Cathy Dennis is to perform her first concert in 20 years.
Cathy Dennis
The 50-year-old singer admitted she has "neglected" her own live performances in recent years at the expense of writing songs for other artists, so she's excited about marking her 30th year in music with a performance at London's Mighty Hoopla Festival in Brockwell Park on June 8.
She told The Sun newspaper: "I haven't done it for a very long time and I enjoy it. It's just another side of my life which I feel, I don't really understand why I've neglected it as much as I have, but it's time to put that right."
The 'Too Many Walls' hitmaker is grateful to still have a "passionate" fanbase and admitted she would prefer to have a small loyal following than a huge sea of fans that many of the artists she's written for - such as Britney Spears, Katy Perry and Jonas Brothers - frequently perform in front of.
She said: "I'm so grateful and I feel so lucky. They're really nice fans and they seem to be really passionate about my songs and my work.
"I'd rather have that number than have excessive amounts of people who don't really care as much. I mean I can't believe how lovely my fans are, I really cannot."
Cathy, who will be joined at the festival by the likes of Chaka Khan, All Saints and Tove Lo, loves the "challenge" that comes with trying to pen a huge hit pop song.
She said: "It's hard every day. I'm trying to push myself and do my best work every day so I've always been very hard on myself. It's a very competitive arena and writers are I find generally quite territorial.
"They want to protect the relationships they've already established with artists and it's a great challenge to try and break into or break down those walls and try and get into new circles. I just love the challenge of it. I think I naturally thrive in situations where I feel that I'm the underdog - that's the kind of thing that drives me."
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