Karen Elson channels Alison Mosshart on stage.

Karen Elson

Karen Elson

The model-turned-musician admires The Kills' frontwoman's "badass" attitude and always tries to act like her friend when things go wrong on stage.

She said: "There's a lot of things that can go wrong. I was playing a festival the other day and my amp broke and it was like this god-awful sound was coming out of it and I can't hear my guitar, just this grating sound.

"[I channel Alison]. She's so badass. She's an interesting woman. I just keep thinking, 'What would Alison do?' And I don't think Alison gives a damn."

The 38-year-old star insists her life on the road as a touring singer isn't very glamorous.

She said: I'm not like Mariah Carey or anything like that. I'm still travelling around in a dodgy old van with a bunch of boys, basically... [We're] going without showers and not staying in the best hotels and winging it, basically."

Karen - who has children Scarlett, 11, and Henry, 10, with ex-husband Jack White - admits her new album, 'Double Roses', is a true reflection of the ups and downs of her life.

She told Red magazine: "[It's] a real reflection of life. There's been twists and turns, so much positivity and at times really difficult scenarios that I've been in."

However, she admits it was frustrating that the lyrics from the record's first single, 'Distant Shore', were analysed in depth, rather than the song itself being reviewed.

She said: "At first, it really bothered me and then I thought, forget it.

"I think, as women, we're constantly having to justify whey we do the things we do, having a career and just being ballsy."

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