'Drill Sergeant' Alex Winston

Alex Winston has to be the "drill sergeant" to her live band.

The 'Locomotive' singer and songwriter says she has a very close bond with her backing bands - of which she has two, one based in New York and another in London, as well as a troupe of backing singers she affectionately refers to as her "Sister Wives" - but she keeps them in line when she has to.

She told BANG Showbiz: "I have a band in New York and in London I have another group of friends that I play with, I've always wanted a big band and everyone's always like, 'why do you need so many people?', but it's really fun and they've become some of my best friends.

"The girls come with me everywhere, and I love that my band mates get along with each other, but I kind of have to be the drill sergeant, and I hate that, but I definitely am the band leader."

The musician - who plays drums, guitar, keyboards and ukulele as well as singing - also explained how she came to play almost all the instruments when she records a new track.

She added: "The first songs that I recorded were made with me literally in my basement trying to write them.

"I'm not one of these people that can sit down with a tape recorder and an acoustic guitar and be like 'ok, this is going to be my song'.

"I more like to sit down and record all the parts by myself. So I kind of learned how to play these instruments because I wanted to finish these songs. Then I realised that I really liked doing it all from the beginning."

Alex's debut mini album, 'Sister Wife' was released yesterday (21.02.11).