Jack Savoretti performing his Europiana Tour at The Royal Concert Hall Nottingham on Sunday 3rd April 2022

Images and Review by Kevin Cooper

Jack Savoretti came to the Royal Concert Hall on Sunday night on his sold out Europiana tour, and completely captivated the crowd with his gravelly, tender and passionate vocals.

Opening with new song I Remember Us he immediately showed his strong commanding voice. Backed by a hugely talented band which consisted of a guitarist, bassist, drummer, keyboard player and violinist, they delivered a set list that contained some of his sombre ballads of which he has many and the more upbeat and often funky songs that he revels in.

There was the gorgeous love song What More Can I Do? written for his wife, followed by When We Were Lovers, which had the crowd singing along.

Candlelight was a real highlight with its cinematic mood, like Ennio Morricone doing a James Bond theme, which encapsulated the suave and sophisticated tone of the evening. Other highlights included Singing To Strangers which saw mobile phones light up the Hall as his honeysuckled vocals soared around for the beautiful and thoughtful Soldier’s Eyes.

The Way You Say Goodbye, is a simply incredible moving love song which saw the crowd hanging on his every word, before new song Secret Life upped the tempo with its infectious beats that had feet tapping. Who’s Hurting Who, a 70’s sounding disco song written with Nile Rodgers went down a treat before Catapult, a piano driven piece was so incredibly beautiful that it brought out all kinds of emotions.

More Than Ever had Savoretti’s vocals at their very best before the arm waving Home and Each And Every Moment brought the main set to a close. For the encore there was the surprising addition of You Don’t have To Say You Love Me, sung half in Italian and with such passion that it brought the crowd to their feet with spontaneous applause before Back Where I Belong left them begging for more.

There is no doubting that Savoretti has got better and better over time and the level of talent and showmanship that he brought to this performance was absolutely first class. He radiated his easy going charm throughout and exercised his distinctive husky vocals so it was no surprise that he had captivated this crowd from the off.

Jack Savoretti with support from The wandering Hearts, performing his Singing To Strangers Tour at Sherwood Pines Mansfield on Sunday 30th June 2019

Images and Review by Kevin Cooper

It was left to Jack Savoretti to close the curtains on two nights of great music at Sherwood Pines last night, and what a delightful night of music this very talented singer and his band provided.

But to warm up the crowd were English Americana group, The Wandering Hearts who took to the stage with their opener, Fire And Water and immediately engaged with their sweet close vocal harmonies that soothed the soul.

From their latest album, Wild Silence, there were other simply lovely songs, like their first single Wish I Could with its beautiful a capella start and the delicate harmonies of Burning Bridges. Finishing a nine song set with Rattle and Devil, The Wandering Hearts had delivered a gentle but memorable performance, perfect for a sunny but windy Sunday afternoon.

With everyone on their feet to give Savoretti a Nottinghamshire welcome, he opened his set with Candlelight and immediately the crowd were hanging onto his every word. Delivering a set list that mainly contained songs from his most recent release, Singing To Strangers, he announced that Sherwood Pines was the most beautiful place that he had played, before he launched into Dying For Your Love and the more upbeat Love Is On The Line.

The really slow melodic Better Off Without Me was followed up with a love song that he had written for his wife, What More Can I Do? before he acknowledged a group of veterans in the crowd by coming to the front of the stage with just his violinist, and a spotlight to deliver the beautiful and thoughtful Soldier’s Eyes.

With the stage lighting beginning to have an effect as the forest turned dark, Savoretti continued with his melancholic reflective song, Catapult, before raising the tempo with Home which had the crowd singing along enthusiastically.

Bringing his set to a close with Tie Me Down, the anthemic The Other Side Of Love, Written In Scars and Back Where I Belong, Savoretti’s honeysuckled vocals soared around the forest and with his encore of Singing To Strangers and Going Home, he had completely captured this crowd and left them wanting more.

Jack Savoretti, English singer, songwriter and musician chats with Kevin Cooper about deuting with Kylie Minogue, how becoming a father has made him more mellow, his latest album Singing To Strangers, and his forthcoming appearance at Sherwood Pines in the summer.

Jack Savoretti is an English singer, songwriter and musician of Italian descent, having been born to an Italian father, and a half German and half Polish mother. As a teenager growing up in the Swiss city of Lugano, his main interest was poetry until his mother gave him a guitar and suggested that he put some music to the words that he was writing.

Since then he has released five studio albums, with his sixth, Singing To Strangers, due to be released later this month. Between The Minds was released in 2007, Harder Than Easy in 2009, Before The Storm in 2012, the commercially successful Written In Scars in 2015 which was followed up with Sleep No More in 2016.

Written In Scars was the first of his albums to be released by a major record label and it peaked at number seven in the official UK album chart, where it remained for forty one weeks. It was also BBC Radio 2’s Album of the Week in February 2015. Sleep No More was similarly successful when it reached number six in the charts.

In 2018, he featured on Kylie Minogue’s album Golden, where he dueted with her on the song Music’s Too Sad Without You.

Whilst busy preparing for the release of his latest album and his tour of the UK in May, he took some time out to have chat with Kevin Cooper and this is what he had to say.

Hi Jack how are you today?

Hi Kevin I’m good buddy how are you?

I’m very well thank you and before we start let me firstly thank you for taking the time to speak to me today.

Right back at you and thank you for doing this interview.

And just how is life treating you at this moment in time?

Life at the moment is good, very good actually. I have a little time off so I am spending it with the family. We are in Cornwall enjoying being by the sea.

You and I last spoke back in 2015 when you were disillusioned with the music business. Has that way of thinking and attitude changed in anyway?

(Laughter) erm, let’s just say that I still have my doubts as to just how healthy the music business is as a business. But I have most definitely seen a much better side to it than I have ever seen in the past. I think that very much has to do with the fact that we have created our own little business plan in such a crazy business, and have created our own business model which means that we can very much keep ourselves to ourselves without getting caught up in the whole rat race of it all.

Before we move onto the new album and the forthcoming tour I wanted to say that I was fortunate to photograph you here at The Motorpoint Arena Nottingham on Sunday 10^th September 2017 when you opened for John Legend. How was that?

That really was amazing. As you said, I got the opportunity to open for John which was great. However, I have to tell you that it really was a gruelling schedule, it was a gruelling tour, but I have to say that it was great. John’s band and crew were divine, and there was a lot of love between us and his band. For me to open for John at the O2 in London is something that I will never forget.

So I have now seen you here in Nottingham at The Rescue Rooms, Rock City and The Arena and I am wondering what’s next for Jack Savoretti (laughter).

(Laughter) well I will just have to see what I can get away with.

I have been playing the new album Singing To Strangers for the past couple of weeks and I have to say that I love it.

Ah thank you so much man, cheers, thank you.

Are you happy with it?

Yes I am and to use the old cliché I really am over the moon. I am so proud of this album because it is exactly what I wanted it to be, which let me tell you that is not always easy to do. This is probably the first album where I have had a really clear idea about what I wanted to do before writing a single song. I had the name of the album before I had written any of the songs. In fact I had the name of the album before actually writing the song which carries the name of the album (laughter). There is a song on the album called Singing To Strangers and that was literally the last song that I wrote. I had finished the album and I thought that it would be lovely if there was a moment on the album and perhaps even in the show where everything goes dark and you go in to the mind of the songwriter and what they are doing.

You go into the mind of the performer who is asking himself ‘why do I do all of this’. So I really looked at this album a bit like a movie about my life. I wanted it to be very atmospheric and I wanted it to be cinematic in its approach. I wanted the album to sound like the soundtrack to a movie and see if you would really know just what it would feel like. So that is what I decided to do.

When did you finish the album?

I think that it was late September. We did ten days in the studio in Rome last August and then we all went our separate ways for a short break and then we all got back together on 1^st September and mixed and mastered it all.

Can you leave the album alone or are you a meddler?

No, no, not at all, in fact that is something that Ken Blackwood and I have very much in common. We both just wanted to get it done. I’m not a perfectionist; I am more a pleasure over perfection kind of guy, and I will always choose pleasure over perfection any day (laughter). I want to enjoy the process. I don’t want it to be a chore otherwise I would do something else. I can never understand why people torture themselves whenever they are making art. To me I find that everything else in life can be so tortuous, so I find that making art is the one thing which I get to enjoy, and make my own rules up, and decide when a project is finished. So I will always chose pleasure over perfection when it comes to making albums.

I am so pleased that you mentioned making the album sound like a movie soundtrack because I currently have three go to tracks, the first being Candlelight which I personally feel would be a great theme to a James Bond movie.

(Laughter) thank you that really is very much appreciated. However, I have to be honest with you and say that wasn’t my intention but I will most definitely take that as a compliment.

The second track is Dying For Your Love and if you have ever seen the Robert Rodriguez movie From Dusk Till Dawn I think that you will see just where I am coming from?

Totally, I absolutely know exactly where you are coming from. I personally wanted that track to be something along the lines of Angelo Badalamenti’s original soundtrack to the movie Twin Peaks. That really is a very dark song, something that you would call a death ballad, or a murder ballad, and it really is about coming to the realisation of your own mortality and I think that having children does that to you. On the day that you finally have a child of your own then you become very aware of your own mortality. You just don’t want to die through worry (laughter). Before I had kids I didn’t really care, but the main thing that I have finally come to realise is just how important it is to have somebody with you for the long journey, like your life partner.

This song, although I don’t personally believe that it is perceived as that, but that is what it is saying. There is a lyric in that song which says ‘you don’t have to die alone’ and I think that was the premise of that whole song.

The last one is Youth And Love which I personally feel has a definite 70s disco feel to it. Would you agree?

Absolutely, although I personally see it as Italian 80s disco from my youth but I do know exactly where you are coming from. In 2017 there was an Italian film released which was called Call Me By Your Name which I went to see and I have to say that it really did affect me. It really was such a beautiful movie. However, what affected me the most was the fact that the movie takes place in Italy in the summer back in the 1980s and that is exactly how I used to grow up, going to Italy in the summer hearing all of this euro disco, or euro pop if you like, in the background. I would have to say that ninety percent of it was rubbish but there were always these one or two moments which were just genius and really good. I walked out of the cinema after seeing that film and I just wanted to write Youth And Love.

It is quite a melancholic love song, with me reminiscing about my summers as a young kid, falling in love, summer loving and all that. That is why I wanted to write that song because of the music that was playing in the background when I was thinking about those days, being a kid in the summer in Italy.

You have used the word genius which I personally feel gets used far too much these days…

Yes you are totally correct, it does.

But I have to ask you, just what was it like working in the studios of a certain Ennio Morricone?

I have to be totally honest with you and say that for me that was a dream come true although sadly, Ennio wasn’t there at the time. However, I did get to play some of his beautiful pianos, use his mixing desk and please don’t get me wrong, his music was present and we were listening to him all of the time in the studio. We were all searching around the studio looking for pieces of history that we could find and he was most definitely a big influence on the writing of the album and I think that you can hear that. Ennio’s gift was the melancholy, the melody and the atmosphere. Those are the three words that I really try to associate with this album.

The last time that we spoke I asked you who had influenced you and you said Bob Dylan. Taking that on board just how did it feel to get to co-write with him on Touchy Situation?

(Laughter) well that is still pretty nuts; I still feel like I’m the guy who found a bag of money, grabbed it and ran (laughter). I really do feel a bit like that. I have no idea just how much Bob knows about the finished track but I do know that his team gave the song the thumbs up and that will do for me. It really was quite daunting. I sat with the guitar for a few hours and it really was frustrating for me as I found myself writing songs which were simply too much like Dylan songs and I really didn’t want to do that. I really didn’t see the point in doing that. So I put down the guitar, walked over to the piano, started reading over the lyrics and when I got to the lyric ‘touchy situation’ I suddenly realised that my hands were touching the piano.

I was being quite touchy with the piano, my hands were jumping all over it. I thought ‘there you go, this is now starting to become my song’. I then moved things around a bit and I now say that “these may be Dylan’s words but this is my song”.

Has becoming a dad changed the way that you write; are there subjects now which are off-limits?

Yes it has absolutely one hundred percent. Becoming a dad has reminded me about romanticism; it has reminded me just how romantic life can be. When I say romantic I don’t mean ‘baby I love you’ I mean atmosphere, being able once again to see the beauty in things. I know that there are things of beauty out there which before I would have walked past and not taken any notice of them. I know that I was probably a little bit more frustrated and angry before I had children. Children have most definitely bought a certain magic back into my life; they have bought the Disney effect back into my life (laughter). Make believe is suddenly real again. I have now got Peter Pan and Mary Poppins living in my house again so yes, it really has affected both me and my writing.

You will be back out on the road once again here in the UK in May, are you looking forward to that?

Yes I am but the only hard part is being away from the family. That really is the only hard part, the only downside to touring. Everybody in my band has played on the album so out on tour you really are hearing the boys that made the album and you are going to get to see them every night and I think that is something that you don’t see a lot these days. I feel that it is always nice to actually see the guys who have played on the record so that is what we are going to be offering.

Here in Nottingham we will have to wait a little longer to see you as you won’t be here until Sunday 30^th June when you will be performing at Sherwood Pines for The Forestry Commission. Are you looking forward to that?

Yes I am, I love playing outside and I love the challenge of that, in fact to me it feels like a sport. I like to try to connect with as many people as I can and that is so different when you are playing outdoors to what it is when you are playing indoors.

Well I have to say that this year is a cracking line-up; on Friday 28^th June we have Jess Glynne kicking off the weekend, then on Saturday 29^th we have The Mod-Father himself Mr Paul Weller followed by your good self closing things.

Wow, I really do hope that I can follow that and maybe even entertain the crowd a little (laughter). That really is a great line-up, I wasn’t aware that Paul Weller would be playing, that really is awesome.

Will this be the first time that you have played for The Forestry Commission?

(Laughter) I have absolutely no idea. It all turns into a blur.

Don’t say that, we here in Nottingham think that you treat us differently from the rest of the UK (laughter).

I will when I see you. However, I will have absolutely no idea where I am, but until we get to where we are going I have no idea where we are going let me put it that way (laughter).

How did your duet with Kylie Minogue on Music’s Too Sad Without You manifest itself?

Well we originally recorded the song for a movie called Halal Daddy which is an Irish-German-French comedy film. The director of the movie, Conor McDermottroe is a friend of Kylie’s and he was a fan of mine having heard some of my work. They asked us if we would do a cover of Rivers Of Babylon which was written and recorded by Brent Dowe and Trevor McNaughton of the Jamaican reggae group The Melodians back in 1970 and as you know was covered by Boney M in 1978. So we met up and both of us very quickly decided ‘let’s do something else’ (laughter). Don’t get me wrong, we both love that song but it just didn’t seem right for us, it just didn’t feel natural.

After that Kylie suggested that we try to write something together and so we wrote Music’s Too Sad Without You and that really was a magic moment. Putting your headphones on in a studio and suddenly hearing Kylie’s voice singing back to you truly is a moment that I won’t forget.

What was the last song or piece of music that made you cry?

That is a very good question, give me a second here. Stay there, I am just going to check very quickly my playlist, oh that’s it, I’ve got it. It was True Love Ways by Buddy Holly.

On that note Jack let me once again thank you for taking the time to speak to me today, it’s been fantastic.

Thank you so much Kevin, you take it easy buddy and I will see you in Nottingham.

John Legend, with special guest Jack Savoretti, performing his Darkness And Light Tour at The Motorpoint Arena Nottingham on Sunday 10th September 2017.

Imaged and Review by Kevin Cooper

Back in 2004 there was no telling what the future held for John Legend as he came on to the scene as a prodigy piano player discovered by Kanye West. Fast forward 13 years and he has truly grown into his moniker of ‘legend’ with his worldwide tour named after his latest album, Darkness And Light making a stop at Nottingham’s Motorpoint Arena last night.

With Jack Savoretti supporting, there was a big crowd to listen to his powerful opener, Only You from his latest album Sleep No More. With his spine tingling voice projecting around the Arena, other new songs such as Whiskey Tango and Deep Waters were well received. But it was standout moment Breaking The Rules that earned him a standing ovation. Finishing his set with Catapult, an outstanding song from his Written In Scars album, Savoretti had certainly left a mark on this crowd.

Legend began his near two hour 25 song set behind his piano for the beautiful new song, I Know Better. Other new songs followed; Penthouse Floor, Love Me Know, Darkness And Light, Overload and his current single Surefire which all showcased his ability to pout and wiggle his hips.

And with his energy and showmanship never wilting, it was soul throwback Slow Dance that got an appreciative cheer as he invited a lucky lady from the audience to dance with him. With a true calling for crafting potentially timeless songs, the beautiful You And I (Nobody In The World) had every couple in the room swaying in tandem whilst his velvety voice soared on a cover of Meghan Trainor’s Like I’m Gonna Lose You.

Legend turned the clocks back to 2004 as he played his first single Used To Love U and brought it all right up to date with Right For You (For Luna) with film clips of his too cute daughter being shown on the big screens. Telling this enraptured audience an endearing story about his role as a laptop DJ whilst his wife was in labour, he launched into a cover of the Curtis Mayfield classic, Superfly, which was playing when his daughter was born.

Complete with a costume change it was not long before he was back behind his piano for a funky and upbeat cover of Harold Melvin & The Blue Notes’ Wake Up Everybody, whilst images of everyday people on the huge screens enhanced Ordinary People, his 2005 breakthrough hit.

The highlight was undoubtedly The Beach Boys’ God Only Knows done a capella with a single spotlight on him, but the encore brought Legend back for the song that finally knocked Pharrell’s Happy off the US number one spot, All Of Me.

Ending with a powerful and poignant Glory, the award winning song from Selma, which was accompanied with footage from the civil rights movements, Legend had given a performance that simply took your breath away. But with him oozing romance, he could sing a Chinese menu and still make women swoon with his warm and seductive style.

Jack Savoretti performing at Rock City Nottingham on Friday 11th November 2016

Images and Review by Kevin Cooper

A packed Rock City saw Jack Savoretti take to the stage last night in support of his latest album Sleep No More. Around eight years ago he was being pitted alongside Paolo Nutini, a fellow genetically gifted Anglo Italian with a guitar and a few life stories to tell, but then his path took a different direction when he split with his record company, and he found himself in the wilderness.

Using that experience to write his 2015 album Written In Scars and this latest offering, Savoretti is firmly back on track. Coming on stage to screams from the ladies at the front, he slowly drifted in to Sleep No More, before his band helped him up the tempo.

There was Helpless, an upbeat song which broke the mellow flow of the first few numbers, whilst I’m Yours had some great country tinged slide guitar playing. He gave his very best on stage when he was alone with just his guitar for the likes of Tight Rope, a song about his troubled times and Songs From Different Times, with just a white light illuminating the empty stage around him.

Home, from Written In Scars had the crowd singing along, whilst upbeat numbers like The Other Side Of Love and Back Where I Belong, well and truly woke this crowd up.

Finishing with Only You, a rousing Written In Scars and an almost rockabilly Knock Knock, Savoretti had entertained with songs that had displayed his personal passion. With a vocal power and range that showcased his attractive throaty delivery together with his very amenable stage presence, there was nothing to dislike. But in truth there had been no particular highlight. It was rather like watching a firework that has had most of its powder taken out; it still fizzles but doesn’t end with a bang.

Jack Savoretti, a solo acoustic singer, chats with Kevin Cooper about his love for The Royal Albert Hall, his break from the music business, the release of his latest album, and his forthcoming tour of the UK.

Jack Savoretti is an Italian English solo acoustic singer who began playing guitar at 16. He was brought up in London before moving to Lugano, a Swiss city near the Italian border. After releasing a number of albums, he took a break from his career after becoming disillusioned with the music industry. He is now back touring and releasing another album.

He has attracted the attention of Burn Magazine who has compared his song-writing to that of Simon & Garfunkel; whilst London’s Daily Telegraph describes his guitar playing as having a ‘primal magic about it.’ Some music industry insiders are already buzzing, calling him the new Bob Dylan.

Whilst preparing for his latest album launch and his forthcoming tour of the UK, he took time out to have a frank and honest chat with Kevin Cooper, and this is what he had to say.

Hi Jack how are you?

Hi Kevin I’m fine thanks, how are you today?

I’m good thanks and let me firstly thank you for taking the time to speak to me.

It’s no problem Kevin, thank you for talking to me.

So how is life treating you at this moment in time?

It’s good, the weather could be better but its good (laughter). Everything is hunky dory at this time.

I assume that you are busy getting yourself ready for the forthcoming tour?

Yes that’s right Kevin, we are just ironing out a few small things. We are also getting ourselves ready for the album release and all that kind of stuff. I am just making sure that everyone is in their positions (laughter).

You have a release date of the 9^th February for the album, are you happy with it?

I love it Kevin. I love it more because I love everyone who has worked on it. I was lucky because the album originated from a spontaneous approach, so it was nice that we ended up with something that I love. It is also nice because it seems that everyone who has worked on it like it too, which is the most important part. There is nothing worse than working with people just for the sake of working with them. So it’s nice that everyone who has jumped on-board seems to be really feeling it, which is good.

I have been listening to the album and I have to say that I think that Broken Glass and Written In Scars are fantastic tracks.

Thank you very much Kevin, cheers, thank you.

Just as you are starting to relax and get into the songs, your voice suddenly comes through and hits you straight between the eyes.

(Hysterical laughter) well that’s the plan Kevin (laughter).

Are you ready for the tour?

What can I say, I am ready for it in as much as you can ever be ready for a tour. The best and the worst part about touring is that you never know what you are going to get; what’s going to happen, what kind of conditions you are going to get, will everyone be ok, is everybody in a good place, is everyone healthy, and will the weather be good or bad. There are so many different factors that sometimes it is a bit like going out on a mission. You never know what sort of response to expect, so it is always exciting but you can never prepare enough. There will always be something on the road that throws itself at you, and you just have to improvise (laughter).

You have played Nottingham before, how do you find it?

Yes I have played Nottingham a few times now, and I love it. I can particularly remember playing The Glee Club over there. I have played at various clubs and venues in Nottingham over the years and I played at Summer Splendour in 2013. Jake Bugg was also playing that festival and with him being a local boy, it was great doing that. It’s a beautiful part of the country; I love playing in Nottingham.

At least you didn’t give me the usual answer that I get when I ask that question and say that we have got some fantastic curry houses (laughter).

Well you have got some really great ale up there in Nottingham Kevin. The last time that we played there we found these two really cool pubs that brewed their own ale. That was brilliant.

Did you manage to get yourself down to Ye Olde Trip To Jerusalem, which is supposedly the oldest Inn in England?

No I didn’t, but I will be sure to do that next time. So it’s The Trip To Jerusalem and it’s the oldest Inn in the UK right?

Yes, The Trip as it is known locally is actually built into the Castle Rock which Nottingham Castle stands upon. According to local legend it takes its name from the 12^th Century Crusades to the Holy Land and apparently legend has it that the Knights who answered the calls of Richard I to join the crusades stopped off at The Trip for a pint on their way to Jerusalem.

(Hysterical laughter) well thanks for giving me that tremendous piece of general knowledge trivia Kevin. I will be sure to quote you on that (laughter).

Well that’s my bit done for Nottingham Tourism. I will be sending them an invoice later (laughter).

I will be sure to credit the quote to you Kevin whenever I use it during the tour (laughter).

You are playing The Rescue Rooms here in Nottingham on February 14^th Valentines evening. I would have thought that you would have had more important things on your mind (laughter).

(Laughter) not at all Kevin, I’m not a big fan of Valentine’s Day. That is the one holiday that I am never too sure about. However I am not going to go into that as I don’t want to be the Bah Humbug of Valentine’s Day (laughter). Let’s just say that it is a holiday that I don’t trust (laughter). That one has always gone against me.

Four years ago you turned your back on the music business. Did you really feel that low that you thought enough was enough?

Yes, genuinely Kevin. I was very disillusioned when I realised exactly what the music business could do to people. I was always aware of what the business was, but I was never really aware of what impact the music business could have on people. It was a bit of an oxymoron really. When you are trying to sell something that is really so relative to you, and then people behave in a certain way it breaks your heart. That is what happened to me. Naively I hadn’t realised that the two went hand in hand. Luckily however, because of that experience, I realised that the two didn’t have to go hand in hand. They are both very important but there is the music and then there is the business. You have got to keep those separate and not mix them up. If you can do that then it’s the best job in the world.

And do you feel now that you are managing to do that?

At the moment I am figuring it out, but I know that is what I am trying to do, which is great. Before, I was trying to combine the two and so it wasn’t working. I really didn’t know what I was doing. I was happy to let other people do it for me and that’s why things went the way that they went. Whether I am achieving it or not, I will have to let you know further on down the road. What I do know is that we are trying to do more in order to achieve what I want to achieve.

At least now you know in your own mind what you are working towards.

Yes and more importantly I now realise that every success is thanks to usually just a handful of people. So it is very important that those handful of people want the same things that you want Kevin. As long as that is always open, and nobody has to BS each other, then it’s great.

Speaking to some of the older artists, they have told me that they have worked for over sixty years in the music business and they haven’t got a bean to show for it. It just goes to prove exactly how shark infested the music business is.

Yes for sure Kevin but every now and then you need a shark of your own, especially because there are sharks out there. But you are never going to change the music business. It is always going to be what it is going to be. Remember, it is a business and in the business world there are always sharks who have absolutely no interest in music. But what you have to remember is that most of the people in the business, even if they have become sharks, SOB’s and all that, they did once want to do it for the music. You just have to be patient with people and not take anything for granted and never give anything away too quickly.

Is it true that after you walked away from the music business you couldn’t stop writing songs?

That’s what I needed Kevin when I decided to pull away from the business. At that time I thought that I hated music but hadn’t realised that I was writing music. The best part about that wasn’t so much that I was writing, but the fact that I was actually writing, and it made me realise that these were two separate things. I didn’t start writing at sixteen years of age because I wanted to be in the music business; I started writing because I loved writing songs and it reminded me of that. I realised that if I could do that then get into the business side of things, then the two are not the same thing. It was the wake-up call that I need Kevin.

So would you agree that getting as low as you did was in fact the best thing that could have happened to you?

Yes totally Kevin. They always say that when you hit rock bottom its good because you spend the rest of your life looking up (laughter) so I guess that was a positive.

Listening to the new songs I feel that they are more passionate and have more feeling. Would you say that is an accurate description?

I completely agree with you. I don’t like saying that they are more genuine but they probably are. That is why you have to be so careful with what you release when you are young and first starting in the business because you don’t really know what you are doing Kevin. A lot of the experiences that I was talking about in my earlier albums were very much from my imagination or what I had seen or even about some of the other art forms. I was trying to learn how to do it. It’s a bit like this; you have to learn how to speak a language before you can express yourself fully and with the first two records I was really learning the language. It took me until my third and fourth albums for me to be in a position to say ‘this is me, I can speak the language, and this is what I have to say’.

So describe the new album for me?

Well Kevin it’s based on rhythm. It’s based on defiance. It’s defiantly rhythmical and I hope inspirational too, to anyone who is trying to do something that they don’t think that they can.

Is it true that you first began playing the drums before moving onto the guitar?

That’s right Kevin. I had started playing the drums when I was fifteen years old. Then after a while I got bored waiting for everyone to tune their guitars (laughter) so I decide to get one myself. Most of my friends were playing the guitar all of the time so I decided to jump on the bandwagon (laughter).

So have the drums been put away for good now?

I love them but whenever I play them I think that everyone around me wishes that they had gone for good (laughter). I love playing the drums and find it so much fun. If I had more time I would definitely play them more.

What got you started with music?

Well there was a bunch of things Kevin but it was probably down to me discovering certain musicians like Simon and Garfunkel, Crosby, Stills and Nash, Joan Baez, James Taylor and a band called Sublime. I discovered all of those guys in the same year and until then I had never really thought much of music. I just thought that it was something for parties. But then when I discovered these guys I realised that it was a form of expression. For me it was all about teenage angst and not knowing what to do with it; various things changing and generally needing a voice.

I was very bad at learning other people’s songs so I kind of cheated (laughter). When I started learning a song I would figure out the first three or four chords and then it would get too complicated so it was easier for me to make something up than to actually learn the song. That’s how the whole thing of writing came along because I would do that; friends of mine would like it although it was someone else’s song, and I thought that was quite cool (laughter) and I was getting away with it. And I have been stealing other people’s ideas ever since (hysterical laughter).

So who were you listening to whilst you were growing up?

Pretty much those guys actually. It’s pretty much down to my parents. My dad made me a mix-tape for my sixteenth birthday which was called Forever Young and on it were people like Joan Baez, Bob Dylan, Kris Kristofferson, so I quickly got a full education into real songwriters. At that time I really didn’t know what to do but the people on this tape really struck a chord with me and I thought I can do this and I wanted to do that more than anything.

And your mum liked Motown.

Yes she did Kevin and that was always nice, the fact that my parents had totally different tastes in music. My mum was really into Soul, R&B, Motown, so I grew up very much with Marvin Gaye and that whole Motown scene. All of the Motown greats were always blearing through the house.

Who has influenced you musically?

There have been a few Kevin from Paul Simon to Bob Dylan of course, the list is so long, and there are so many (laughter). Otis Redding is one of the most influential artists for me. Otis Redding and Sam Cooke were the first albums that I started stealing (laughter) from my folks. They were always hanging around the house with those kinds of records.

I personally think that Otis Redding is possibly the best singer/songwriter that there has ever been.

I think that I am with you on that one Kevin. He would definitely be in my top three. For Otis to only have had such a short career, he has to be one of the most influential voices and singer/songwriters that has ever lived.

But you would have to put Steve Cropper in there at number 2 (laughter).

(Hysterical laughter) well he was a very big part of it.

Can you remember what the first record was that you ever bought?

I can and it’s a really weird one (laughter). It sounds like a really pretentious answer but it was the album Talking Timbuktu by Ali Farka Toure & Ry Cooder. It really does sound pretentious but it wasn’t. I bought it because I thought that the cover was awesome (laughter). The two guys are just sitting there in a hut with their steel string guitars somewhere in Africa and I just loved this photograph. And that was the first cd that I bought. On that occasion I really did judge a book by its cover but fortunately it was one hell of an album.

Who did you first see live in concert?

I was very lucky Kevin, it was Bob Dylan in Zurich, and it was my very first concert at fifteen years of age. I got given a ticket and it was amazing, though it was half empty. He was playing at the ice hockey stadium in Zurich and you could literally walk through the back, get yourself a drink and then go back to the front of the stage. It was a great environment. It was at a time when certain things were still legal in Switzerland so there was a really good vibe (hysterical laughter). It was as close as you could get to being ‘back in the day’ (laughter). It was great and that was my first show.

And without meaning to be disrespectful in anyway, that would be when Bob Dylan was still putting on a good show.

He was very good, and I think that I caught one of the last shows when he was still putting on a good show. I saw him again two years later at the Staples Centre in Los Angeles and all that I will say is that it wasn’t great. But the first time that I saw him he was phenomenal, it was a great show.

What has been the highlight of your career so far?

It would have to be a tie between playing The Royal Albert Hall in London and seeing The Arena in Verona, although I have never played there. The Arena is probably the most beautiful place that I have ever seen in my life, so somewhere in-between those two. It is neck and neck between those two (laughter). The most phenomenal thing which you cannot prepare for is the sound of the audience when you walk out onto the stage at The Royal Albert Hall. When the public do actually applaud, which you hope to god they do, the Hall is designed in such a way for acoustic and classical music, the sound of human applause comes at you with such power, it is magnificent. It is a thing that you have only ever seen in classical concerts. It’s grand and even the applause of the audience is grand. That was the thing that hit me the most, the sound of the applause.

Jack thank you for taking the time to speak to me, it’s been a pleasure.

Cheers Kevin, thank you man. I will see you in Nottingham. Bye.