Bella show that sticks out as the best or the one you’ll remember forever?
We’ve had many memorable shows over the years, but our ambition is to make our final two shows (at Belmont 16s on Sept 19th and at Tamworth Country Music Festival on Jan 24th) the best we’ve ever done. We’re singing better than ever, I guess we’ve come of age, and have a much stronger sense of self than earlier in our careers… so we’ll definitely be going out with a bang !
What’s next on the cards for your life-after-Bella, could there be a chance for a Bella reunion down the track?
If the Sultan of Brunei were to offer us a small fleet of sports cars to put on a reunion show we’d probably consider it….but it would have to be on a Saturday night during school holidays. Feel free to send him our contact details though… 😉
Catch Bella for their final farewell in Newcastle at Belmont 16s on Saturday 19 September. Tickets available here.
