She’s now a megastar who flies to LA and back twice a week. And she writes the majority of her own songs, making her the perfect example of British creativity, which Red is celebrating by shooting her with our favourite fashion stars: milliner Stephen Jones, designer Henry Holland, shoe god Rupert Sanderson and NEWGEN winner Ryan Lo.Įllie Goulding is 29, grew up on a council estate on the Welsh borders, and was told by music teachers she couldn’t sing. This month, she’s nominated for two more Brits for Love Me Like You Do – which went stratospheric and became the fourth-biggest single of 2015 (Adele’s Hello is at number six). As anyone would be if they had spent the past few years selling 30 million records, gaining almost nine million Instagram followers, hanging out in Taylor Swift’s girl squad, winning two Brit Awards and getting nominated, this year, for a Grammy. Repeatedly.Ĭurled back up on the enormous sofa, in her stockinged feet and baggy clothes, with no make-up, damp hair and a cup of herbal tea, Goulding is clearly yearning for a small moment of calm. “Aaaaargh,” she says, laughing but nearly despairing, as she scoops up the cats and takes them into the kitchen. And if that ever lets up, then her two slinky Bengal cats come in to trample on some ornaments and walk across my dictaphone. As I discover, when we sit down for a chat in the snug room tucked to one side of her big open-plan kitchen, with piles of cushions, and classy grey and black framed artwork, only to be interrupted by the repetitive thuds of the office building behind us growing ever skyward. The problem with being such a successful pop star that you can buy a beautiful house in central London, is that London has turned into a building site, so Ellie Goulding basks in the relaxing sound of jackhammers and bulldozers. Sophie Heawood hangs out with the audacious and unstoppable Ellie Goulding. She’s sold 30 million records, ‘fights better than most blokes’ she knows and has pushed feminism back into the music industry.