Interview: PP Arnold on finally releasing her “lost” 1960s recordings with Eric Clapton and Barry Gibb

Even if you haven’t heard of PP Arnold, you have almost certainly heard her mighty soul voice on a host of classic recordings over the years, from Nick Drake’s Poor Boy to Peter Gabriel’s Sledgehammer to The KLF’s 3am Eternal and What Time Is Love? Her diverse career has taken her from Tina Turner’s Ikettes to touring backing vocalist with the likes of Eric Clapton and Roger Waters and West End musicals such as Starlight Express. But it was the solo recordings she made in the late 60s for Andrew Loog Oldham’s Immediate Records and her collaborations with labelmates The Small Faces which sealed her cult appeal on the mod scene and sustains her to this day. As we speak, Arnold is about to pack her bags to perform at a northern soul weekender.