Martine McCutcheon shares joy at making music again after battle with illnesses
She is set to release her new album in August, Lost And Found.
Martine McCutcheon has said she feared she would never perform again as she battled illnesses.
The former EastEnders star-turned-singer, who has been open about her struggles with ME and Lyme Disease, said she is delighted that she is healthy enough to release a new record.
She told the Press Association: “I’m euphoric, I’m so happy. It’s something that I have wanted to do for such a long time and for various reasons I haven’t been able to and I felt like a huge part of me was missing as a result, so it’s lovely to feel like I’m all of me again, it feels amazing.”
Arriving at the O2 Silver Clef Awards, hosted by music therapy charity Nordoff Robbins, she said: “The only reason I’ve been so open about it is because I’ve had to be because it’s what the album is about.
“When I wrote the stuff for the album I had no idea that it was actually going to be an album. First and foremost it was just for me, I never thought I would be well enough to perform again, so when the record company said ‘we love it, we’re going to put it out there’, at first I was like ‘yay’ and then I was like ‘oh my god, this is really personal stuff.
“Then I realised I’m a woman who is 41 now. I think my audience would want something more substantial and honest and all my ups and downs are public but everyone goes through it, everyone had their rubbish days and their rubbish years and that is what they identify with, so it’s been a blessing in a way that something good has come out of something bad.”
Paying tribute to the work of the music charity, she said: “I don’t know where I would be without music, it’s been my saviour.
“It is something I connect to that inspires me and makes me want to live another day sometimes, it really is that powerful.”
