Exclusive Interview: Eliza Doolittle Bids For Peace One Day

She may have released a song titled ‘Pack Up’ but Eliza Doolittle has far from packed up all of her troubles. The singer-songwriter tells Mark Willis exactly why we need to put a stop to violence once and for all!

Eliza recently supported Gary Barlow as the opening act on his UK arena tour and we caught up with her to find out what she would change in the world if she could. Explaining her passion to reduce incidents of violence, Eliza said: “It makes me so sad how much we hurt each other and our environment.”

Violence is a massive issue in the United Kingdom and while figures may be decreasing, there are still huge amounts of violent crimes taking place every year. According to statistics released by the NHS, 235,000 people were treated following a violent attack in England and Wales last year.

Eliza Doolittle isn’t a woman of just words though; she also takes action and promotes peace by being an education ambassador for the Peace One Day campaign. She explained her reasons for getting involved:

“It's an amazing charity that raises money and awareness for the day itself. I find it hard to believe that there isn’t one day that goes by where someone doesn't get killed or hurt in some way. The whole idea is if we can make peace happen for one day, why can't we make it happen every day? We have to start somewhere!”

Peace One Day was founded by Jeremy Gilley in 1999 and since then, the 21st September has been marked as a day of non-violence. The campaign’s aim is to promote peace and encourage more people to get involved.

We spoke to Ben Harrington, another of Peace One Day’s education ambassadors, who explained how having Eliza Doolittle on the team helps the campaign. He said: “She reaches out to a wider audience with a message, a powerful message, to unite people around Peace Day. When it’s heard, it’s the power of the message that affects people.

“When people hear it from people they look up to such as Eliza Doolittle or any sort of celebrity then it not only increases the reach of the message but it also increases the power of the message that people receive.”

As well as promoting Peace One Day in interviews and on social media, Eliza helps spread the message about the campaign by hosting workshops and attending special events. Ben spoke about her involvement:

“What Eliza has done is she has gone on school visits to talk to children about peace. She’s also done Skype talks for Peace One Day talking to young people about: the story of Peace One Day, the purpose of it and how they can become involved.

“She is basically an education ambassador for Peace One Day, as I am. The aim is that humanity can come together in a way that’s never been known before and we can use that day as a platform for a wider hope that we can overcome fundamental issues that humanity faces.”

Events for Peace One Day take place across all sectors of society in order to encourage as many people as possible to engage with the project. It’s a worldwide campaign and this year, they’re focusing on work in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Howard Buffett has helped fund a three year project over there which aims to help bring peace day to the area.



Interestingly, it isn’t just violence towards other humans that Eliza Doolittle would like to put a stop to. As well as encouraging days of peace, the ‘Skinny Genes’ singer also cares for animals and thinks that people in general eat far too much meat. She explained her views: “I actually am an ex-vegetarian! I just started eating meat about 6 months ago. I have nothing against it. It was just the way I was brought up. I do think that people eat way too much meat though. I am up for promoting meat free days!

“It’s not just for our health but also to prevent the numbers of farmed cows - they exhale methane - it's so bad for the environment. Sounds silly but I've read that it's one of the major problems.”

Cows are each thought to release an average of 70 to 120 kg of methane every year. Methane harms the environment in regards to the greenhouse effect and many people believe that cows and methane are therefore causes of global warming.

Touring with Gary Barlow is clearly one of this year’s highlights for Eliza Doolittle. As well as opening for Gary’s shows, she also performed duets with him on stage. The pair sang Take That’s hit single ‘Shine’ together and they impressed crowds across the country each night. We asked Eliza how she found the tour.

“It's been great! I loved playing the new songs to such lovely crowds and behind the scenes, it's a really fun crew so I had a really good time.”

Life on the road must be pretty busy and we couldn't help but wonder what Eliza got up to when she was off stage. We asked her if she had any particular hobbies or interests.

“I'm usually working, making music in my dressing room but I love to watch football, train with the band (we've been doing insanity!), eat yummy food, watch box sets - I'm watching Californication (I never saw it before). And I'm reading a book called Howard's End too. It’s all about connecting.”

Eliza Doolittle’s debut album was self-titled and it peaked at number 3 in the UK album charts. Her second record ‘In Your Hands’ followed last year and she explained that it's a lot more personal than her first album.

“In Your Hands is a true account of the year and a half I wrote it in. I went through things lots of people my age go through – I figured out a lot about myself. It has fun care free moments but it also delves more than I ever have before. More than I did on my first record. In that way it's different, since I show a lot more of myself.“

While violence might be a subject close to Eliza’s heart, she’s keeping secrets about her third album close to her chest. We asked if she’d been planning how her next record was going to sound.

“Yes! I’m very excited about it actually! I’ve gotta keep it secret though!!”

Last year, Eliza released her summer anthem ‘Big When I Was Little’ which charted at number 12 in the UK singles chart. When she was little though, what did Eliza see herself doing when she was big?

“It's hard to imagine not being one (a singer) - but I love all things creative-designing, acting, art, fashion - maybe I would have tried my hand at one of those. I also loved the idea of being a taxi driver when I was a kid! I love driving and I love London!”

We’re glad Eliza took the path she did. Taxi journeys in London could have been a lot more fun for some passengers but the rest of us would be missing out on Eliza’s amazing music.

At the moment, it’s not yet known when Eliza will be releasing her third album but we’re sure it’ll be worth the wait. In the meantime, she’ll be continuing to show her support for Peace One Day.

You can help make a difference and find out how to get involved with Peace One Day here.

For more information about animal rights, visit the PETA's official website here.