You grew up with Donna Summer, as you were best friends with her little sister Linda. Is it true you two used to sneak into Donna’s bedroom?

It’s true, I can’t lie! She was older than us and any teenage girl knows that a teenager that’s older than you is cooler than you. I don’t think we ever read her diary or anything. But we wanted to see what she was wearing and try her clothes on. We’d try to hang them up tidy so she didn’t know we had been in there. But she’d always know. She didn’t like it. But that’s what little sisters do! They annoy, you know? She was just so sophisticated and cool compared to us. Donna has passed, but she did get in touch with me and say how proud she was of my accomplishments and congratulations, which was a really nice thing.

Is it true that you are distantly related to both Grace Jones and Colin Powell?

Absolutely. They’re my cousins. Grace is my second cousin and Colin would have been second or third. Grace was brought up in England and I was brought up in Boston, but I did meet up with her brother, Noel Jones, who has got the biggest black American church in LA. I actually went to church with him and one of the guys from the Rockmelons. He said, “You look like Grace” – well actually, he said, in West Indian terms, he said, “You favour Grace.” I didn’t get to know Colin, but he was so way up in politics, it would have been very difficult to get to him.

What’s the best piece of advice you have ever received?

Stay humble, be gracious, be grateful. And do unto others, as you have them do unto you. I was brought up very well – you learn those teachings as a kid, and it’s important to put them into practice when you grow older.

What are you secretly really good at?

Mosaics! It’s always been my hobby. I was taught that if you’re artistic as a performer, you’re usually artistic with your hands as well. You know that fantastic actor in Silence of the Lambs – Anthony Hopkins! He’s an incredible artist. Tony Bennett too. And Joni Mitchell is a fine artist. It’s messy, but I do like it. If someone’s getting married, or if someone’s going moving into a new home, I’ll make something for them. It’s a nice thing to give something of yourself that you’ve had to think about. I love to break dishes.

What is the strangest thing you’ve done for love?

Believe the lie. [laughs]

What’s been your most memorable interaction with a fan?

There’s so many of them. I adore my fans. If it wasn’t for my fans, I wouldn’t be able to live the dream that I’m living. So many people tell me really moving things – like someone was actually dying and they insisted they played my music as they died. That’s big. I hear some incredible stories, because I do a meet and greet with my audience at the end of my shows. It’s so touching, you know? One lady told me, “That song encouraged me to leave my husband.” I was like, “Well, I don’t know if that’s a good thing or a bad thing, but I’m so pleased I could help.”

Do you have a nemesis?

No. Well, hang on, hang on. Not that I know of, right? I hope not. You can’t like everybody and everybody can’t like you, but you can meet in the middle of all that madness. If you’ve got a nemesis, you probably made it.

What’s the oldest thing you own, and why do you still have it?

My Bible, which I wrote in when I was about seven. I used to have a teddy bear that I had when I was a kid, and we put it into a teddy bear exhibition, and someone pinched it. But I still have my Bible.

What’s the most chaotic thing that has ever happened to you while on stage?

I fell! This was back in the 1970s – I did a kick, and my foot went out from under me. So I stood up and did it again to make it look like a dance step.

Also, one of the scariest things that ever happened to me was when I was doing Jesus Christ Superstar. It was almost time to go on stage to sing I Don’t Know How to Love Him. Someone spoke to me about something and it disturbed me greatly so when I walked on stage, I blanked. It is scary when you blank. The conductor, Patrick Flynn, was a genius – he saw that I had lost my way, and I don’t know where he got a piece of paper and a Texta, but he wrote down a prompt and held it up in the orchestra pit for me. It’s not an unusual occurrence to forget lyrics. You do what you can not to. But when it’s happening, a millisecond feels like an hour.

What’s been your biggest fashion crime to date?

Platform shoes. It’s all relative, isn’t it – everything old is new again. I’m seeing all these rehashed hippies wearing clothes that I used to wear. Platforms are back, as are flared trousers and baggy clothes. When I was growing up, midriff was everything –that is back too.

Do you have any pets, what are their names and what are their nicknames?

I have a dog by the name of Dalley. He’s a cavoodle. I also have a cat called Sistah and I have just got a new puppy called Brotha. So I always have a sister and brother in the house!

Which book, album or film do you always return to, and why?

Out on a Limb by Shirley MacLaine. That really was an incredible thing to read and it’s still a very good book. It talks about being a spiritual person, and some of the things that she went through and expressing herself as a spiritual person when people thought she was mad. She’s anything but! I don’t know where we live as performers – we live someplace else. We can live in amongst this, but we live someplace else and especially when you’ve got a gift such as she has. I just really like Shirley.

• Marcia Hines’ Marcia Sings Summer tour with Casey Donovan is heading around Australia in October; see here for dates. Her song You (Teddy Cream Remix) is out now (Sony Music Australia)