NOT many people would look upon being housebound in their twenties as being a positive thing in their lives, but for singer songwriter Emily Maguire, it was an experience which has shaped her career.

Emily, who comes to Barnoldswick Music and Arts Centre next week, suffered from the debilitating fibromyalgia pain syndrome.

“Because of that I was actually writing songs for seven years before I ever made an album,” she said.

“I was very prolific at the time when I was stuck at home with this weird syndrome. I just got a guitar and started writing which was brilliant. Having all this time on my hands became a blessing in disguise. So I was writing and not recording.

“I’ve continued to write ever since and although I’ve just released my fifth album, I’ve already got a list of 21 songs for the next album. There are still a lot of songs left which means I’ve never been under that pressure of having to go into the studio and write a new album as I don’t think I’d enjoy that very much.”

Thankfully Emily has overcome the fibromyalgia although her career has never been plain sailing.

She has only recently returned to playing guitar and piano after suffering acute tendonitis in her arms.

“The doctors were saying I’d have to rest it but all I did was get more miserable,” she said. “So I decided to accept the fact that my arms hurt and get on with my life.

“At the beginning of last year I started to play guitar and piano, initially only for five minutes a day and gradually built it up. My main instrument is the cello and I’ve just started to play that after nearly three years of not playing.”

Emily’s latest album, Bit of Blue, is deliberately stripped back.

“My last album was a really rich multilayered production and I wanted to go back to my first album which was quite sparse and a bit raw. The brief I gave my producer Nigel Butler was that I wanted it to be as haunting and as beautiful as it could be - and he’s succeeded.”

Emily has had her songs played regularly on Radio Two and her haunting lyrics have led to great critical acclaim.

“I never really wanted to write love songs,” she said. “There are enough good people writing them,

“But I was always interested in the world outside my window. I think the search for happiness and avoiding suffering holds true throughout your life so these concern are still in my mind now.

“I’m bipolar and over the years I’ve got myself a means of getting through. A lot of that is making the most of the times when I’m well to get things done and seeing the world in a positive light.

“The less you take for granted, the more you have to appreciate.”

Emily Maguire, Barnoldswick Music and Arts Centre, Saturday, June 3. Details from 01282 813374