One night while attending a charity gig, I became mesmerised by a stage presence the likes of which I’d never seen before. This performer, loud and energetic, was Anna Secret Poet. 

Anna Secret Poet is a Glasgow-based musician with an eclectic discography. Her genres range from rock to reggae, folk to punk and nearly everything in between. This undiscovered star started her solo music career in 2016 with her album, ‘Vowel Movements’, and most recently released an album titled ‘I Saw This and Thought of You’ on July 28th. 

Image Credit: John Thomson

When Anna’s not rocking Scottish venues, she goes by Gary. You can find Gary deeply involved in his family life, re-reading Douglas Adams novels and watching obscure horror films. On stage, however, she’s a punk-rock icon, infusing her music with comedic value and infectious energy. 

“I always think of it more like spontaneous recklessness! I rarely rehearse and I’m a rubbish liar. I would find it difficult to pretend to be someone else, so I always just end up being myself. Some find it endearing.” Anna told TMP. 

“I just kind of turn up, sing my wee songs and hopefully some people like them. Same goes for releasing my music, I just close my eyes and fling it out there into the void.”

Image Credit: Paul Toner

Anna stated that her stage name was the result of her previous MySpace username, back when her non-conforming gender identity was kept under wraps. 

“Around 10 years ago, I joined Twitter as ‘Anna Secret Poet’ and I originated a hashtag that became the top trending hashtag in the world for several hours – the NME even did an article about it!”

“Some really famous people like Pam Ayres, David Baddiel and Wheatus were posting about it, and I realised that day that I couldn’t tell anyone because Anna was a literal secret. That night, I decided I couldn’t hide her any longer.”

Since then, Anna has been performing in the Glasgow music scene for over 27 years, both comedy and music. She has found the city to be one of the most honest regarding audience reaction. 

“The city has a very mixed and rich performance scene, so I feel very fortunate to have this on my proverbial doorstep. Glasgow audiences, I have found, make it perfectly clear when they don’t like something and when they do. Once at a comedy gig, I got a standing ovation, which I’m reliably informed is rather rare at such events.”

She continued, “I‘ve only really been heckled twice over the years, once was in Edinburgh, so in over 250 Anna gigs that’s not bad going. I’m still very grateful to promoters and event organisers for continuing to book me all these years later.”

Anna admits to not being much of a social butterfly, but enjoys modelling on the side of her music career. She’s been featured in Retro Lovely Magazine, as well as appearing in Del Amitri’s music video for their song ‘You Can’t Go Back’. You can find her at cabaret, comedy and the occasional drag show.

Her most recent album, released under New Reality Records, shares the same diversity as her others and has garnered attention from several publications. This release signals a slight shift from her previous pieces as Anna solidifies her musical identity and finds her perfect niche. 

Image Credit: Tamriel Nights

Anna Secret Poet is a truly one-of-a-kind performer with a fascinating library of music for fans of every genre. It surely won’t be long until she begins to build the kind of cult following that an artist of her adaptability deserves.

You can listen to her album, ‘I Saw This and Thought of You’, on all streaming platforms and keep up to date with her journey via Instagram, @annasecretpoet. 

Featured Image Credit: Campbell Stewart