Singer-songwriter Tom Grennan: ‘I need to live like an athlete so I can perform’
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00:00 I was just a 21-year-old who was in a position where music was happening, going out was happening,
00:07 alcohol was happening, and I was consumed by all of this.
00:11 Hello and welcome to Love Lives, a podcast from The Independent where I, Olivia Petter,
00:21 will be asking different guests about the loves of their lives.
00:25 Today I am thrilled to be joined by the brilliant two-time Brit Award nominee, musician Tom Grennan.
00:32 He has two hugely successful albums under his belt, several awards,
00:36 and a new highly anticipated third album called What Ifs and Maybes.
00:40 I'm really excited to chat to Tom all about his career in music and the loves of his life.
00:45 So, let's get started.
00:47 - Hello. - Hello. That was an amazing intro.
00:50 - Thank you. Thank you. - Yeah.
00:52 I mean, it's amazing your career, which I can't wait to talk to you about.
00:56 So, it all happened super, super quickly for you.
00:59 I think you were performing in pubs to like 20, 30 people,
01:04 and then five, six months later you were playing in front of 75,000 people at Wireless with Chase & Status.
01:10 Can you tell us a bit about how you got into music and how this kind of all happened for you?
01:15 Because originally you were thinking of maybe going into football?
01:19 Yeah, football was like the dream when I was a kid.
01:24 And then I realised I wasn't getting any better at football.
01:28 So, I played for a few teams, got dropped from a few teams,
01:32 and had to make a decision of what I wanted to do.
01:36 And I thought I really love acting, got into National Youth Theatre and stuff like that.
01:41 And music was never a thing at that point.
01:44 So, I was like, I want to go and do acting.
01:46 Some of the music boys at school heard me singing at a party,
01:52 and they were like, do you want to join this band and help us do their A-level band thing?
01:56 I was like, hmm, do you know what, I'll give it a go.
01:59 And I gave it a go and I loved it.
02:01 And I saw the reaction of people and how I made them feel when singing.
02:07 My voice didn't sound the way it sounds now, but there was something there and I loved it.
02:13 So, we did the band thing for a while in my hometown in Bedford.
02:17 And it was a bit like, remember Skins?
02:19 - Yeah, of course. - Yeah, of course.
02:22 We used to put on little gigs around Bedford and the whole school would come.
02:25 And it was a bit like that, that kind of vibe.
02:28 But then them lot were like, we're going to go to uni and study.
02:32 So, I was like, well, I thought we had an amazing band.
02:35 We weren't amazing.
02:37 But then I was like, well, I don't really know about music.
02:41 All I can do is sing.
02:42 I never wrote songs before.
02:44 I never played a guitar or an instrument.
02:47 So, I was like, well, I know that I want to get out of Bedford.
02:50 So, I applied for different unis and doing acting.
02:55 And that's what I did.
02:56 And I moved to Twickenham and did physical theatre.
03:00 Loved it. Gave me the chance to, like, I don't know, just be creative, meet creative people.
03:08 But I really loved what music did.
03:11 So, I picked up a guitar at uni, kind of hibernated for my first year of uni
03:17 and just learnt to play guitar.
03:20 Only a few chords.
03:20 And then I started to write songs.
03:24 I had this little notepad from when I was at home from different things I'd write in.
03:29 But these weren't songs in my head.
03:32 These were just like words to help me get through a period of time
03:36 where it was where I first realised what mental health was.
03:41 I was attacked in Bedford and had my jaw broken and stuff like that.
03:44 And I didn't, yeah, it was bad.
03:47 And it really, like, I don't know, taught me about myself.
03:52 And these are the little notes I was writing.
03:56 Anyway, I went back to the notepad when I was at uni and realised that
04:01 these words I was writing were actually song lyrics.
04:05 So, these little notes that I've been learning on the guitar,
04:10 I started singing the words that I'd written down and then they became songs.
04:15 And I was like, "Right, this is what I want to do."
04:18 And that's what I did.
04:19 Wrote loads of songs, well, like six or seven songs in my room at uni
04:23 and was like, "Right, I need to go gig."
04:25 So, that's what I did and knocked on loads of doors.
04:28 Just every pub I could, every open mic I could.
04:33 My friend set up a thing at uni where I'd be playing every week.
04:38 And did that for a year.
04:41 And luckily, one day there was some people in a pub and they heard my songs
04:46 and the rest is history.
04:50 But it does feel like a long time, a quick time, sorry.
04:55 Like, it's happened so fast, but, like, I've been working
04:58 and working really hard to get to where I am now
05:02 and I've still got loads more to do.
05:04 Who was it that saw you there?
05:06 A guy from Sony.
05:07 - Wow. - Yeah, so then this guy from Sony
05:10 then kind of took my email.
05:12 And then the next morning I had loads of emails from different labels.
05:17 - Wow. - And different lawyers,
05:19 different publishers, all that kind of stuff.
05:21 And I didn't have a clue what to do.
05:22 I was going to say, when that guy came up to you after the gig,
05:25 obviously, I presume that's what you kind of wanted to get out of it.
05:28 But for it to actually happen like that, you're like, "I've been discovered."
05:32 Yeah, kind of.
05:34 Like, I think for me, I never ever...
05:37 I didn't know really...
05:39 Obviously, I knew what a record deal was, I knew that,
05:41 but I never had that in my thoughts.
05:45 I was just singing because I like to make people happy,
05:48 if I'm going to be honest.
05:50 Like, I never thought, "I want a record deal, I want this and that."
05:54 But when I had them emails, then that popped into my head.
05:58 I was like, "Oh, yeah, like, there's a record deal.
06:02 "I can do that."
06:04 And so I got signed in the end of my second year of uni.
06:08 I wanted to finish uni, so I had a bit of time
06:11 where I was going in the studio and then doing uni and things like that.
06:15 I'd never really been in a studio before,
06:17 and then I met Chase and Status, and we wrote All Goes Wrong.
06:22 I had that little song in my bedroom at uni,
06:25 and then we kind of expanded on the song, and yeah, it went mad.
06:31 And so what was that like for you, going from those two very, very different levels
06:36 and then suddenly having all of this attention on you
06:39 and your music and your talent?
06:41 What did that do to you as a human being, as your brain?
06:45 Like, how do you handle that?
06:47 Um...
06:48 Honestly, I've not really thought about it.
06:53 I've just done it, and I've just put myself in it.
06:55 Yeah.
06:57 Because if you think about it too much, it probably sends you a bit mad.
07:00 Yeah, definitely.
07:02 But I've always thought, even when I was a kid,
07:05 that I was going to do something pretty mad.
07:07 I never knew what it was going to be, but I always had this thing where...
07:12 I don't know why I did it when I was a kid,
07:14 but I used to look at myself in the mirror and always talk to myself and say,
07:17 "You're going to do this. Everyone's going to know your name."
07:20 - Oh, really? - Yeah, when I was a kid, yeah.
07:23 And I thought it was going to be, like, a football stadium or something like that,
07:28 but it turns out it's music, which is...
07:32 But I feel like all of those things are connected in a way, isn't it?
07:35 Because if you're playing on a football field in front of thousands of people,
07:38 you're on stage, like, doing a play or performing music,
07:43 it's all about performance, I guess.
07:45 So maybe that's the thing that's kind of always sort of been within you.
07:48 Definitely. I've always wanted to perform.
07:50 I've always wanted to...
07:53 I've always wanted to catch people's attention, whatever it is.
07:57 And what was the fame like, the fame side of things?
08:01 Because, you know, talking to yourself in the mirror, saying,
08:03 "Everyone's going to know your name," like, that's one thing.
08:05 I think we have a very different idea of what kind of celebrity
08:10 and being in the public eye might be to what it actually is.
08:15 Do you look back on when you kind of first rose to fame,
08:20 back when that song came out, now and think that you handled it
08:24 in a way that is very different to how you handle it now?
08:27 And have you kind of learnt different coping mechanisms?
08:30 Definitely. I think when I was... I was, like, 21.
08:35 Yeah, which is very young to be very, very famous and successful.
08:39 I was 21 and I had...
08:43 I didn't really feel pressure, but I had, like...
08:47 I had a bit of money and I also had, like, the wrong people around me.
08:53 What do you mean?
08:55 I mean, people who... I don't know.
09:00 Some people took advantage of it.
09:02 Also, I took advantage of it, so I'm not blaming them people, by the way.
09:05 Like, I was just a 21-year-old who was in a position
09:11 where music was happening, going out was happening,
09:16 alcohol was happening, and I was consumed by all this stuff.
09:21 So I was probably an egotistical 21-year-old
09:25 who thought the sun shines out of his arse or something like that, basically.
09:33 And I fell into, I don't know, a lot of problems.
09:38 It was just to do with, like, London life, too.
09:41 So I moved home and that was the best thing for me.
09:45 And now my coping mechanisms for...
09:49 I hate the word "calling myself fat".
09:52 I'm not, you know what I mean?
09:54 I still get the training and I still do normal things,
09:58 you know what I mean?
09:58 Just people come and say hello and I sound.
10:01 But now it's, like, completely different.
10:04 Like, I need routine in my day-to-day just to get myself on a level.
10:10 I need exercise.
10:12 I need a good eight hours sleep.
10:15 Like, I sound boring, but I feel like to do this job at a 10 out of 10,
10:22 you need to be an athlete and that's what I'm trying to be.
10:29 Yeah, but I think you have to.
10:30 Like, so many musicians that I know, the touring is relentless.
10:34 It's mad.
10:35 Travelling like that is crazy through different time zones.
10:38 You have to be in really kind of fit condition, mentally and physically.
10:43 And it's wild when you think back to sort of, like, the Stones days
10:46 of, like, the wild rock and roll.
10:48 Like, how did they do that?
10:50 I don't know how they did it.
10:51 I do not know.
10:52 But some people can do it.
10:54 Like, some people can run on them fumes.
10:57 But for me, nah, I'm too lively anyway.
11:03 Like, I'm too bubbly and I'm too, like...
11:06 So put all that other stuff involved
11:10 and you get, like, an extra me for, like, 12 hours.
11:15 And then for the next week, I'm dead and out
11:19 and I wouldn't be able to perform.
11:20 I wouldn't be able to do this kind of stuff.
11:22 I just wouldn't be able to function properly.
11:24 So, yeah.
11:25 Did anyone, because obviously you would have probably met a lot of other people,
11:29 sort of more experienced people in the industry when you first started out.
11:32 Did anyone kind of give you advice on how to tackle it?
11:35 Not really.
11:38 Nah.
11:40 Again, like, I haven't really been around...
11:44 And I'm not, like, famous people, if I'm going to be honest.
11:48 Like, I've been to a few things, award evenings and all that kind of stuff.
11:51 But I don't chill with a lot of famous people.
11:57 So the advice really came from my family and my friends,
12:02 my real friends, where they were like,
12:04 "You've got something that is special.
12:07 Do not waste it."
12:09 I'd say my manager as well, like, but I call him a friend
12:12 because he's one of my best mates.
12:15 He dragged me over and he said, like,
12:18 "I've seen a lot of people waste this."
12:20 And he said this one thing where, like,
12:24 "I can get another one of you, yeah, but you can't be enough.
12:29 As soon as you've done it, then it's done."
12:32 And that hit me, do you know what I mean?
12:35 Like, there's a lot of people waiting in the queue
12:38 and I'm not ready to be at the back of it.
12:43 I want to talk about your latest album,
12:45 but before we go to that, I want to ask you a bit
12:47 about something you said about your second album, Evering Road.
12:51 The album was named after the street where you lived with an ex.
12:54 And I really liked what you said in an interview about this
12:57 because rather than framing it as, like, a breakup album
13:00 or a heartbreak album, you described it sort of as, like, a thank you note.
13:03 And I think that's such a healthy way to reframe previous relationships.
13:08 And, you know, we have this kind of very toxic dialogue around exes
13:13 where we're almost encouraged to slag them off and criticize them
13:18 and, you know, in worst cases, label them psycho and all that kind of stuff.
13:22 And actually to have a really healthy mindset on it
13:25 and turn it into a positive thing and see, like,
13:27 you know, this was meant to come to an end when it did
13:30 and call it something and, you know, have that gratitude for it.
13:33 I think is a really helpful message to people.
13:36 So what kind of did you mean by that when you described it as a thank you note?
13:40 And why were you so keen not to frame it as a sort of breakup vengeance album?
13:45 Because that time in my life taught me a lot about who I wanted to be.
13:51 And also who I didn't want to be.
13:57 And unfortunately, people got hurt, like, and I just wanted to put that message out and say,
14:06 I realized that a lot of the mistakes I made were causing the problems in that relationship.
14:18 So the thank you is to the road.
14:22 The thank you is to her.
14:25 And the thank you is for that chapter of my life.
14:29 Like, it's one of those ones where people are meant,
14:35 some people are meant to meet, have their time and teach each other lessons.
14:40 And that's what it did.
14:42 And I'll always be thankful for it.
14:47 And I think it's important not to look at anything
14:49 like a romantic relationship that's come to an end as a failure,
14:52 because it's not like you said.
14:54 Yeah, it's a lesson and you can bring those lessons into your next relationships.
14:58 Which brings me on to my next question.
15:01 You're engaged.
15:02 Congratulations.
15:03 And I know you've previously kind of spoken about the importance of keeping
15:08 your private life to yourself in your line of work.
15:10 And I guess that kind of feeds into what we were talking about earlier about fame.
15:13 And, you know, obviously people in public eye get a crazy amount of attention when it comes
15:18 to their love lives, even though, you know, what you're doing has nothing to do with that.
15:23 I can imagine that is incredibly maddening and frustrating.
15:26 How do you go about protecting your relationships from the public eye and keeping that to yourself?
15:35 Because it's such an unnatural thing to have to think about.
15:40 And of course, you have to think about it.
15:41 Yeah, it is.
15:42 It is a tough thing to always having to be thinking about just
15:51 privacy in that world.
15:53 Like most of my friends, if not all of my friends who are in relationships,
16:00 they and their partners always are posting about, especially like the world we live in,
16:06 like everything is just plastered on online, you know.
16:09 Whereas me, like, and my other half, we want to keep it just to, it's our thing.
16:19 And my other half, she doesn't work in this industry.
16:28 And I don't know, she just, and I want it to be for us.
16:35 And what people need to know, they'll know.
16:38 And what they don't need to know is they won't know.
16:43 And again, it keeps it healthy.
16:46 And it also kind of is real life because all this weird world that we live in
16:54 is usually not really real life.
16:58 Yeah.
16:59 And for me, that's real life.
17:01 And also the second you kind of let it in in any way, it becomes a sort of unstoppable circus.
17:09 So it's like, you know, I can imagine if you were to post one photograph of, you know,
17:14 your partner, then it's like, suddenly everyone wants more photos and they're commenting.
17:18 And there's a lot of horrible people out there.
17:20 And some people will just comment to be nasty.
17:26 And I don't need that.
17:29 And she doesn't need that.
17:31 Speaking of kind of like online brouhaha,
17:33 there was obviously something that happened at the Brits this year.
17:36 I just want to get your thoughts on how you feel about that now.
17:39 I know you kind of like apologized to Ellie Goulding and she tweeted being like,
17:44 "It's fine. Like, it's not a big deal."
17:46 But like, what do you make of the way that that was kind of?
17:49 Well, she tweeted that it was both of us who had the joke planned.
17:56 Yeah.
17:57 And it just went wrong.
18:00 If you both agree to it, like, it just seems so bizarre.
18:04 Is it like, do you think the internet is just looking to cling on to anything?
18:07 I think, yeah, it was a joke between two friends.
18:12 And I think people are quick to try and cancel people.
18:17 Yeah.
18:17 And really, I should have known.
18:24 But it's one of those things.
18:26 And it was a joke between two friends.
18:29 I want to talk about the new album.
18:31 You've said that you wanted to make something that helps people
18:34 de-shackle, take risks and realize their dreams.
18:37 I already mentioned earlier, I was listening to it all morning.
18:39 It's like, it's very upbeat.
18:41 It kind of makes you want to get up and dance.
18:42 It feels like very lively.
18:44 Tell me a bit more about how this new album came together
18:47 and what you kind of wanted to get across with it
18:49 and why it's different to your previous two.
18:51 This album is the first album where I've really like, felt I knew what I was doing.
19:00 I feel like we've just spoken about, I'm really just a different person.
19:09 When I look back at them two albums, like, wow,
19:11 this is like a completely different person.
19:14 But I'm happy.
19:17 I'm in a place where physically, mentally, everything is just in a good place.
19:22 And I think that really comes out in the music.
19:26 I really wanted to, I feel like, well, I really wanted people to listen to this album
19:33 and just dance and have fun because I'm having fun right now.
19:37 But I wanted to like put a message in it and just say like,
19:42 spontaneity and taking risks and being able to feel comfortable
19:50 in the uncomfortable is an amazing thing.
19:55 Like, I've always been somebody who's comes into a room
19:59 and if there's like a door that I haven't been through,
20:01 I'd always be like, what's behind that door?
20:03 Because if you open a door, something great could be behind it.
20:09 You just need to kind of have that risk in you.
20:15 I'd just be like, you know, if I dream about something
20:18 or I want to do something, then it's only me who's going to make that happen.
20:23 And that's what I wanted to do.
20:25 I want people to just listen to it and feel like they can be who they want to be,
20:30 do what they want to do and express themselves in the way they want to express.
20:34 There's a lot of colour in this album.
20:36 Yeah.
20:36 You know what I mean?
20:37 It's saying a lot.
20:40 Okay, let's talk about the loves of your life.
20:49 So the first one you've chosen, I have to admit,
20:51 is not a subject I know very much about.
20:53 So tell me why you have decided to choose football.
20:56 I know it's such a cliche.
20:57 I really don't know much about it.
20:59 Why have you chosen football?
21:00 I know, obviously, you said earlier that this was something
21:02 that you really wanted to go into as a kid.
21:05 Do you think that if it wasn't for music and kind of acting,
21:09 you would be playing football professionally?
21:11 No, no, no, no.
21:12 It wasn't good enough.
21:13 Do you still play?
21:14 What is it that you love about it?
21:15 Yeah.
21:15 When playing football, it's like 90 minutes usually, right?
21:22 And that is a time where I'm just in a different...
21:27 I'm just in the game.
21:28 I'm zoned out.
21:29 I'm not thinking about anything apart from scoring a goal
21:34 or defending the ball.
21:35 And I don't know, it's always been, for me,
21:40 just a place where I also feel comfortable on stage.
21:48 That's my home.
21:51 And I know it.
21:53 Whereas football is, again, even though I'm not that good,
21:57 I still feel like I just...
21:59 That's why I love it.
22:01 And I know just a minute ago, I said about being comfortable
22:03 or in the uncomfortable.
22:04 But football for me, it's an uncomfortable place to be,
22:08 but I'm comfortable there.
22:10 So I don't know.
22:12 It's competitive.
22:15 I love being competitive.
22:17 I am competitive.
22:19 It's time with your mates.
22:21 You talk absolute nonsense and you then either win or lose a game.
22:28 And then watching football on the weekend
22:32 is another thing that I love to do because,
22:35 again, I'm not thinking about music.
22:38 I'm not thinking about anything.
22:41 I'm just thinking about what's happening
22:44 with the teams I'm watching.
22:48 Who do you support?
22:49 I grew up and I've always been a supporter of Man United,
22:54 but I have a massive love for Coventry City too.
22:59 So, yeah, I would say I'm United, but I'm also Coventry.
23:05 And I don't know if you're allowed two teams, but I'm having them.
23:08 I think so.
23:08 Do you have any favourite football chants?
23:10 Nah, I've not been that...
23:12 I'm never that...
23:13 I'm not really that like...
23:14 I'll just...
23:15 I'll listen to people do it.
23:17 But I'm not like a laddy lad nerd.
23:20 Do you know what I mean?
23:21 I'm not that guy.
23:21 But I'm a lover of it for sure.
23:27 How often do you play now?
23:28 Well, I've got Soccer A coming up.
23:31 So at the moment I'm trying to play at least once or twice a week
23:36 just to get in the mode for that.
23:37 But we always bring a football on tour.
23:41 So we're always kicking a ball in different venues.
23:46 But yeah, once or twice a week I try to get playing.
23:48 I want to ask you a little bit about mental health,
23:50 but I think that actually feeds into your second love, which is an animal.
23:54 And I'm excited to hear about this
23:57 because as a pet owner myself of a very ridiculous cat
24:01 called Blanche Dubois, I understand.
24:02 -Fick me. -Thank you.
24:04 She's amazing.
24:05 I need to stop.
24:06 Honestly, I talk about her all the time.
24:07 I'm surprised she's not here in the podcast.
24:10 But yeah, I know how special they can be
24:14 and how much they can change your life.
24:15 So tell us a bit about Marmite, the dog you adopted, rescued.
24:18 Yeah, Marmite.
24:19 He is a wicked dog.
24:22 He is a Romanian rescue dog.
24:26 He was found in a bin.
24:27 -Oh my God. -I know.
24:30 So sad, but so happy that he's in my life.
24:34 So he was found in a bin and he was shown...
24:39 I was scrolling through different charities and stuff like that
24:42 and I found this one charity and I just loved the work.
24:45 They were doing and I was like, "I really want a dog.
24:51 Have you got any dogs?"
24:52 And they were like, "We've got this one."
24:54 He was tiny and he's ready to come to England.
25:00 Do you want to come and see him?
25:02 And then I saw him and I don't know.
25:06 We just loved each other straight away.
25:07 And it turns out he's got the same birthday as me as well.
25:10 -Really? -Yeah, which is mad.
25:13 But now he's like a massive horse.
25:15 And because I'm so busy, I find I've had to...
25:19 My mum's had to look after Marmite.
25:24 But my mum and my dad, they love him.
25:28 -Oh, sweet. -And he loves them.
25:30 But he came into my life at the right point as well.
25:37 This is the time when I was doing a lot of what I spoke about already.
25:44 And...
25:44 She's kind of ground you a little bit.
25:48 Yeah, he did.
25:49 He was...
25:50 I had to kind of like just...
25:52 I had this other life in my house and I was like, "I cannot mess this up."
25:58 And then luckily then lockdown happened and I moved back with my mum and dad.
26:05 But he's wicked.
26:06 He is nuts.
26:09 But animals are just good for the soul.
26:12 -Yeah. -They are...
26:13 They will love you unconditionally.
26:17 They won't judge you.
26:19 They don't care if you're a singer.
26:22 You know what I mean?
26:23 You better walk me now.
26:25 You better pick my s*** up.
26:27 And you better play with me.
26:29 And that's what I like.
26:31 And how has having a pet kind of helped your mental well-being generally?
26:36 Because I think, you know, you mentioned the responsibility side of things.
26:40 It gives you, I guess, an important sense of having to care for someone.
26:44 Well, something.
26:45 Someone?
26:46 Something, someone.
26:48 -Someone. -Mama.
26:49 Yeah.
26:49 But yeah, how has having an animal kind of boosted your mental well-being?
26:55 If you think it has.
26:55 I mean, I'm sure it has.
26:56 -Yeah, definitely. -It has for me.
26:58 I think just like you've...
26:59 You're happy, ain't you?
27:02 -Yeah. -You're not...
27:02 There's never a dull moment, really.
27:07 And if you are a bit sad, like the animals know about it.
27:10 They do, don't they?
27:11 My cat always knows.
27:12 If ever I'm like a bit upset or I'm crying, my cat will come and sit on me
27:16 as if to like give me a cuddle.
27:18 -Yeah, exactly. -It's really sweet.
27:19 Exactly.
27:20 But I think being away a lot
27:25 and him having to live at my mum's house is...
27:30 That's tough though, do you know what I mean?
27:33 Because I'm like, when I feel bad at my mum and dad,
27:35 so I'm just like, "Can you have my dog for a while?"
27:38 For a long while.
27:40 But I love it when I go, "He's actually coming to mine tonight."
27:46 -Is he? -Yeah, I'm seeing him.
27:48 Oh, sweet.
27:49 So how big is he now?
27:50 Not that. He's like that.
27:52 -Really? -No, he's not that tall.
27:54 -He's about that tall. -Oh my gosh.
27:56 Yeah, huge.
27:57 Does he sleep on the bed with you?
27:58 No, he doesn't.
28:00 I was going to say, it's taken up quite a lot of space.
28:02 He's more of a guard dog though.
28:05 -Oh, really? -He's more like...
28:06 He sleeps on the landing and he's just protecting, as always.
28:13 He doesn't really like men, if I'm going to be honest.
28:15 -Really? -Nah.
28:16 That's interesting. I know a lot of rescue...
28:18 Actually, my friend has a Romanian rescue dog and is the same.
28:20 Really doesn't like men.
28:21 Doesn't like men, so...
28:23 That's interesting.
28:24 Yeah, so if a new person comes into the house, it's a process.
28:29 Finally, tell us about your third love, which is your family.
28:32 Yeah, family.
28:33 I think everybody is...
28:36 Everybody's family is...
28:39 You can't choose them, do you know what I mean?
28:42 But the family that I've got are amazing and I love them dearly and they love me dearly.
28:48 My mum, she is so supportive, always has been.
28:51 Me and my mum, we've got a special bond, me and my mum.
29:00 I'm her rock and she's mine, do you know what I mean?
29:04 And yeah, we've always just had that bond.
29:09 I think sons and mums, they all have a special bond, don't they?
29:15 So yeah, my dad is up there with probably the funniest man I've ever met in my life
29:24 and just the most caring, sweetest soul.
29:29 And like, worships the floor my mum walks on.
29:32 And I've grown up looking at that and witnessing that.
29:38 And I'm lucky that my mum and dad are still together because
29:41 the most, if not every single one, apart from one friend, their mum and dad aren't together.
29:48 So it kind of puts the foundation for the relationships that I want
29:55 and the relationship that I have.
29:57 I never want to not be like my mum and dad.
30:03 So yeah, I've got my mum and dad.
30:06 My brother as well, Caelan, he's wicked.
30:11 I call him a little G because he is.
30:13 Younger.
30:14 Yeah, yeah.
30:15 Five years apart.
30:17 And again, doesn't like, this life that I'm living doesn't phase him.
30:25 And he's just a cool guy.
30:27 That's what he is.
30:28 I love him to bits.
30:29 I know you feature your dad sometimes in your podcast
30:33 and in little videos that you do on TikTok and stuff.
30:36 What do they make of the kind of starry, crazy attention side of your career?
30:43 Who, my mum and dad?
30:44 Yeah, do you ever bring them to--
30:46 Yeah, yeah, yeah.
30:47 My dad loves it.
30:47 He thinks he is famous.
30:48 If not, he is.
30:51 I went to--
30:51 I was on tour and he's like, "I've got to go to the merch sign.
30:57 I've got signatures to sign and that."
31:00 So sweet.
31:00 So yeah, but they're cool.
31:03 They love it and they're just proud.
31:05 And obviously, like I say about family,
31:08 I've also got my missus family that I'm really, really tight with as well.
31:15 And they're like--
31:17 Well, they are my family now.
31:18 Yeah.
31:19 And I'm very, very lucky that, again, I came into my missus life
31:26 when all this was kind of happening and they've had to kind of adapt to this life as well.
31:32 And they're, again, just so supportive.
31:36 And again, it doesn't really phase them.
31:39 My grandma and granddad.
31:40 I'm so close to my grandma and granddad.
31:43 And I've got too many cousins and I love it.
31:48 It's a big family and I think family for me is the most important
31:52 because they're the people that--
31:54 When I say you can't choose them, they're the people that won't go anywhere.
31:59 And they won't judge you.
32:00 They won't--
32:01 Well, they probably might judge you.
32:03 My mum would call me a dickhead.
32:05 Yeah, that's not judging you though.
32:06 I think that's bringing you back down to earth when you probably need it.
32:09 Yeah, exactly.
32:09 But unconditional love, you know.
32:11 And have there been any moments in your career where things haven't been going well
32:16 or you've been acting in a certain way that you're not proud of
32:19 and they have been the ones to really give you the kind of hard talking to?
32:23 That's why I moved home.
32:24 Yeah.
32:24 When my mum came to London and was like, "Nah."
32:27 Yeah.
32:27 Well, particularly, I think people who get famous and get successful really young
32:31 in the music industry, that's a sort of well-known trajectory for a lot of people.
32:37 Would you ever, given your own experiences of it,
32:41 if you had children, would you ever be wary about them going into music?
32:45 Nah.
32:46 I think my mum and dad, again, like I've said about the foundation,
32:51 if and when I have kids, if they want to do what I do, then sweet.
32:56 Like, my missus, she was a dancer.
33:00 I'm a singer.
33:01 Oh, cool.
33:01 And yeah, triple threat kids.
33:05 Start a little musical theatre troupe.
33:07 Yeah, you never know what will happen.
33:08 That's it for today.
33:09 Thank you so much for listening.
33:11 If you enjoyed this episode of Love Lives,
33:14 you can listen to all episodes on all major podcast platforms.
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33:21 social media platforms, and all connected devices.
33:24 I will see you soon.
33:25 Bye.
33:26 [Music]