Tony Cummings had an in-depth conversation with the British soul star TONY MOMRELLE

Tony M: "I'll be blatantly honest, those things have come my way. But at the same time, for me, it's just not me. Loads of people have offered me drugs and sex, but it's not my thing."

Tony C: Okay, let's talk about the third song which we're going to be playing in due course on our station, "I Wanna Be Loved". Now that's a very general statement, because, let's face it, the whole of humanity wants to be loved. It's something that God's put in us. If we do a bit of exploration, we find that the only way we're going to find the deepest love is through the Lord, and then loving him will enable us to more and more love other people. That's a bit of a simplistic theology, but it's the truth, isn't it?

Tony M: "Absolutely. It is the truth. The whole idea of it all, love thy neighbour as you love yourself, and the way that I see it is, I wrote that song for a reason because time and time again, I see a lot of suffering, homeless charities and that, and it tugs at my heart. We will walk past Tesco Express and see someone that may be asking for money. Seeing that connects with my heart, and the music starts to come in. A lot of people are telling them 'no, I don't have any money'. A couple of people give them a bit of money and he's very grateful for it all. But the truth is that most people don't see the guy begging at all. They walk past him, day in and day out. He sees them, but they don't see him. He doesn't exist. 'I Wanna Be Loved' starts 'If I was a soldier walking by, I'd be on the front line/A teacher, I'd open up your mind/If I was a surgeon, I'd mend all broken hearts'. It builds to the line 'I just wanna be loved for me'. And it's about you see all these people, doctors, teacher, he sees all these people and he says 'if I was doing that, I'd be the best at it'. But when we comes to the reality, we are much more than the jobs we do."

Tony C: It must take you into conversation with thousands of people, mustn't it?

Tony M: "Yes, and that's one of the reasons why I write the songs I write. On my 'Keep Pushing' album, there's a song called 'Different Street', and it's about the whole idea of the grass being greener on the other side. But when you get there it really isn't. When people come to my shows, I provoke them to think a little bit more outside the box, rather than their world, and to see the bigger picture. I have no shame in speaking about my faith, and why I wrote songs like 'Remember', which is a ballad that I was very fortunate to sing and perform on the Jools Holland Show and is part of my set as well. It's a spiritual song, but it's a song about loss as well as triumph and standing up. I always connect those things, because there are people out there who are a little bit discombobulated."

Tony C: Looking back over your long career, were there particular highlights? Looking back on the Incognito days, was there a moment where you thought 'can it get any better than this'? Maybe because of a vast crowd?

Tony M: "That's a really great question. I enjoy every moment, and never take one show for granted against another. I know it could be someone else stood there doing that. I'm very grateful for it all, and I'm grateful for the blessing, the anointing I've got in terms of what I do musically, and how it affects people's lives. I'm always grateful for it, and that's the big mission for me, to see some change. I've toured with so many people, such as Celine Dion, Take That, Stevie Wonder. I've just done so much, and all of those things are just amazing moments in my life. I'm always open-minded to see what happens next to me. I'm just very grateful for it all. I don't think there's one thing where I can say 'oh that's the one that really stands out'. I've always been blown away by small audiences or standing in a stadium."

Tony C: You've done quite a bit of BV work. Don't you ever get frustrated when you're doing your BV bit and the lead singer isn't a particularly good singer, can just about hold a tune but isn't great? And you're thinking 'I'm a way better singer than this bloke and yet all I'm doing here is a few oohs and aahs'.

Tony M: "I know there are some people that may think that way, but I've always looked at the greater picture. I started off singing, and from there singing backing vocals, knowing that that front spot is what I'm working towards. Then I got the situation of working with Incognito, which gave me that, and allowed me to build my own fan-base and write my own music. The long game for me is always the key. Because if I had that mentality, and was critical of singers I'm providing BVs for, I'd get disgruntled and bitter, and probably end up not doing music at all. So I've always been grateful for the fact I was making some money, but more importantly I forged a relationship with an artist and become someone that was integral to them and their team. It just pulled me up to the heights of where I finished one tour, someone else would contact me because I was referred to them and something else would come in. So I was grateful for that transition. Then I made sure that I learnt about the business, I learnt about working with artists and what it takes to be an artist. It was all ammunition for my own stuff."

Tony C: What are your immediate plans now? Have you got tours?

Tony M: "Yes. I've just got back from Russia. Now I'm getting ready to go to America, then I'll be going to Germany and a few other places through Europe. This month I'm playing two nights at The Hideaway. I've been busy doing some stuff with the BBC Concert Orchestra, so quite a few things going on at the same time."