8. Imelda May

Style: Blues, rockabilly and jazz

Influenced by: Billie Holiday

Gear: Killer vocal chords!

Find out more: www.imeldamay.co.uk

While Irish singer Imelda May has become the darling of the rockabilly scene, she has been a fan and performer of the blues since she was a schoolgirl.

“I heard Billie Holiday songs and went mad for that kind of stuff,” she told this writer in 2009. “Then I delved into the blues more. I got brought down to a blues club and was asked to sing onstage and I came back every week for ages after that. I would get up and sing blues. I suppose it was strange to see a 16-year old girl sing the blues in a nightclub at two in the morning!”

Imelda’s 2009 album Love Tattoo is absolutely essential. Her new album Mayhem will be released on October 4 2010. We can’t wait!

Listen: Imelda May - Smotherin’ Me (live in Southpaw, Brooklyn, New York)