The Puppini Sisters

The Puppini Sisters are an English close harmony trio composed of Italian-born singer Marcella Puppini and English singers Kate Mullins and Emma Smith. The group are associated with a modern revival in burlesque dancing and costume.

 

 

Although the three women are not related, the name was chosen in tribute to The Andrew Sisters, an American close harmony group of the swing and boogie-woogie eras. You may also recognise their voices in Michael Buble’s Jingle Bells…

 

 

Tell us about your latest project

 

 

 

We’ve just released four new Christmas songs that could possibly be the campest, most festive thing ever…

 

 

 

We’re going to be celebrating the holiday season with a show at The Union Chapel on the 20^th December.

 

 

 

What was your favourite place to visit in London as a kid, and why?

 

 

Kate: When I was about 11 years old, my Dad became the Director of The London Transport Museum in Covent Garden. With my brother acting as chaperone (who was 14 at the time), my mum would put us on the train from our hometown in Hertfordshire up to London and my Dad would pick us up the other end. This was quite an exciting amount of freedom to have as a kid (and probably not what parents would allow today!). Then, we’d arrive at the museum and get our own personal tour around the galleries after hours.

 

 

 

 

 

I just remember it being feeling like such a magical place to be with all the old buses and trains and no other visitors around. My Dad is still in that role nearly 25 years later and I’ve sung in a band with my Dad and his museum colleagues since I was a goth-y teenager! It’s such a special place and Dad helped to create such special memories, both personal and musical amongst those fabulous, old relics.

 

 

Where is your favourite place to eat as a family?

 

Kate: you know what, I’d have to say, at home! We really don’t go out for meals very much as a family because we’d much prefer to spend time planning, cooking and eating delicious, special meals together at home. We LOVE our food and it’s just become our thing!

 

 

 

 

 

What would be your perfect day as a family?

 

Kate: My wonderful little stepson Noah (who’s 10) is really into his fossiling and as we live down in Dorset these days (nicknamed The Jurassic Coast for all its fossil hunting and finds!), we often end up going down to Charmouth or Lyme Regis beach, having a stomp on the beach, cracking open some rocks diging through the shale, getting some fish and chips then heading to the arcade for a decent romp on the 2p machines. That sounds like a pretty perfect day to us.

 

 

 

 

Where in the UK would you recommend to another family?

 

 

Kate: We spend a lot of time together as a family up in Yorkshire as that’s where my husband is from. It’s a big county with so much to offer both in land and on the coast. The moors, the crumbling Victorian seaside towns and the industrial heritage are just so endlessly fascinating and the juxtaposition of those two things of the industrial, man-made, and the wild, windy terrain is just so dramatic. Lots of walks and picnics and running through the heather picking bilberries ensues!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Name three places you love going (with your kids.)

 

 

 

 

Kate: The beach, the moors or some old castle/ruined house for an explore around the grounds.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Can you recommend a great shop in London?

 

 

 

 

Marcella: I absolutely love Cowling and Wilcox, the art shop chain. When I was a Fashion student at Central St Martins it was my Mecca, and I can still get lost in there for hours staring at oil pastel hues. Incidentally, as a student, I boarded with Mr Wilcox’s family in Hampstead – certainly not because they were in need of a lodger, but because Mr Wilcox was an amateur opera singer, and he enjoyed learning duets with me. Although he is long gone, I can still feel his eccentric presence in his shops, and I think that’s what makes them magical places.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Do you have a favourite park?

 

 

 

Marcella: My loyalty is with Victoria Park because it’s around the corner from my place, and it’s where I go whenever I want to take a short walk, but Springfield Park is its own little world. It’s amazing how much wildlife can exist in the middle of the city.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Bus, tube, taxi, walk or cycle?

 

 

 

 

Marcella: Walk, always. My dream would be to have underground roads for the cars, or no cars at all (sorry, drivers!), and to be able to walk anywhere on fully pedestrianised roads full of outdoor cafes and restaurants. Not the most practical of dreams, I know, but hey, practicality is not what dreams are for.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Give us a #Londonlifehack.

 

 

 

 

Marcella: Not a hack per se, but it’s a rule that always stands me in good stead. Walk everywhere, and always remember to look up! There’s a whole other world up there, that we often forget to enjoy.