Charlotte addresses the Oxford Union - 17 November 2003

=Introduction=

On Monday night, November 17th, Charlotte was the youngest person ever to address the Oxford Union. The Union is the world's foremost debating society, with a deserved reputation for bringing international guests and speakers to Oxford. It has been established for 175 years, aiming to promote debate and discussion not just in Oxford University, but across the globe.

=Pictures=

=CharlotteTV=

Thanks to UKMark and Dave
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A feature on the tradition of the Oxford Union speakers was aired on Welsh Language Channel S4C. The programme is called Wedi7.
It was made on the day of Charlotte's speech and is in Welsh (!) so it will be fun to see if anyone manages to translate it into English.

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=Press=

NEW! Press Scan | 27 November 2003 - OxfordStudent

Get me to the Church on time

James Coatsworth talks exclusively to former "Rear of the Year" Charlotte Church on growing up in the media spotlight, just after her big announcement at The Union.

by James Coatsworth

Charlotte Church is one of Britain's most famous musicians, one of the tabloids' favourite targets and past holder of the coveted 'Rear of the Year' award. Most remarkably of all she has achieved all of this before her 18th birthday. It is clear though that fame has come at a price and that Miss Church has had something of a traumatic time in recent years, particularly over her relationships with her mother and her boyfriend.

The first thing that becomes clear when you meet her is that she is remarkably normal and entirely approachable. She is also very mature for a 17 year-old, which demonstrates how distorted the image of her presented by the media really is.

We started off by discussing her typical non-working day: "I'm not up before eleven if I can help it and I'll help myself to a nice bacon sarnie." Church seemed like a girl from my own heart. "I'm very big on fruit juices and I've got loads of different ones at home and I'll usually drink some whilst generally lazing around and watching some daytime T.V." She added that she'll "usually pop around a mate's house or go shopping at the local ASDA" and that she'd finish the day with a take-away, even though she describes herself as "quite good at cooking". She'd be off to bed at about 2 am - a fairly normal day, as you can see, for a teenage girl. There have however been plenty of abnormal days: the ones when she met the Pope, Bill Clinton and George W. Bush, for instance. She revealed that when she met the current President of The United States he came across as "quite knowledgeable", even if he did ask her which state Wales was in.

When asked who she most admired Church gave what might seem like typical answers for a girl of her age, though clearly she 'enjoys' more insight into their lives than most. "I really admire Nicole Kidman because she's just really cool and is an amazing actress. Kylie has proved her talent by becoming big in the U.S., and I have a lot of respect for Britney Spears as she dealt with her very public break-up very well. She's a really strong chick."

Trying to get a better understanding of the person behind the media persona, I asked Charlotte who it is that she turned to when she wanted good advice. "My best friend Naomi. I love her to bits and I've known her since I was five. She gave me some really good advice on men that basically said that there's some men who'll make you cry and that they're not really the special one."

Church also revealed that Moulin Rouge is her favourite film and that 'If You Love Me' by Brownstone is the song that she'll listen to if she's feeling emotional. She loves to drive along with it blasting out of the stereo.

I thought it would be interesting to know what the girl with the multi-million pound bank account wants for Christmas. "An I-Pod" she answered, apparently revealing herself to be one of those artists who is not uncomfortable with the idea of file-sharing, though I thought that it would be cruel to challenge her on this subject as it seemed like a perfectly reasonable present request. She then asked whether the presents had to be "realistic or whether they could be fantastical". Intrigued, I informed her that she could let her imagination run wild, and she certainly did: "I think it'd be really cool to visit Hogwarts. I would love to spend a day in Harry Potter World! I've also thought that it'd be really interesting to visit ancient Egypt." Those were definitely not the answers I'd been anticipating, but she reassured me that she'd also appreciate the usual clothes and make-up, cementing my view of her as a fairly typical adolescent.

We discussed the last gigs that she'd been to. "I saw Christina Aguilera at Wembley Arena, though I was pretty ill that night so I only got to hear a couple of tracks. Before that I saw Prince and Craig David in Hong Kong and Robbie Williams, Bon Jovi and the Manics." Church is clearly someone that appreciates her music and, though this may seem like an obvious comment, she also demonstrates a great deal of respect for 'pop' artists, which is slightly unusual from someone in the classical sector. Even when she revealed to the audience earlier in the evening that "Victoria Beckham doesn't have a very good voice", she only did so because she felt those present deserved an honest answer and that it would be unfair to say she didn't think anyone sang poorly. She told me that she could occasionally be "too honest for her own good", and this is a view that her mother and agent clearly agreed with: they had been trying to convince her that she shouldn't have answered the question about which singer she didn't really respect, fully aware that it would be that, and not her call for more protection for under eighteens from the media, that would be the story the papers picked up on. This was something I liked about Church, the fact that she was aware of the consequences but still wanted to be honest above all else.

Her ambitions for the future are also most endearing: "I don't want to be around for too long - I intend to retire and enjoy life." She indicated that the moment she stops enjoying what she does or feels the public doesn't want her anymore she'll step out of the limelight, content with what she's achieved. "All I really want is a huge family and to spend the rest of my life chilling with loads of Pomeranians [Charlotte's favourite type of dog]".

I asked her to tell the readers of The OxStu something about her that they didn't already know. "Let them know that I'm really quite normal." This is a sentiment that I have to agree with:

Charlotte was certainly the most normal teenage megastar that I've met, but then again I've never bumped into Wayne Rooney.

Press Scan | 21 November 2003 - Cherwell in print

Church is Union’s youngest speaker
by Katie Mickelthwaite

On Monday night, the Oxford Union gave an enthusiastic reception to its youngest ever speaker, 17-year-old classical music star Charlotte Church.
Ms Church spoke to a packed chamber about the ups and downs of fame and the dangers of being thrust into the media spotlight at a young age.

She also called for the implementation of a privacy law to protect minors in the public eye from press intrusion, following her own widely publicised lawsuit against her fomer manager in 2000 and her more recent issues over unsuitable boyfriends and her alleged drinking and smoking habits.

The 30-minute speech was followed by questions from the audience. The star granted one member’s request by performing an impromptu rendition of Gershwin’s “Summertime”.

The final question, however, posed more of a challenge: when asked whether she would rather give up sex or singing, Ms Church declined to answer on the grounds that her family was present.

Press Scan | 18 November 2003 - BBC News

Singer Church demands privacy law

Church's personal life has been in the media spotlight

Singer Charlotte Church, whose family rows became headline news, has called for a privacy law for the under-18s.

Church, the youngest person to speak to the Oxford Union, said she regretted being "too honest" with the media.

"There must be some way of balancing freedom of the press with the need for a child, even a famous child, to have more privacy," the 17-year-old said.

When asked to name her least favourite singer, the soprano replied: "Ms Beckham hasn't got the best of voices."

But Church spent most of her 30-minute speech to the venerable institution criticising the way the media treated her, her boyfriend and her family.

I hope that people other than me will have the privacy they deserve

Charlotte Church

There have been numerous press reports over the last two years about her boyfriend, Steven Johnson, who has been depicted as a bad-boy DJ.

But she told the union her he was stereotyped by the media because he was "mixed race, from the wrong side of Cardiff, a hip-hop dude".

He was really a shy, sensitive music producer, she said.

That has also led to speculation about her relationship with her mother.

Standing ovation

"I think the UK is in dire need of a privacy law, if not for everyone then at least for the under-18s," Church said.

Approaching her 18th birthday, she said she would soon be too old to benefit.

"But I hope that people other than me will have the privacy they deserve."

Church got a standing ovation from the 450-strong audience after giving an impromptu rendition of Summertime.

Press Scan | 17 November 2003 - PA News

By Danny Kemp

Singing sensation Charlotte Church launched an attack on Victoria Beckham’s musical talents when she addressed the Oxford Union today.

The 17-year-old had students at the debating society in stitches when she told them the former Spice Girl “hasn’t got the best of voices”.

Miss Church, who became the youngest person to address the union, also used her appearance to call for a privacy law for under-18s.

The Welsh soprano spent most of a 30 minute speech criticising the way the media had treated her, her boyfriend and her family.

Accompanied a slide show of newspaper headlines, she said she regretted being “too honest” in her dealings with the press.

But she could not resist the temptation to give her views on Victoria Beckham when asked about her favourite and least favourite singers.

She said her favourites were Prince and Sting, then stopped and giggled when it came to the second part of the question.

Miss Church pleadingly looked at her mother Maria and her manager in the audience, apparently for guidance on whether or not to answer.

But after cries of: “Go on” from students, she said: “Miss Beckham hasn’t got the best of voices” – before quickly adding: “But good songs.”

She said Christina Aguilera had a “brilliant voice” and doing a duet with Kylie Minogue would be “cool”.

She showed off her own vocal skills, winning a standing ovation from the 450 students in the debating chamber for her rendition of Summertime.

The only question she refused to answer was whether she would rather give up sex or singing saying her grandparents were in the audience.

The Cardiff-born singer earlier said she had a “practical proposal” because of her frustration with “negative” media coverage.

She said: “I think the UK is in dire need of a privacy law, if not for everyone then at least for the under-18s.

“There must be some way of balancing freedom of the press with the need for a child, even a famous child, to have more privacy.

“Rather stupidly I left it until three months before my 18th birthday, so I won’t benefit.

“But I hope that people other than me will have the privacy they deserve.”

She claimed her “bad boy” lover Steven Johnson was stereotyped by the media because he was “mixed race, from the wrong side of Cardiff, a hip-hop dude”.

In reality he was a shy, sensitive music producer, she said.

The audience were also shown a video of Charlotte discussing celebrity culture with Daily Mirror editor Piers Morgan.

Oxford Union president Marcus Walker said she was a young lady “with the voice of an angel”.

Press Scan | 16 November 2003 - Wales On Sunday

Church inspires
By Angharad Mair