With Eye to the Telescope turning 20 this year, singer-songwriter KT Tunstall chats cosmic alignment, Celtic Connections and writing the score for Clueless the Musical 

Interview: Cheryl Caira. Lead image credit: Aimee Todd

“This year, I feel like I really need to remember to be in the moment and experience it all, and not just let it go by in a blur. It feels like one big party.

“I’ve written the music for Clueless the Musical in London’s West End, so at the moment I’m in the studio for rehearsals by 10am, with 20 amazing young actors and musicians singing and learning the choreography. It’s an absolutely insane process, but I love that challenge of having to write music on the spot. It’s like a trust fall into your own brain. There’s a song called ‘Human Barbies’, which is in the style of Green Day. It’s a kind of punk, indie grunge song, and at one point they wanted a version that sounded like it’s Barbie doll music. So I’m sitting there while everyone is learning their bits, doing a remix, and it’s just fantastic.

KT has written the original score for Clueless the Musical

I’m also working on a book at the moment – a memoir of sorts – which is very exciting. My debut album, Eye to the Telescope is turning 20 this year, so it just felt like time. This year it’s also my 50th birthday, Clueless is 30, Back to the Future is 50 and Jane Austen is 250… it’s all very cosmic. 

I’m heading to Glasgow soon to do two Celtic Connections dates consecutively at different venues. It’s a fantastic idea – once I got my head around it – because it’s the two ends of the spectrum of what I do. I’ve done solo tours where I’m playing a symphony hall on my own then I’m off to some pub playing to 50 people. I’m also about to do Tae Sup Wi a Fifer with James Yorkston, and we’re playing places like Lerwick, Crieff and Peebles. I love small gigs – it’s where I’m from and it’s what I’m made of. 

We’re going to play Eye to the Telescope both nights at Celtic Connections, but the shows will be quite different. I want the Royal Concert Hall to be more of a storytelling evening through song, so we’ll break up the album with some covers and a few songs that have informed me. Then at the Barrowlands, we’ll play the album from start to finish with a few extra songs at the end. It’ll just be an absolute mega knees-up.”

Read more about KT’s ‘Day in the Life’ in the Feb/March issue of Scottish Woman Magazine 

KT Tunstall will play Glasgow Royal Concert Hall on 30th January & The Barrowland Ballroom on 31st January for Celtic Connections, playing Eye to the Telescope – a special edition will be released later this year

Clueless the Musical opens at London’s Trafalgar Theatre on 15th February 2025. Tickets from cluelessonstage.com