Natasha Bedingfield looks back: ‘I had hits in the US that weren’t released in England. It was like being banished’

The singer-songwriter on her unconventional education, her brother Daniel, and her quest to write a classic like Purple Rain

Born in London in 1981, Natasha Bedingfield is a singer and songwriter. Her 2004 debut album, Unwritten, sold more than 2.3m copies and featured the No 1 single These Words. She has released three further albums, scoring UK Top 10 hits and success in the US with Pocketful of Sunshine. Nearly two decades after it was released, her single Unwritten became a viral TikTok hit in 2021. Her new single, Dot Dot Dot, is out now.

This was taken at Hilly Fields park in south-east London. I’m dressed in a sweet little tracksuit. I was a cute kid: I sucked my thumb until I was 11 and I had a sheepskin that I sniffed. But if anyone actually said I was cute, I’d reply: “No, I’m not!” I wanted to be taken seriously. That word made me think that nobody was listening to what I had to say.

My parents come from New Zealand, and when they had my brother Daniel they emigrated to England where they then had me and my two younger siblings. We lived in the inner city, so our backyard was a saviour. Together we were a pack and would spend all day making forts and watching frogs in the pond. We didn’t have much money, but I was rich in love.

I come from a family of big thinkers. My parents are social workers and raised us to believe that everyone is equal. We were taught that you should talk to everyone, as you never know when you could be standing in front of an angel. Mum and Dad wanted each of us to learn in our own way, outside of a system, so I was home-schooled from 11 until 16. Back then it was a rebellious thing to do, but I loved self-study. I am overwhelmed by loudness, so the fact I didn’t have to learn in a full class of students worked for me.