ShareBen McKelvey, multi-instrumentalist, singer and songwriter chats with Kevin Cooper about how the death of his grandad changed his life forever, his musical inspiration Bruce Springsteen, the release of his debut album and how he found out that he was supporting Wet Wet Wet on their forthcoming Arena tour.
Ben McKelvey is a multi-instrumentalist, singer songwriter from Brentwood Essex, who started out in the music business as a fully-fledged drummer. Originally starting off in a punk rock band, McKelvey pursued a solo career after the band split in 2010, after he took it upon himself to learn to play the guitar, thus creating the ultimate one man band.
In February 2014, he released an EP; Everything You Were Meant To Be and from that came his debut single, Stay Young.
About to embark upon an arena tour of the UK supporting Wet Wet Wet, he took the time to have a chat with Kevin Cooper and this is what he had to say.
Hi Ben how are you today?
I’m good Kevin thanks for asking.
Let me just thank you for taking the time to speak to me.
Not a problem, it’s a pleasure.
I have to tell you that I have been trying to do my research about you for this interview and I have to say that there is very little about you or your personal life out there. You do seem to keep your cards close to your chest (laughter).
(Laughter) well I have been doing this for a while now Kevin so things do tend to change. However I’m all yours so please feel free and ask away.
Thanks for that, it will make my job a little easier (laughter). So tell me a little about yourself?
I’m twenty-seven years old and come from a town called Beaconsfield although I was actually born in Brentwood in Essex. I now live just outside West London.
Do you have any siblings?
Yes I have a younger sister called Sarah.
Is she interested in a career within the music business?
Sarah actually works for ITV (laughter). She is pretty much into music and she looks after all of my clients and stuff like that. Back in the day she would come along and sell my T-shirts at my gigs. She is pretty rock and roll for a little sister (laughter).
And what about your mum and dad?
They are pretty rock and roll too (laughter). They do not play any musical instruments as such but they have always been extremely supportive of me doing music. So from a very young age I was encouraged to play the drums really loud and that’s how I started out as a drummer. They were very good at putting up with all of the noise (laughter).
At least it wasn’t the violin.
The violin played badly isn’t that rock and roll (laughter). At least you can play the drums badly and still sound sort of alright (laughter).
There are people out there who are making a good living out of doing just that.
That is exactly right (laughter).
So how is life treating you?
Life is the best that I think that it has ever been at the moment; it’s amazing. I have been working hard both writing and performing music for the past thirteen years. I was the drummer in a Punk Rock band which we had formed whilst at school and we were doing ok and had actually started to have some radio airplay. However that faded and the guys all wanted to go their separate ways but I wanted to carry on playing music so I basically taught myself how to play the guitar and at the same time I started writing songs.
I have to say that I had never planned to have a solo career at all. It all simply came as an escape from the boredom, as I didn’t really have anything else going on (laughter). Once I felt confident with the guitar I started gigging in the local pubs and clubs which I have been doing now for the past five years.
And the past two years have been good to you haven’t they?
Yes they have, that’s absolutely right. I have had some success with a couple of my singles and last year I found myself on London Live. I was on the breakfast show speaking to half a million listeners and god that was quite a long way from playing down at the local pub (laughter). It’s been a long road but it is almost as though the last year has stepped up the game so quickly and so much. It’s fantastic and is just what any young artists dreams of. So it’s been a very long road but it has all been worth it.
So I can take it that you are in a happy place at this moment in time?
I am absolutely delighted. The guys who are in my band are my best mates from school and now we all get to travel around the UK on an arena tour. I really do genuinely feel as though I am living the dream at the moment. I have got my debut album about to be released and on the very same day we will be playing the Birmingham Arena. It is just amazing.
Was it always going to be a career in music for you?
I always look at it this way, I think that if music is in your blood then you simply don’t have a choice. My grandad who is in his eighties now, is a playwright and he has had some success along the way and he is still writing because that is what he does. I was in the gym this morning and I suddenly had an idea for a song so I recorded it on my phone. If music is in your blood then you are going to write anyway. If you are able to make a living and a career out of doing that then that is the dream goal.
So in answer to your question Kevin I think that it was always going to be a career in music for me. Since I started writing songs I was always going to keep going for it.
Looking back to the day that you decided to go it alone, are you in a position that you would have liked to have been in or have things gone better than you could have ever anticipated?
To be honest Kevin I think that things have probably gone better. The trouble with being in a band as such is that if you start the band together then you make every decision together and inevitably you are all going to fall out over things. Unless you are all exactly on the same page which is extremely difficult as people change, then it is very difficult to get things done; writing a song which you all like for example. Whereas now I am alone I can make those decisions for myself. I can say yes to a tour without having to involve other people in that thought process.
I am on my own record label; I direct my own videos, and I just want to do everything on my own. I find that stuff gets done so much quicker that way. I never realised just how well all of this would work and I am now getting to control my career destination which I feel is massively important. I think that is what keeps me happy.
Coming right up to date on the 28th February you will be here in Nottingham at The Motorpoint Arena supporting Wet Wet Wet. Just how did you feel when the phone call came?
(Laughter) well funnily enough last year I had played what was my biggest tour to date. I had played the Shepherds Bush Empire which was such an amazing thing for me and my mates to do which was ironic for us as we had watched some of our favourite bands there when we were growing up; we were little fourteen year old Punks growing up. It truly was amazing. After that tour I was a little worried because I didn’t know just how things were going to progress. We had done some stuff which was really great but at the back of my mind I kept wondering what’s next.
I was actually buying myself a new electric guitar at the Wembley Guitar Centre because I was planning on taking a break in order to do some writing. And as I was paying for the guitar I got a phone call saying that Wet Wet Wet’s management really loved my songs and that they wanted to invite me to support them on their upcoming arena tour. So I got a new guitar and an arena tour in one day so that was fantastic (laughter).
It doesn’t get much better than that does it?
It was a pretty good day for any musician; I just couldn’t believe it. The hardest bit in all of this was not being able to tell anyone. I got told about the tour last October and I was not allowed to tell anyone about it until January. Only my family and the rest of the band knew about it, and not being able to tell anyone else really was the hardest bit for me. Once Wet Wet Wet announced it then I was free to tell whoever I wanted to tell and that felt amazing. I have to say that since I found out about the tour I have been listening to a hell of a lot of Wet Wet Wet stuff and watching a lot of their live DVD’s (laughter). I am so excited to be a part of it and I am so grateful.
What I would say is that everyone wants to slap Marti (Pellow) because he never stops smiling.
I can tell you that for the past few months I have done nothing but smile so I will stand by Marti on that (laughter).
I am correct in thinking that this will be your first time performing here in Nottingham?
Yes that’s right Kevin. I have played gigs all over the UK but I have never played in Nottingham. I have been up to the city quite a few times now to visit friends when they were up there at University and things like that. I saw The Twang up there at Rock City which was a great gig but no, I have never performed in Nottingham. I really do love that venue and I would love to come back and play Rock City sometime. I have to say that I do find it a little ridiculous that the first ever gig that we are going to play in Nottingham will be The Motorpoint Arena (laughter).
On the subject of Nottingham you are quite possibly going to be standing on the stage in front of nine thousand people.
So it’s going to be quite a small gig then Kevin (laughter). Thanks for that (laughter).
So are you excited, nervous or a bit of both?
You know what I have no nerves at all at the moment. However when I am standing at the side of the stage waiting to get radioed on then that might be a different moment. To be honest I have played so many gigs in so many different venues and I have to say that if there are people there then it is a much better gig. I have played so many bad gigs with no one there and they are rubbish (laughter). So the fact that there are going to be people there really excites me. So at this moment it is just full-on excitement, we can’t wait to get out on the road. We have pretty much already packed. We are itching to get on the road; we really can’t wait. We are all so so excited.
For your information you could potentially play to a bigger audience than The Libertines.
(Laughter) although I think that The Libertines crowd were there just to see them whereas I feel that most of the fans at these gigs will be there for Wet Wet Wet. However it is a nice thing to know. I have actually turned down larger gigs for smaller venues just so that I could play to a larger crowd. The energy in the room is proper rock and roll; its hot, its sweaty, that’s what it is all about. What is the point in playing a larger venue that is half empty? I just don’t see the point. That for me is a much more enjoyable gig, as it must be for the crowd as well because you are in amongst them.
If you have got the space to move around and you are not getting your beer spilled then it’s probably not the best kind of gig (laughter). As first support you have to expect that these gigs are not going to be packed out when you go out on to the stage. For us just to play these venues is so exciting. I think that we will probably be the most excited band sound checking that you have ever seen (laughter).
Your EP Everything That You Were Meant To Be has been really positively received. Were you happy with just how well it was received?
I’m delighted Kevin. This was my second EP; the first one being an acoustic-folk one. I am really proud of it but at the time that I went into the studio to record Everything That You Are Meant To Be I didn’t have a band as such so I actually had to play every song on the record. I played the drums, the bass, the guitar, the piano and I think that my producer, Jake Robins who I have known for a long time, thought that I was a bit mad when I first went in there (laughter). It wasn’t that I didn’t know what I was doing, but I would say that it was definitely ambitious and I am so glad with just how well it came out.
A lot of that is down to Jake’s patience, together with his skills at making great records. It was because of that EP that I started getting some really good radio play. I am so proud of it and I really do still love that record. The reception has been really fantastic.
You have briefly touched on the fact that your debut album is soon to be released. Can you tell me the title?
(Laughter) I can tell you next week when all of the details are released. I’m afraid that I am currently sworn to secrecy about that (laughter). What I can tell you is that the first single off the album will be Morning I’m Gone. You only have a short while to wait (laughter).
So other than it being black, round with a hole in the middle can you tell me anything about the album?
I have tried to mix folk writing with rock really. I am a very story based songwriter so the theme of the album is stories about what you would hear here in England. It’s kind of the good, the bad and the ugly really and I have tried to do a mix of acoustic based records mixed with heavier sounds and some heavier songs. I have tried to make the album as dynamic as possible whilst making it still flow as a record and I am so very proud of the album. There are a few selected people who I have shown the album to and they just love it. I am really proud of it.
Will you be releasing it on vinyl?
Yes we are, it will be the first vinyl that I have released. The albums are currently in the factory being pressed as we speak. It will be available on vinyl, CD and digital release.
So who were you listening to when you were growing up?
(Laughter) that all depends upon at what age really. The earliest kind of music that I can remember getting into was Bruce Springsteen. On Saturday mornings my dad would be playing the Born In The USA album which would be blasting out around the house. So I would have to say that Springsteen would have to be my earliest real memory. Then as I grew older I started getting into The Jam, The Clash, Oasis, Blur, Stereophonics, and all of the British rock writers. That would have been the turning point for me to start writing even though at that time I was still playing the drums in the band.
Then a couple of years later when I had started playing the guitar I would say that’s when the really big influences came in, people like Mark Everett from the Eels who is, in my opinion the most incredible songwriter on the planet. He has got the most amazing voice and you never know what type of album he is going to make next; he is just the perfect artist. I also love The Eagles, Johnny Cash and Bob Dylan who are some of my all-time favourite songwriters.
What was the first record that you actually bought?
The very first record that I ever owned was actually bought for me by my dad. He bought me the Oasis album (What’s The Story) Morning Glory?which I think is probably still the best album ever made in my opinion (laughter). I still listen to that album and I think that it is similar in comparison to Born In The USA by Springsteen. Both albums are almost like a greatest hits album, and you have to ask yourself just how they managed to write such good songs all on the one record. There are a few albums like that but Oasis were my first one so I will always slightly lean more towards that (laughter).
Am I to take it that Bruce Springsteen has inspired you along the way?
That is totally right. In terms of playing live, and his delivery I think that Brice Springsteen is the kind of person who I would inspire to be like. He can still produce great songs and great albums and his live shows are so good. I think that is incredible for someone who has been doing it for such a long time. He is just brilliant.
And who was it that you first saw playing live?
(Laughter) worryingly enough the first live gig that I ever went to was to see Limp Bizkit back in 2001 which was completely terrifying. It was the first time that I had ever seen a mosh pit and I just thought what the hell is going on here (laughter). However that was on my own whereas I did go to a lot of concerts with my parents, who actually took me to see Bryan Adams.
Getting deep and meaningful with you now, what single event would you say has changed your life forever?
Well that was a kind of bittersweet one really. It would have to be the day that I played my first gig as a solo writer. My grandad wasn’t well and he was in his last few hours so we all rushed down to Devon to be with him. After we had seen him my mum stayed down there with him and as we were driving back we got the phone call telling us that he had passed away. That night they had the open mic night at my local pub which I loved going to so I went home and rehearsed two or three songs for two hours. I wanted to do it as my tribute to my grandad and I wasn’t bothered if it all went wrong, at least I would have done it.
So I went up there, did the set and that was the start of an incredible adventure. If my grandad had not died then I might not have done it, who knows. It was a very bittersweet moment. If you take the booklet out of Everything That You Were Meant To Be you will see that I have dedicated it to my grandad. That was a very important turning point in my career.
On that note Ben, let me thank you for taking the time to speak to me.
Not at all and I am really looking forward to catching up with you in Nottingham Kevin. See you soon.
