KT Tunstall has a lot of big milestones to celebrate this year.
She has just written the music along with lyricist Glenn Slater to Clueless, the musical based on the cult 1995 film of the same name which put a 90s LA spin on Jane Austen’s Emma and starred Alicia Silverstone as high school student-turned-matchmaker Cher Horowitz.
It marks her first official forray into musicals and recently opened at the Trafalgar Theatre in London’s West End.
This year also sees her celebrate her 50th birthday which she is fully embracing, and it’s the 20th anniversary of her debut album Eye To The Telescope which includes the track Suddenly I See which catapulted her to fame when it was featured in the the 2006 movie The Devil Wears Prada.
She describes her song’s inclusion in the film, which starred Meryl Streep and Ann Hathaway, as a “gift” and says it “changed my life”.
It would seem like kismet therefore that the musical adaptation of The Devil Wears Prada is also currently on in the capital.
“I’m basically now just living in modern classic movies” she laughs to The Standard.
“When I was asked to come aboard [for Clueless] it was obviously a complete no-brainer. I was so excited to be asked because it’s a modern classic movie and I really think it’s the mothership of that genre of movie. One of the big differences is that not only is it based on Jane Austen’s Emma, so it’s got this amazing soul and literary foundation, but it’s also there’s no villain, there’s no meanness. Cher is so loveable and she’s just really doing her best to try and make everyone else happy and then just forgets to do that for herself. So it’s very joyful and very sweet this story.
“I always found musicals to be a bit cheesy when I was growing up to be honest and I thought what I want to do is go back to all of those absolute 90s bangers and really try and authentically recreate the feel and the sound of those 90s songs. I said to the team can we please make the soundtrack be the mixtape that is stuck in Cher’s jeep stereo.”
On Saturday March 8 there will be a special gala performance of Clueless in aid of International Women’s Day with proceeds going to The Girls’ Network. The charity aims to inspire and empower girls aged 14-19 from the least advantaged communities by connecting them to a mentor and a network of professional role model who are women.
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Speaking about the upcoming gala performance, Tunstall said: “I cannot wait it’s so exciting it’s such a great idea and I think this story of Clueless is so beautiful. Cher’s trying to navigate her way through life as a teenager, really trying to help everyone around her including her dad because she’s lost her mum and you know she’s really parenting herself. Her mum is kind of mentoring her from heaven.
“The Girls’ Network is such a beautiful organisation, really helping young women and girls with some mentoring, really getting them their confidence on their feet and getting out into the world.”
For her birthday, she’s set to achieve a major bucketlist tick by headlining a show at London’s Royal Albert Hall which will see her play her Eye To The Telescope album in its entirety.
“I am all for [turning 50], my merch has had 1975 on it since I’ve started. I’ve always been very, very like adamant that I should represent my age because there are so few women in my age bracket when I came out. There were some other female artists but they were all 10 years younger than me like Lily Allen or Kate Nash. I was definitely a slightly older generation because I didn’t get my deal until I was 29. I’ve always been really proud to represent my age group.
“It’s a huge, weird cosmic alignment because it’s the 20th anniversary of the record, the 50th anniversary of myself, the 30th anniversary of Clueless and the 250th anniversary of Jane Austen which is what Clueless is based on Emma. It’s like when all the planets are in-line. It feels very special.”
Asked if there are any other personal goals she would like to achieve this year, she has something very specific in mind.
“I want to get really good at pottery,” she explains. “Definitely high on the list is finding a ceramic teacher that’s what’s happening in the second half of life I reckon, me becoming a master ceramist. You never know, there might be some KT mugs on the merch stand.”
Clueless, The Musical plays at London’s Trafalgar Theatre until 27 September 2025. Tickets from cluelessonstage.com
