At the bar with: Amy Macdonald

There are serious Scotland-Vibes in the Berlin Bar Italia: Amy Macdonald is a guest. So it can start with the counter talk.

The most important thing first: Do you now have the cozy hotel bathrobe that you raved about in an Instagram story?

Unfortunately not. I was about to buy one, but because of the visit of a high -ranking politician, I was not allowed to get away for half an hour. That was true for the whole hotel, we couldn’t from our rooms. That was hard because I was late with everything and had to leave rushed. So no new bathrobe for me.

Then we encounter that you at least did it here!

Cheers! For me today, however, only with sparkling water because after the interview I fly home and wait for my car to be driven home by me. Since we have a zero tolerance policy in Scotland in terms of alcohol at the wheel, I prefer to leave out the drink.

If you had a drink now: to what extent would I see that alcohol will change you?

Then I am like now, just a lot louder. When I drink something with my friends, we start dancing and singing out of pure euphoria over time. And if that’s the case, I like to wake up the next day without a voice. The other day we sang the soul out of our body to Elton John. He has so many great songs – we shouted at the lyrics for over an hour. The next day we could only write each other how well we found our karaoke session, but on the phone there was no longer in it.

So drinks with friends and rather not at home?

At home alcohol is not my thing, not even from my husband. We’re more likely to drink something when we go out to eat or with friends. But which also means that we are stacked by any kind of alcohol at home because we always get some. The worst is wine, I really hate it. Only I don’t have the courage to tell people that I will never open the bottles they have chosen so lovingly.

You could also pass on all the unattended plates …?

I try that! But even my parents, to whom I do something every now and then, don’t drink so much that it could empty the shelves.

It is probably a circulation: Once people see the shelves with alcohol with you, they think you are the kind of person who is given something like that.

That’s why I always say when a visit registers: “Bring nothing! We have everything!”

People often feel strange when they stand in front of open doors with empty hands. What do you bring with you when you are invited?

A nice candle or a well -smelling hand soap. Everyone is happy about that.

In any case, you seem as if you knew where to go.

I have to. Since I signed a record contract at the age of 18, I have to stand on my own feet. This also helped to take care of building a functioning safety network, which relaxes me sustainably.

What else will help you relax?

Knowing that I have nothing to do. When I came to Berlin with my crew yesterday, everyone was excited about asking what else could be done, and I only said: “Without myself, I just want to stay in the room and get room service!” (laughs)

In “Can You Hear Me?” Do you sing “We can write the story ourselves” – in which direction did you think?

This is my favorite song on the album, I had him in the box after 20 minutes. A festival appearance in Glasgow inspired me. Before I went on stage, I looked into the audience from the side of the stage and panic because I saw so many young faces. I thought that this would be cruel because nobody would know my songs because most of them were still too small when they came out. Fortunately, I dared to get out because the crowd was great. They sang all songs and seemed to be so carefree. That was in 2021, still in the pandemic period, in which the younger generations also had to take a lot of shit-that despite this doom mood they looked so happy, I made me creative. I wrote the song with the thought of you – you will be the future boss: be inside and this is a good thing because you bring new ideas and do not necessarily stick to old habits. Gen z is generally much more interested in cooperation than millennials, in which I so often experience this fight against each other.

Which stars – dead or alive – would you like to hang out in a bar longer?

I spontaneously remember Bruce Springsteen, Frank Sinatra and Debbie Harry. They could tell me from their life with their insane voices for hours!

Are you often addressed when you go out?

In Scotland yes. But most of them are very sweet. Although I also had that a woman came to my table in the restaurant, told me that her son was my biggest fan, and she just sat down and her child called her via FaceTime so that he could speak to me. The son was 25 and not as small as she initially moderated it. You have to imagine that: he wanted to have a really detailed conversation with me. I would have shouted my mother if she had done something like that, but he seemed to believe that it was a completely appropriate behavior of his mother and him. How should I win there? If I had said how inappropriate I think it would have published a post on Instagram about what I was for a terrible person. For me it sometimes feels like I just have to say “yes” all the time so as not to be through the people below.

That doesn’t sound just like advertising for being a celebrity.

It is not very glamorous either. It is just a job that only has other structures and times than some other jobs. But even if I can’t speak of a magic now, I don’t want to swap. I think it’s great to be my own boss. I also don’t look at Taylor Swift or Beyoncé and think I want what they have. It has to be incredibly difficult for you to have a real life. I just wanted to write songs and sing them for people. At the same time, I can come home, have a relaxed time and live a very average life compared to Swift and Beyoncé.

More about Amy Macdonald

The Scottish Amy Macdonald, born in 1987, celebrated her international breakthrough in 2007 with her debut album This Is The Life and the title track. This was followed by five more records, the current July 11th. On is this what you’ve been waiting for? it is about trying to deal with the many challenges of our time. From February 2026 she will also tour the LP in this country.

More about “at the bar”

In our “at the bar” series there are artists: Inside with me-hoste Hella Wittenberg in a cozy atmosphere at the counter for a deep talk.