‘I’m glad people call it a lesbian anthem’: how Sophie B Hawkins made Damn I Wish I Was Your Lover

Sophie B Hawkins in 1994. Photograph: Thomas McGovern/Getty Images

Sophie B Hawkins, singer, songwriter

I was Bryan Ferry’s percussionist but got fired after two weeks. He very nicely said: “You can’t play the Cuban congas as well as so-and-so who’s coming in to replace you.” I wore dresses then and was trying to be someone else, but after being fired I thought: “Screw it. I’m going to be myself.”