George Ezra – peas in a podcast
Too shy to talk to other famous musicians, Shotgun singer George Ezra got celebrities to open up in a hit podcast instead, writes Kate Robertson.
Shotgun might be one of the year’s biggest hits, but George Ezra still isn’t sure of his place in it all. ‘‘I was really surprised that it went to No 1. Not because of the song, but because of the competition,’’ he says, speaking on the phone from Sydney.
He’s alluding to the fact songs that go to No 1 in the UK usually have an interesting feature or a famous producer.
Shotgun has none of that. It’s catchy, adored by children and adults alike, and makes your soul feel good. That’s it.
It’s this point of difference – the unwavering positivity – that’s won him fans across the globe.
Ezra grew up in the English town of Hertford, where his parents were school teachers. He made the move to Bristol in 2011 to attend the British and Irish Modern Music Institute, a school that counts Tom Odell, The Kooks and James Bay among its alumni.
He found inspiration in the likes of Bob Dylan, Paul Simon and Tom Waits, which led him to Woody Guthrie, Brownie McGee and Robert Johnson. Those artists were all the proof he needed that he could make music outside of the Top 40 singer-songwriter box.
The ascent to global fame that followed was a short one. He released his debut EP, Did You Hear
The Rain, in 2013 and, by the end of that year his single Budapest had reached No 3 in the UK, and went straight to No 1 in New Zealand, where it has since been certified double platinum.
A scan of the crowd at his Auckland City Limits set earlier this year was proof of the magic he can create – the wonder, the joy and the amusement. His sunny presence and his grin are infectious in the same way his music is.
Off stage, normal life can trouble Ezra. He can predict the post-tour comedown with absolute precision.
When asked if that comedown still gets to him, the happy-go-lucky tone in his voice fades.
‘‘I find it increasingly hard, if I’m honest. I don’t know what it is. No – I do. When you’re on tour you’re constantly stimulated in some way. Each night I get on a tour bus and before I’ve fallen asleep, the engine kicks up and I know I’m on to the next town.
‘‘Then all of a sudden you get home and it’s hard to sit still. It’s hard to be satisfied.
‘‘It’s a scary thing, because you want to enjoy the time with the people you know and love the most, but there’s something in the back of your mind that isn’t relaxed because everything seems a bit boring after you’ve been on tour.’’
The extreme highs and lows that come with being a musician aren’t helped by the fact Ezra’s closest friends don’t work in the industry. It took creating a podcast, of all things, for the star to finally find camaraderie within the music scene.
‘‘Before the podcast, I spoke to very few of my peers or contemporaries, because I find that very intimidating,’’ he says.
‘‘At events or festivals I wasn’t one to introduce myself to people, and I think that’s true of a lot of musicians.
‘‘I think shyness often comes off as rudeness. I’ll be nervous to say hello to people, and I don’t know if they assume I’m not interested.’’
The first season of George Ezra & Friends included guests such as Ed Sheeran, Sam Smith and Lily Allen. The light, friendly show consistently occupies Apple Podcasts’ top 20 in the UK and Ireland, and tops the music category in New Zealand.
The first season peaked when Ezra visited Sir Elton John’s home to interview him, in what might
be one of the most candid and insightful interviews John has given in years.
Ezra isn’t prone to feeling starstruck, but admits walking up to John’s house was a daunting experience.
‘‘I was bricking it before Elton John... part of me was like ‘how the f... have you managed this?’ ’’
During the interview John makes the bold call that he discovered the artist Khalid two years ago, before launching into the way streaming culture affects the charts. He then says what we’ve all been thinking, in the plainest of language.
‘‘You get someone like Ed [Sheeran], and he wants to make records like we did, two a year, but it’s harder to do that now because records stay in the charts for so long.
‘‘On the American AC [Adult Contemporary] chart, Ed Sheeran’s Shape of You is still on the chart. It’s like, why? How many times do you want to listen to this bloody thing?’’ John says.
But who wouldn’t feel comfortable saying such things to the enthusiastic and charming Ezra? He’s built a career out of making people smile in an industry that notoriously romanticises the broken and the troubled.
The idea for the podcast came to him as he wrote his recently-released album Staying at Tamara’s.
He couldn’t listen to music because he found himself over-analysing everything. Instead, he turned to podcasts. In particular, podcasts such as
The Comedian’s Comedian, in which British comedian Stuart Goldsmith interviews his industry buddies.
Goldsmith’s guests were unusually candid, which Ezra says got him thinking: ‘‘I wonder if musicians would be this honest?’’
Now two seasons deep, he can comfortably say ‘‘I don’t think they would be [as open] if it wasn’t for the fact that I’m [also a] musician’’.
Ezra says he believes the secret to his podcast’s success is the way he offers his guests a place to talk about what’s troubling them, free from judgement about their privilege or status.
‘‘Culturally, celebrity and fame is put on such a pedestal these days, and I think then if you are someone thrust into that world, the idea of you complaining about any aspect of that is just not welcome, and I get that,’’ he says.
‘‘I’m sure my audience assumes I arrive half an hour before I [go] on stage, play, and then go out and party. I don’t think they consider the promo and all that, and nor should they, I want them to think that, I want them to think it’s glitz and glamour.
‘‘But I also think it’s healthy for people to sit down and go ‘You know this bit? I don’t like it so much’.’’
He’ll keep making the podcast because he loves it, as ‘‘it’s the one thing I’m a part of that relies almost solely on myself’’. It’s something he holds dear in a job that calls for constant collaboration.
Part of Ezra’s appeal is his laid-back nature. He doesn’t give off the ‘‘celebrity’’ vibe in the same way many others thrust into the spotlight do.
He’s known to go about his days in London wearing unfashionable disguises, and he knows just how much of himself to give away in interviews, welcoming you into his world, but never truly baring his soul.
When he says he’s looking forward to turning his phone off over the Christmas break, you know he’s actually going to turn if off, maybe even forget about it. ‘‘Unfortunately if anyone is hoping to get in touch with me that’s not going to happen,’’ he says.
When Wanted on Voyage went to No 1 in 2014, he was ill-equipped to take it all in. These days, he’s more comfortable as a person and as an artist. Even if he does ‘‘still feel like an outsider at times’’.
‘‘I’m very aware that people get it in their heads whether they’re into you or not very early on, and there’s no point in trying to win everyone over because you’re never going to. Especially in the UK, there really is the sense that after a certain amount of success there’s no way you’re going to be cool.’’
Wise words from someone who’s spent just four years as a household name. But what advice does he hold most dear? What’s the one thing he’s clung to when the whole world wanted to throw their two cents in?
That would be advice his dad shared after a particularly difficult tour that left him questioning whether music was worth the trouble.
‘‘I wanted to hide the fact I was feeling that [I hadn’t enjoyed the tour]. I ended up opening up to my dad and he said, ‘George, you’re entitled to feel every emotion under the sun. Even when the most wonderful things are happening to you, it’s OK to feel disillusioned or confused’.’’
‘‘I’ll carry that with me forever. I thought, you’re really great, you are.’’
‘‘I think shyness often comes off as rudeness. I’ll be nervous to say hello to people, and I don’t know if they assume I’m not interested.’’ George Ezra