The Legendary Gina Birch

I first met Gina and her husband Mike a few years ago. Like us, they'd also adopted 2 girls from China and we used to have Mandarin lessons at their kitchen table in Notting Hill.

What I didn't know at the time was that Gina was - and still is - an extremely influential figure in the music industry. She founded the all-female band The Raincoats in the late 1970s producing a series of critically acclaimed albums. Today she has a successful solo career as a performer and music video director.

Last night we saw her perform at the Bush Hall in Hammersmith with her own videos as a backdrop and she was fantastic. Great songs, brilliant music, amazing voice. She's a really unassuming, modest person but when she's on stage holding a guitar she's transformed into this charismatic performer with such power and confidence.

No wonder she's held in such high esteem and if you can a chance to see her, you should.