Music
Interview
Stage Times: Tom Grennan
The singer-songwriter looks back over his most memorable live shows as he prepares to make new memories on the road this summer
It’s shaping up to be a big summer for Tom Grennan. The singer-songwriter is gearing up for a major UK tour, with stops at some of the country’s biggest and best outdoor venues, including Dreamland Margate, Lincoln Castle, and a hometown stop at Bedford Park. He’ll also visit Haydock Park Racecourse on 20 June for Tom Grennan Live After Racing, set to be an unforgettable summer celebration.
“I’m looking forward to getting back on the road, looking forward to just doing gigs again and playing into a crowd of people,” he says. “That’s where I feel most at home. That’s where I feel most myself, and that’s my outlet. I’ve missed it.”
His summer shows will revisit his old hits, playing the songs that audiences will know and love. Many of these songs now inspire nostalgia for Grennan, who in many respects feels a long way from the man who penned them.
“I’ve grown up, had new experiences, and I’m also in the in the midst of writing new stuff. I’m more connected to that stuff to be honest. But those songs that everybody knows, they live in people’s lives, and they mean something to that person for that reason. So I always sing the song like it’s my first time singing it.”
Ahead of his UK tour, we sat down with Grennan to talk about his favourite live music memories, and the gigs that still stick in his mind.
The one that made you want to play music
I went to see Paolo Nutini at BFestival, and I stood with an old friend, and I said to him, “I’d love to do that.” It was something about his voice, his band looked amazing. The lights looked sick… The crowd was singing back the songs, and there was just an atmosphere. I was like, this is the power of music, how it brings everybody together. It’s like a bit of a religion when people come together.
The first
I was in a pub in Bedford called The Bear, and I was actually in a band doing cover songs and The Bear was booting off. It was good. I’ll tell you what it was like – it was like a scene out of Skins. That’s what it was like. Everybody from school came. We were like 17, 18.
The biggest
Pukkelpop in Belgium. I think we got told there was about 75,000 people. It looked like a sea of people.
The best
My two favourite shows we’ve ever played were both in Manchester, one at the Manchester Arena and one at Co-Op Live. The Manchester crowds are always good, but everything just went well. The band were really tight, no hiccups, no mistakes. It all just ran really smoothly.
The worst
I played a show in Northern Ireland. I hadn’t been to bed. I was very intoxicated, and I just thought, there’s no point going in bed. Let’s just carry on drinking. And I went on stage, and I couldn’t even look at the crowd. I had to do the whole gig with my back to the crowd. It was horrible.
Do you feel like everyone was aware?
Oh yeah, they were aware. They understand.
The weirdest
Back in the day, I did this Guinness Book of Records thing. I did, like, 20 shows, and
it was in local pubs and clubs and stuff. We were just turning up to different places and hoping that people were in there, because for The Guinness Book of Records, you had to have a crowd of more than like 10 or 20. My voice was finished by the end. But we got the record.
