Flaming Star

WHEN the androgenous-looking La Roux brought her synth-fuelled robot rhythms to Oxford earlier this year, she was, it’s fair to say, a complete unknown.

What a difference a few months make.

Now riding high in the top 10, with Bulletproof, which debuted at No 1, and an album nominated for the Barclaycard Mercury Music Prize, she is the bright young thing of indie, conquering festivals, selling out venues, and being mentioned in the same breath as Little Boots, Lady GaGa and Florence And The Machine.

This month she cements her position as British pop’s flame-haired darling of electro pop by playing Reading Festival – just a hop over the Thames from our fair shire.

Seizing on her rapid ascendance, organisers have lined up the Brixtonian to headline the ultra-cool Festival Republic Stage – closing the show on Sunday night, and going up against the formidable Radiohead and Lost Prophets.

Yet still the freckled 21-year-old with the ginger bob remains reassuringly down to earth – and disarmingly insecure.

“I just want to do my best,” says the singer – aka Elly Jackson.

“At the moment every day is a bit different.

“Some days I feel good and others I feel stressed. I’m so happy the album is out now, though. We have been working on it for five years.”

The “we” refers to co-songwriter Ben Langmaid. But as he has no desire to appear on stage, and is happy staying well out of the limelight, Elly is well and truly the face of La Roux – which roughly translates from the French for ‘red-haired one’ – a nod to her highly-coiffed ginger mane.

“My mood all depends on how tired I am,” she continues. “Over the past few weeks I've been asked about pressure and I just say, ‘I'm fine’. But I had a moment recently where I was like, ‘Maybe I do feel a bit pressured’.

“Not so much about the album and the pressure of doing well, but the pressure of what this job involves.”

She admits to constantly worrying about letting people down or getting ill and not being able to perform. And she recounts a particularly harrowing night where she got so worried about the prospect of losing her voice, and having to cancel some scheduled gigs, that she couldn’t sleep – and really did lose her voice.

“It’s just not acceptable to do an okay gig,” she says. “It’s all got to be the best it can be, so I’m freaking out about not letting anyone down lately.”

The truth is, she really needn’t worry. From the moment second single In For The Kill was released and duly headed for the No 2 chart spot, the crowd has been on her side, turning early ‘under the radar’ reports of gigs, like her sold-out Oxford O2 Academy gig in May, into bona-fide success.

Add to that the fact her debut album also went to No 2 in the chart; and, I suggest, had a certain ‘King Of Pop’ not passed away that same week, it’s an absolute certainty the album would have hit the top spot.

“We were taken aback by that success,” she says.

“We didn’t expect In For The Kill to do quite that well that quickly – even more so with the album.”

Elly got an early taste of the big time earlier this year when she was invited by Lily Allen to support her on tour. The jump from 200-capacity venues to arenas could overwhelm some, but Elly, daughter of former The Bill actress Trudie Goodwin, says she found it easier to play bigger stages.

“I loved that tour, loved it,” she says, animatedly. “It’s easier to relax when it’s not your tour because people aren’t hanging on your performance or judging you.

“You’re just the support act, so it’s so much easier to mess about on stage every night.”

* La Roux plays the Reading Festival on Sunday, August 30. Also appearaing are Oxford’s Radiohead, and Supergrass spin-off Hot Rats; as well as Kings of Leon, Arctic Monkeys, Bloc Party, Kaiser Chiefs, Prodigy and many more. For details go to readingfestival.com/lineup/ * Her self-titled debut album is out now, with a tour announced for October and November. For more details visit laroux.co.uk * The Barclaycard Mercury Prize 2009 will be awarded on September 8 to the best British or Irish album of the year, as judged by a panel of music industry executives and experts. The nominated 12 albums, announced last month, include offerings by Glasvegas, Florence & the Machine, Kasabian, Friendly Fires, and Bat for Lashes.