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Graham Clark
Music Features Writer
@Maxximum23Clark
7:25 PM 23rd August 2014
arts

Interview With John Newman

 
John Newman
John Newman
From playing a home town gig in Settle last October to 200 fans to selling out the 4,000 capacity Brixton Academy in London this October; it has been a tremendous year for John Newman.

His debut single, Love Me Again was a worldwide hit and in the past year he has travelled the world promoting his debut album, Tribute.

I caught up with him backstage at this months V Festival. With his Ray Bans on and commanding figure he looked every inch the pop star.

"It's all been a bit mad at the moment but it is settling down, we are just coming to the end of promoting the album which has gone platinum in the UK" shared John.

"It's been very hectic, too many cites in one day, very tiring which I am sure my band and crew will agree with. I will never chill out; working is chilling out for me"

"Its been an amazing journey, you look at the artists who have played Brixton and the Bridlington Spa and its very overwhelming, its grown so much and it's a stunning thing to watch and see all the hard work paying off, even looking at the bill here today and see the artists who I am appearing alongside.

His mother is very proud of his success too "She is a very proud mother and she likes to show her support by being at the shows" he shares.

His debut album contained many influences, "I listened to many types of music so there is a lot of Northern Soul Influences in there, house music and a bit of jungle, drum and bass even and pop music in general"

John Newman being interviewed
John Newman being interviewed
He has said in the past he sees his career as a long term thing which he confirmed "I want to do this for a very long time, I can't imagine working at the local Co-op anymore, I want to be in music for a very long time, whether it be on a major successful label or not, I want to be able to pay the bills whilst making something that makes me feel great" he confided.

Asked whether he ever returns to his home town of Settle he told me

"I do bits and bats, obviously there is a stereotypical thing where people have success and it is said that you have changed which I obviously have: I have become mature. People remind you of who your friends are and it can become horrible, not in a bad way but when people say I remember you but you don't remember me, it a little bit hard but it is always lovely to go back to Settle to remind myself of where I came from and to keep my feet on the ground"

With a new album being written and the autumn shows to come it looks like, in the words of one of his tracks, he will be loosing sleep over the months to come with his busy schedule.

Tickets from £19.50 for the Bridlington Spa show on Wednesday 22 October are available from: www.gigsandtours.com