My parents had a great love of music. They were both amateur singers, who belonged to G&S societies and the like when I was little. I come from an Irish and Scottish background and there were a lot of singers in the family, so I grew up with music all around me. It was almost like my first language, music.

One of my earliest memories is my mum taking me to see Jesus Christ Superstar, the original Australian production with Trevor White and Jon English. I remember thinking, “I don’t know what this is, but that’s what I’m going to do.”

Marina Prior performing at the 2017 BRAVO Cruise of Performing Arts. Photo supplied

I used to play guitar and sing in cafes and bars from the age of 15 – [songs by] Joni Mitchell and Joan Baez, that kind of stuff. I also used to sing with bands. I thought I was going to be Kate Bush – but she was already taken!

Twenty years later, I would have probably gone to WAAPA or NIDA, but back then, in the ‘olden days’, the only thing...