Amy Macdonald talks ahead of Birmingham show

So says Amy Macdonald; the finest, multi-talented, multi-award winning, gazillion-selling singer songwriter ever to emerge from Bishopbriggs in east Dumbartonshire.

Just for clarification, it’s a Friday afternoon and she’s in Zurich, ‘watching people pass by’.

If I were a hackneyed, cliché ridden writer I’d loll up the old ‘this is the life’ line.

But I’m not. I’m just jealous.

Particularly as I peruse the rooftops and chimney pots of a grey and gloomy Wolverhampton skyline.

“Ahh, Wolverhampton’s nice,” she says in a soft Scottish lilt, as I remind her of gigs at the Civic in days gone by and update her on the venue’s impressive extension.

“It’s great that so many places are really coming back to live music now,” notes the veteran of literally thousands of gigs.

“I’ve played some disgusting dives, empty pubs, some really posh places and all points inbetween. I love the differences between them all.”

As if to emphasise the point, her current tour takes in the Royal Albert Hall and (blimey!) Hampton Court Palace – as well as the, errr, slightly less salubrious Beach Ballroom, Aberdeen.

“It genuinely doesn’t matter to me,” she laughs, “I’m just grateful that I can get out and play my music. I love it.

“In the posh places, it’s always interesting to see which song will be the one to get people out of their seats first. Often it’s ‘Spark’ (from her second album) but we still have a little sweepstake backstage beforehand.

“In the rockier venues, people are up from the start and I love being in the middle of all that energy.”

The tour rolls into Birmingham on Thursday for a one night only performance at the (very posh) Symphony Hall, but fans won’t be expecting dancing girls, fireworks, amazing light shows or flying pigs.

“I just play guitar and sing,” she says, with massive understatement.

“I love Bruce Springsteen; to me he’s an absolute wonder. There can’t be anyone who isn’t influenced by him in some way – he’s unbelievable.

“And his live shows are just legendary. He’s the biggest star in the world and he just comes on and plays without any fanfare or fancy lighting and stage tricks.

“It’s amazing. It’s also very, very real and I take a lot from that.

“If the music’s good enough, it doesn’t need to be a circus.”

Wise words and it’s that down-to-earth nature that has seen her build up a huge following at home, but especially abroad where she’s in the megastar bracket.

“It does strike me as strange sometimes that I’m so popular in Europe and places like Germany and Switzerland,” she says.

“I’m just a girl from Glasgow who likes to write songs, but they translate across borders because they’re about real things, often real people.

“I can tell you the story behind every song I’ve written and where I was when I wrote it.”

Writing for her new album Under Stars has taken a slightly new twist with collaboration from other band members.

“It was just a natural thing from being on tour and jamming between gigs,” she says. “Lyrically, not all my songs are about me. They’re often about friends and the experiences they’ve gone through, or just from people I’ve seen or know.

“They’re all real though, that’s the thing and I think that comes through and why people can relate to them.”

The album – her first for five years – debuted at number two on the UK charts and Amy still sees herself very much as an long-player artist.

“I think an entire album tells a story,” she says, “There’s a definite feel to it, it’s a body of work that needs to be heard in its entirety. People can dip in with one or two favourite tracks, but an album is something special to me.”

Ten years on from her This is the Life debut, all her publicity material is keen to stress she is ‘still just 29 years old’.

‘Just’ being the key word there. She hits 30 in August and laughs at the PR angle.

“Loads of people have asked me about that – am I worried about the big 3-0. But I’m in a really good place, I’ve crammed a lot into the past 10 years. I’m doing something I love and it’s been amazing that I’ve got this far, so hitting 30 doesn’t bother me. I’ve always lived a normal life and steered away from all that celebrity lifestyle nonsense.

“I’ve always been able to pop down to the shops without being recognised or anything and I wouldn’t have it any other way.

“It keeps me grounded and in an industry where people are constantly trying to put labels on you, I’ve always been able just to be myself.

“My passion is my music and everything revolves around that – not how I look.”

Lesser talented ‘artists’ should listen and learn.

But she’s not so far removed from the ‘biz’ that she doesn’t still have to make the inevitable videos to satisfy the YouTube generation.

Like Springsteen, she’s not a fan.

“I’ll be honest, I hate doing them,” she laughs.

“They normally take 15 hours just to make a three-minute film and you end up banging your head against the wall.”

Thankfully, a tight schedule meant her most recent attempt (for the catchy, highly recommended Automatic) had to be started, finished and wrapped up in just a few hours.

“It was great,” she recalls. “No messing about and it looks really good.

“I want to do them all like that, so what I’ve been doing on the tour is asking as many people as possible to leave comments saying how good the video is, so that the record company will do the next one that quickly too.”

And with that, she’s back out into the Swiss sunshine, studying passers-by, scribbling down lyrics and humming another hit.

Now that, dear reader, really is the life.

Amy Macdonald is playing at the Symphony Hall, Birmingham, on Thursday. Tickets cost from £25.50. Visit www.thsh.co.uk or call 0121 780 3333.