Jackie Clarke will join fellow Lady Killers Tina Cross and Suzanne Lynch in a tribute to the powerhouse divas of modern music, including Dolly Parton, Beyoncé, Aretha Franklin, Bette Midler, Whitney Houston and Tina Turner. So whose big shoes is she stepping into?

This show will be something of a reunion.

Not so much a reunion, more of a ‘back by popular demand’ situation. We were asked to curate a DIVA concert at Baycourt Theatre in Tauranga in May, and one show turned into two sold-out shows and we realised people are ready for an all-out celebration of the women who rock our world. So now we’re taking the show on the road. We haven’t done many public shows in recent times due to solo projects so yeah, I guess the lure of celebrating divas is bringing us together for a decent chunk of quality time.

Songs by Dolly Parton, Beyoncé and ABBA will feature – whose big shoes are you stepping into?

We’ve had many many looooooong conversations about who gets to sing what. There were some no-brainers: Suzie is singing Dusty Springfield, Tina is singing Whitney Houston and I’m singing Kate Bush. I get to tackle Beyoncé (wish me luck) and my hero, Nina Simone. Dolly, Aretha and ABBA are such goddesses we decided the best approach was to allow all three of us to sing a little something of theirs. There are just so many divas we love it was hard to leave anyone out but we think we’ve put together a fantastic mix.

You are coming home to Christchurch for this one – any plans?

If I have time I’ll take a wee drive out to New Brighton for a walk. I feel very connected to that place, it’s where we lived when I was a wee kid and weirdly enough I was in New Brighton the day of the terror attack. I was in town to do a James Bond concert with the CSO and I’d gone for a drive to New Brighton with my friend Caitlin Smith and that’s where we hunkered down during those awful few hours immediately after the attack when the whole city was in lockdown. I’m forever connected to that piece of Ōtautahi. On a lighter note, I always make a pilgrimage to Ballantynes for a nosey and I love to grab a coffee and have a noodle round the gift shop at Addington Coffee Co-op.

 What else have you been up to lately?

I’ve just finished a one-woman play called ‘My Brilliant Divorce’ and I’ve been doing my solo cabaret show ‘Jackie Goes Prima Diva’ around the country. That show is all about the classic wāhine toa of music, Judy Garland, Peggy Lee and Barbra Streisand et al. I must be a little diva fixated, I guess?

 You have been a judge on NZ Idol – are any of the current crop of new Kiwi musicians catching your ear?

I LOVE The Beths, Georgia Lines, Teeks, L.A.B and Alien Weaponry amongst others.

Is the New Zealand entertainment industry in good heart?

Yes! We have such a diverse scene now and very accomplished young artists. It’s an exciting time. But it’s also never been harder to get cut-through as an artist because everyone is essentially competing for space in a global context. Music is now virtually ‘free’ and the only way for artists to survive is through live performance. It ain’t like the good old days of the pub circuit and selling cassettes, like when I started out.

Who’s your personal hero?

I love Dolly Parton for her fierce individuality. She is so full of delicious contradictions. Authentically real and fake at the same time.

You are known for your style – if you could give the world one style/fashion tip, what would it be?

Why thank you! Dress to please yourself. Don’t be a slave to fashion, make it one of the tools you use to be who YOU want to be, and feel how YOU want to feel. A great outfit gives me the vibes and allows me to sing my heart out; I can do ANYTHING in a great frock.

Who would you love to collaborate with?

I’d love to put a cabaret together with Lady Gaga and take her (and a piano) on a tour of small halls around Aotearoa. Also I’d love to do a concert of the ‘Trio’ album with Dolly, Emmylou Harris and Linda Ronstadt. Linda has Parkinsons now and finds it difficult to sing, so I would hold her hand and shadow her harmony, jumping in whenever she couldn’t manage it.

DIVAS! Featuring The Lady Killers,
James Hay Theatre,
Fri 18 October,
ticketek.co.nz