Nina Simone's performances in the 1960s were grand ceremonial affairs. On stage she was often haughty and aloof, which earned her the title The High Priestess of Soul. In 1970 she left the United States and moved to Barbados where she had an affair with Prime Minister Errol Barrow. Later she moved to Liberia with her friend and fellow musician Miriam Makeba. In the 1980s Nina played a series of shows at the famous jazz club Ronnie Scott's in London after her 1958 recording My Baby Just Cares For Me was used in an advertisement for Chanel No. 5 perfume, giving her a renewed popularity in the UK. She would end her shows with that song, saying, "Well I guess this is what you have been waiting to hear."
The film Nina Simone Live at Ronnie Scott's captures one of these performances from 1985. In the film we see a rare glimpse of a very different Nina, intimate and vulnerable. Here is a clip in which she plays a beautiful version of If You Knew
The film Nina Simone Live at Ronnie Scott's captures one of these performances from 1985. In the film we see a rare glimpse of a very different Nina, intimate and vulnerable. Here is a clip in which she plays a beautiful version of If You Knew