Nearly losing her life in a car crash hasn’t stopped Gina Pontoni from combining her passions and forging a unique career
Going anywhere nice on your holidays?’ If I had a penny for every time I asked that question during my time as a hairdresser…!
I enjoyed the job. I’m a social person, I love to chat and find out what’s going on in people’s lives. But when my dear nana died and my marriage of four years broke down and I was still just 27 years old, I had this feeling that now would be a really good time to do something with the voice I knew I’d been blessed with.
Hairdressing wasn’t what I was meant to be doing, I was sure of it.
Truth was, I’d wanted to be a singer since I was around nine years old and heard the velvet voice of Ella Fitzgerald.
But, as the years passed, I’d never done anything with that ambition – or my voice.
Until now.
When I saw an advert in The Stage for a singer, I knew I had to go for it.
My mum Betty and stepdad Ron came with me to the audition in Colchester, a long way from our home in Teeside.
My stomach churned with excitement and nerves. I’d never sung in public, never mind in a real cabaret club with a full-on sequinned curtain across the stage, and in front of people who were going to decide whether I was good enough for the gig.
But I was!
When I was told I’d got the job of singing on a six-month American cruise, leaving from Southampton, I couldn’t breathe for excitement.
Two weeks later, I stood on the dock waiting for my ship to come in, a case full of glamorous frocks at my side, dreaming of glitz and lobster dinners.
That ‘ship’ turned out to be a battered old car ferry! But I still had the time of my life, making wonderful friends.
Now I combine all my passions in a way that helps others too
After that, my career went from strength to strength,with me belting out jazz songs in fantastic venues all over the world.
I openedup for Ben E King on his last UK tour and toured with the famous Sid Lawrence Orchestra. Singing songs made famous by the likes of Frank Sinatra, Tony Bennett, Sammy Davis Jnr and my heroine Ella Fitzgerald was, honestly, a dream come true.
Strong will to live
I wason a high and then, one dark night in 2004, I found myself on a low. Physically, mentally and literally.
I was driving from my home in Blackpool to Manchesterfor a night out when a car veered towards me from the inside lane, and I lost control of the wheel and ended up plunging down a 60ft ravine.
I opened my eyes and was met with pitch blackness. I could feel something wet on my head and face and knew it must be blood.
When I tried to breathe, I couldn’t.
‘It’s my time…’ I thought.
But in
