02 February 2020
Newsdesk
Neneh Cherry used to find attention from male admirers to be "overwhelming and embarrassing".
The 55-year-old singer can still vividly remember craving attention from boys during her teenage years - but she quickly came to dislike being the focus of their attention.
She shared: "It's a really difficult time, isn't it?
"Because you come to an age where you start having all these feelings, right? You're almost longing for it. But at the same time the attention you're drawing to yourself is kind of overwhelming and embarrassing.
"You go from thinking you're a grown-up to feeling nine-and-a-half in an instant."
Neneh touches upon her teenage struggles in her track 'Kisses On The Wind', which tells the story of a young girl who is on the verge of becoming a woman.
And the chart-topping star - who living in New York City during her teenage years - also explained that the song was, in part, inspired by watching other girls in her neighbourhood.
Neneh - who is married to producer Cameron McVey - told the BBC: "They were young women I was fascinated with, or very much in awe of, who seemed to be very much holding their own and very beautiful - but also very vulnerable and quite fragile."
'Kisses on the Wind' appeared on Neneh's debut album 'Raw Like Sushi', which was released in 1989.
And the music star revealed she's always wanted to "write songs that mean something".
Reflecting on her own creative ambitions, Neneh explained: "I guess I always wanted to write songs that mean something - but at the same time, I wouldn't say I write directly political lyrics. They always end up being about being human."
