Emma Stevenson

Name: Emma Stevenson
Age: 20
From: Melbourne, Australia
Date Of Birth: 9/12/79
Fave Tina Songs: Chains, Burn, Greatest Gift, Wasn't It Good, Sorrento Moon,
Standing Up, No Shame, Sixteen Years, Not For Sale, Now I Can Dance, Woman's
Work, Aller Plus Haut, Live, The Bohemienne Song
Best Tina Moments:
1. In Deep Live concert- Melbourne, December 13th, `97.  A b'day present from my family (god bless `em!).  My cousin worked for bass so I was very fortunate to have front row tickets, which I shared with my friend, Anna Garland, who loves Tina to bits too.  We both had an absolute blast, and i know that I will always cherish that night in particular because I was able to express to Tina my gratitude and respect.  I gave Tina a small gift just before she began to thank the audience, the band, sony, etc.  Initially Tina was taken back, but I told her she deserved a gift, and she smiled at me warmly and said thank-you.
2. Seeing Tina at RCM when Rhiannon was doing her work experience there around the middle of `98.
Fave Tina Cover Art: Chains, Wasn't It Good, Burn, Show Me Heaven, If I
Didn't Love You, Aller Plus Haut.
Rarest Tina CD I Own: a vinyl record of "I need your body".

The Story:

It was a Wednesday in June `98, that I was very fortunate to have a brief chat to Tina while she was at RCM.  My friend, Rhiannon Morley was doing her Year 11 work experience at RCM because she wants to work in the music industry in the future.  Anna, Rhiannon and I had all been friends and huge Tina fans for quite some time, and because Rhiannon lives in the country, our opportunities to catch up with her were limited.  So naturally when Rhiannon told Anna and I that she was staying in a hostel in Melbourne for the 5 days to complete her work experience here, we were delighted.  We decided to meet up with Rhiannon at RCM, and I remember walking up the stairs and being very impressed with the shiny floorboards and the lovely italian couch.  Anna and I soon spotted Rhiannon lingering in the room.  The office had such a cosy, welcoming feeling about it, and such a vibrant feel too, with all the Tina posters and plaques on the walls.  Anna and I were enjoying soaking up the atmosphere so much, that it took us a while to notice this petite lady sitting on the floor in discussion with another lady.  I immediately recognised her as Tina, and admitedly, i got an attack of stagefright- a rush of nervousness and delight.  Tina then got up from the floor and as she was walking towards us, she asked Rhiannon is she was right to get home because it was getting dark outside.  Rhiannon replied that we'd come to pick her up.  Tina looked at Anna and I then, and I think she worked it out pretty fast why we were still there.  Anna introduced herself and stuck out her hand, which Tina shook, telling Anna is was great to meet her.  Anna became very animated then and started chatting at a hundred miles an hour to Tina, asking her if she remembered us from the concert, and if she remembered her e-mails.  Anna was really cute and funny, and got Tina chuckling away, and me with a big grin on my face.  Tina replied to Anna saying she remembered us from the concert and congratulated her for getting in to the Melbourne Youth Orchestrer.  Tina has replied to Anna's e-mail talking about that just a few days before, and Anna was touched that she remebered.  Just in the same way that I was very stoked that Tina remembered who I was.  I told Tina it was lovely to meet her and she accepted my handshake.  As soon as I said my name, Tina looked quite guilty and started apologising about not returning my e-mails.  I was so surprised that Tina actually remembered me, and told her that, and she smiled and went on to tell us about how busy she'd been lately, continously apologising for the delay with the e-mails.  Tina told us time constraints made it really difficult for her to write more than a couple of lines on each e-mail even though she wished she could write more.  Tina seemed quite guilt-ridden about the whole thing, so I told her not to worry about the e-mails and that everyone understands how busy she is.  Anna agreed with me too and Tina seemed to appreciate that because she smiled and hanged the topic to her up coming schedule.  Amongst other things, Tina told us she was going to the U.S. soon to release In Deep, and Anna and I wished her good luck.  Tina smiled and then told us she was still pretty busy with work, so we all took the hint and made our way towards the stairs.  The conversation was probably no more than 10 minutes, but it was an insight and memory that i will always treasure.  Tina is such a friendly and down-to-earth lady, but I think what struck me the most about her was how honest and giving she is.  Tina truly gives a shit about her fans, I could see the honesty on her face, she doesn't want to disappoint them.  And she's totally committed to her work, at the expense of everything else.  Another thing that became obvious to me is that Tina is a great communicator, not only through her music, but as a person.  She is very approachable and confident, and appeared very comfortable in her own skin.  anyway, if you've read this far, you deserve a medal :)  take care everyone!
Emma xox