The first time writer Lucy Prebble met singer-songwriter Rebecca Lucy Taylor, AKA Self Esteem, they both walked out of the West End play they had just been watching. “It wasn’t a bad play, we just wanted to talk to each other,” Prebble laughs as she recounts the story. “So if people leave my own plays from now on, I’m not going to assume that they hate it, I’m going to assume that life is more interesting.” She is a star mind you. Commands the stage with an expression of private amusement, vocals drifting through octaves and ranges seemingly without effort, eyes closed to the memories of her own pain, managed by the knowledge that in turning it into art, it’s a least shared with those who need it, who might need to find it. The shared compassion, the ecstatic release, the adoration, this is how you imagine southern gothic churches raising the roof, raising the dead. This was in the end, the happiest of places, a celebration for us all. Self Esteem is currently due to resume her tour in support of Prioritise Pleasure this weekend (November 6) after being forced to postpone this week’s dates due to illness. a b Wadia, Helena (21 February 2019). "How Rebecca Taylor found her self-esteem". The Line of Best Fit . Retrieved 18 October 2020.

Taylor was made an honorary Doctor of Music at the University of Sheffield on 17 July 2023 "in recognition of her success in the music industry and public championing of inclusivity and diversity". [65] [66] She has also been recognised with a photographic portrait hung in the National Portrait Gallery in London. [67] Style and influences [ edit ] Snapes, Laura (1 March 2019). "Self Esteem: Compliments Please review – sly, covetous pop". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077 . Retrieved 20 March 2019.

Listening to Self Esteem songs, it does feel as though Taylor has the answers that a lot of people are searching for, particularly as we question what we prioritise in a post-Covid world. It is hard-won knowledge, though. As a child of the 80s, a woman and a pretty solid Libra, she “learned to survive by putting everyone else’s needs before mine”, which led to a lot of anger and frustration. “That caused quite a lot of difficult mental health journeys.” a b Hunt, El (20 August 2021). "Self Esteem: "I want to use the palatable nature of pop to Trojan horse in my agenda" ". NME . Retrieved 26 March 2023. The record charted at No.11 on the Official UK Albums Chart, giving Taylor her first Top 20 record. This year has also seen her be honored with the BBC Music Introducing Artist Of The Year 2021 award and the trophy for the Attitude Music Award 2021.

Sagar, Sharuna (23 July 2023). "BBC Proms: Self Esteem shines as Sage Gateshead hosts festival". BBC . Retrieved 25 July 2023. BBC Proms - 2023 - Proms at Sage Gateshead: Self Esteem and the Royal Northern Sinfonia - BBC Sounds". www.bbc.co.uk . Retrieved 5 August 2023. They will join existing Cabaret stars Nathan Ives Moiba as Cliff Bradshaw, Beverley Klein as Fraulein Schneider and Teddy Kempner as Herr Schultz, with Emily Benjamin playing Sally Bowles at certain performances to 18 October, and then Nic Myers playing the alternate Sally from 19 October. Keep Lyrics Uncomfortable" - featured on the bass drum skin on Self Esteem live gigs in 2021 and 2022 [79] [6]

Taylor, right, in Slow Club with former bandmate Charles Watson. Photograph: Andy Earl/Andy Earl Universal Records

Interview with Rebecca Lucy Taylor (AKA Self Esteem) for Taskmaster's New Year Treat". Beyond The Joke. 27 December 2022 . Retrieved 9 January 2023. LP: I create with Billie Piper but I Hate Suzie was still very personal and I was convinced that it would be Marmite because of that. I was therefore so surprised by the number of people who loved it. What surprised me is that the more specific you are, and the more vulnerable you are, the more people respond. In Succession, Jesse Armstrong makes the final decisions but they pass through everybody first, so while it is much better for my mental health, since there are set hours and you see other people, it is more creatively diluted. I Hate Suzie is the first piece where I don’t feel like I’m trying to please somebody else Lucy Prebble Self Esteem's Rebecca Lucy Taylor on Prioritise Pleasure - The Skinny". www.theskinny.co.uk . Retrieved 26 March 2023. Self Esteem: When we met I was in my old band and very unhappy, so an opportunity in anything else felt like a way out. As a kid I was obsessed with doing musical theatre but that dream turned into being in an indie band where I ultimately felt creatively stifled. Theatre seemed like an escape, and while I’m still fannying around with it, now that my actual career is finally more galvanised, its power is fading. Finally not being desperate made everything better… I stopped trying to have a hit and then had one Self EsteemEpisode 35: Rebecca Lucy Taylor (aka Self Esteem) - Listen - Seldom Differ's". chartable.com . Retrieved 25 September 2023. When Taylor wrote her breakout single, last year’s I Do This All the Time, she knew she had “nailed it”, she admitted. In Slow Club, she had always tried to write hits and failed. When she first went solo, she investigated the world of cowriting with other songwriters and hated it. “With Prioritise Pleasure, forcibly, because of the pandemic, I was on my own. I wrote it with no end in sight, and that’s how this album happened. And, of course, as soon as you stop trying, the universe [hands you a gift]. Not to be all ‘live laugh love’ but … ‘live laugh love’ is important, isn’t it.” Self Esteem with Alexis Petridis at William’s Green stage, Glastonbury festival. Photograph: Alicia Canter/the Guardian But better still is the utterly brilliant “Mother”, a dark, rumbling dance banger with some whispered vocals that seems to scold a love interest (there’s a repeated mantra of “I am not your mother”) and demand respect (“I just want to be heard”). As Taylor and band writhe around the stage in dark red, Taylor in cowgirl hat, dancers in balaclavas, the overall effect is something akin to the transgression of Peaches. Self Esteem MK 3 might well be destined for the club – what a prospect.

Snapes, Laura (25 June 2022). " 'I took a job as a fairy in a panto': Self Esteem interviewed at Glastonbury". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077 . Retrieved 23 March 2023. Singh, Surej (26 July 2022). "Mercury Prize 2022 shortlist revealed". NME . Retrieved 26 July 2022.Lavin, Will (23 August 2021). "Self Esteem takes aim at the objectification of women on new single 'How Can I Help You' ". NME . Retrieved 22 March 2023. Roskilde Festival 2024 announce first wave of artists including Kali Uchis, PJ Harvey, Romy, and more