Eddy Armani, who has contributed astronomically to the music industry, is most known for being Tina Turner’s former PA and best friend. My chat with her covers Tina’s own mental health struggles on her rise to fame and how this affected Eddy. We also discuss how persistence and hard work can really propel you into the life you envision for yourself.
Eddy, thank you so much for being here with me today and gracing us with your amazing presence!
You’re more than welcome and thank you for offering because we’ve spoken back and forth, and you’ve come up with some very interesting things and kind of made me think about a lot of other things in a different type of way. I’m ready to expose and to talk about these things that I haven’t really spoken about before.
You are probably best known for being Tina Turner’s former PA and best friend. However, you’ve accomplished so much in your own right, and I would love to know how that has shaped you, where that’s led you and how your experience with her has made you into the person that you are today, Eddy Armani.
Yes, Tina was my everything. She taught me and opened my eyes to the world of performing. I realised; I want some of that! I wanted that applause. I wanted to get on that stage. I wanted to open my mouth in front of a microphone and sing. She inspired me to find out more things about myself that I kind of felt, but I didn’t really know. And that was to pursue a life, a career.
I took baby steps in pursuing my solo career as Tina’s career was taken off into orbit. So, it was fantastic, and she was very supportive. She never actually came to see me because she was so busy with everything that she had to do but it was kind of good in a way because I wanted the chance to find out really who I was, and Eddy Armani I knew was there.
I knew that I had had a desire to write songs from a young age. There was an American dance show called Soul Train and I used to dance on Soul Train with Jodie Watley and Jeffrey Daniels from Shalamar. We were old friends starting out back in those days. And so, I got a little taste of that buzz of the spotlight of being in front of the camera and then acting up a bit.
You put it beautifully to me the other day. You said Tina was the headliner and Eddy Armani was the supporting act. I knew my position, and I loved my position, because there’s no one like Tina. I learned everything that I know about the business, from Tina which enabled me to put my band together.
I got Glenn Matlock from the Sex Pistols to play bass for me. He put the band together and got the other musicians, James Stevenson, James Halliwell, and they all were working. Glenn was in charge and put the band together for me. And Glenn and I got on like a house on fire. We wrote songs together and we just instantly hit it off. And we come from two different backgrounds. Glenn comes from the punk era, you know, Sex Pistols. And I like the Sex Pistols, but that wasn’t really my kind of music. I come from a more rock R&B, upbringing type of thing.
We wrote some great songs, and we got out there and the next thing I know, little Eddy Armani is playing in a couple little dives and in London pubs, gentlemen’s clubs, etc. I knew that when I had their attention, I had that ‘buzz’. What happens in your body makes it so addictive and makes you want to do more. The applause and then looking at all those different faces and they’re checking you out and you are checking them out. You must deliver to them, and you know if something does not work. It’s a challenge but you learn.
I believed in what I did. I love songwriting.
You must have experienced some challenges starting out on your own. How did you deal with those? Are you the type of person that takes things in your stride and learns as you go? Or do you seek a close team around you for advice when you need it?
I’ve always been a little bit of a recluse. I didn’t have a lot of friends growing up. I used to stay in my bedroom and listen to a lot of music. The mirror was my best friend, and you know that old cliche where you hold the hairbrush and you sing in the mirror? That was me.
I always think performing in front of strangers is easier than friends. Friends and the people you know are the hard crowd, because what they can’t accept sometimes is that it’s not me, Eddy performing, its Eddy Armani!
I will ask for people’s opinion on what they think. However, I’m a bit strong -willed. I know what I want, and I know how I want to present myself. I don’t look at myself as black or white or green or purple! I like long straight hair; I like wearing converse and running around the stage and jumping up in the air and acting a fool. There’s no safety net, it’s just me out there.
Thats beautiful. And when you’re not being Eddie Armani on stage, what are you doing? How do you recharge?
I like my own company. I’m very good with my own company. I have a love for dogs. I love dogs. I’m staying with a friend of mine who has a bulldog rescuer. And she has four bulldogs at a time. And they’ve just adopted me, I’ve adopted them. My friend goes past my room sometimes and say’s ‘Eddy, who’s in there with you?’ And I go, ‘just me and the baby!’
Honestly, they have been my saving grace.
You mentioned just now the love that you can get from dogs was your saving grace and I know you’re passionate about prayer. Do you hold a Christian faith?
Yes, I was brought up Baptist and I was brought up in the church. I went to church on Sunday, and I sang in the choir and all that. I’ve always prayed, I’ve always believed, since I was six years old. I prayed Tina Turner into my life. I was on my knees every night, praying, praying.
You must be looking back at your career today and thinking Wow, there were key moments where I really learned something which changed who I was as a person. Not just as a performer who gets on stage and puts on a show. What is it about your personality which you feel makes you feel whole?
I’ve always had a lot of self -love. I was very fortunate. But there were a lot of lonely times. You know, there are a lot of lonely times with me just me and my invisible friends. They kept me going. So I think that with my prayer my faith good family and friends, but I really did.
I was always one of those kinds of kids, too. I listened a lot. I listened a lot. And I loved being around older, mature people. I mean, I was one of those kids that would be hiding in the corner just listening to all the adult conversation. I would sit with my grandparents, aunts, uncles and listen to all their stories. And those stories would give me faith. You know what it was? I never felt that I didn’t have wings. I always felt I could fly. And I could fly. I flew into a lot of brick walls. Trust me. Not looking where I’m going, but I strap my wings on and I go out to fly.
But you kept going, you were persistent, and you didn’t stop. Didn’t you call Tina Turner’s music studio every day before they finally agreed a meeting?
Every day after school. I don’t take no for an answer. I’m the kind of person, honestly and truly, if it is close to no, then I’m going to find a way around it because I don’t believe in no. I think no is a coward’s way out or I think it’s laziness or I think it’s like you’re not interested enough.
Rejection can also be a blessing because it’s redirection into a yes. God says no to you, pulling you back because there’s a car coming, and you can’t see it.
Tina introduced me to Buddhism and that opened the door for me in a different way. Buddhism brought me a lot to deal with and there were some rough times that I went through, unsure how I would get through. I can be quite a dramatic person, throwing my toys out the pram and all that, but I always prayed for strength.
One of the first solo’s I had in the church had lyrics which I’ll never forget. They were, ‘Lord, don’t move the mountain, give me the strength to climb’. That’s always been my motto.
When you feel emotional pain, I always try to feel very grateful. When I lost Tina, I was in so much pain. I had Tina for 20 -something years. I slept in this woman’s bed. I drove her car. I cooked for her. She was my best friend. She taught me to sing, to walk, to talk to dance. There comes a time when you have to kind of like let it go, you know? Letting go is loving. And it’s no bad thing to just feel things deeply because it makes you stronger.
The saying ‘What does it kill you makes you stronger’ is so true! There were times where I would cry myself to sleep. But then I would wake up and the sun would be shining and it’s a beautiful day. The first thing I would think is, wow, I’m still here. Then I think with my religion and with what I’ve been given, how dare you complain? How dare you complain? All the opportunities and the things that you have.
What is success to you?
People confuse success with ‘making it’. Success is when you personally, when you decide, and you make your dreams come true. 100%. Nobody else can do that, but you. And it’s not on a level of this and that. You cannot compare yourself with other people’s lives. We’re so blessed.
I moved back to Los Angeles for just a short period of time and was unsure what I was going to do. Nobody was really interested in Eddy Armani, the performer. My best friend, Joey Santos and his brother, Perry Santos, opened a Cuban restaurant, and they gave me a job as a bartender.
I was the worst bartender ever. I could never make the drink the same twice. I mean, it was awful. One day, I went home crying feeling awful. Joey said to me ‘oh Eddy, snap out of it. Go home and tomorrow we will work out what to do’.
The next day, I showed up and he gave me an apron. I thought he was going to have me in the kitchen washes dishes – but he had me on the floor. I was going to be a waiter. I didn’t feel like I could do it. Well, a week later, I was the top waiter. Selling and serving, and I loved it.
One day, this woman sat in my section. She always came, and I got her a little drink, and she wouldn’t order any food or anything and whatever. Anyway, she was a talent scout. She was coming in there, and she had been watching me. And next thing I know, she offers me a part in a movie. Now I’m in a movie with James Spader and Rob Lowe. Only in Hollywood!
I love that you needed a job, so you got one. You were not operating out of a place of ego – and look what happened! You kept going. You did what you needed to do. I think that’s what I love about you, Eddy, is you’re so persistent and you don’t take no for an answer.
Eddy Armanis book The Real T & Me amzn.eu/d/0w1AGOS
Reporter: Gemma Gordon @gemmaegordon
