LEWIS CAPALDI
KING TUT’S STAGE, SUNDAY
He has been kicking about for a few years but Bathgate’s Lewis Capaldi has stepped it up in 2017. The former solo act has a band and his track Bruises has clocked up an astonishing 11million plays on Spotify alone. His new song Lost on You is out today.
Q You were one of 10 last acts to be added to the TRNSMT bill. That must be exciting? A I was only asked to do it a few weeks ago. I’ve been keeping an eye on the bill and hoping someone would think of me, so I’m over the moon. The line-up is absolutely class and it’s going to be some weekend. I’m a huge fan of so many of the people playing, so to be on the same stage as them is amazing. Folk like The 1975, Tom Grennan and JR Green. I’m on early, so I’ll get my gig out the way and just enjoy the rest of the day. Q Is it more special to play there as it’s a Scottish festival and kind of a local show for you? A Absolutely. I go to T In The Park every year, so for me, this is as good as being asked to play there. I know it’s different, but it’s the big one in Scotland this year, it’s the same people behind it and has a lot of the bands you’d expect to see. I’ve got a lot of my pals coming too. Q Your sound has really evolved of late. What was the thinking behind that? A I took time away from last March onwards just to work on the songs. I know how pompous that sounds, but I really wanted to take them away from that acoustic singer-songwriter thing and let them become fully fleshed out. I’ve only done a few shows with the full band, but every single one has been absolutely amazing. I definitely prefer playing as part of a group. It puts across what my music is about so much better. Q You sold out King Tut’s in January. Did you feel something was in the air? A It really felt like something was happening, but it was crazy too as I had no music out at the time. A headline show at Tut’s is always a big deal and if it’s empty, it’s really not good, so I was a bit nervous about it. It turned out to be a phenomenal show. That was the first time I thought, “This could actually go somewhere.” Q Bruises has racked up 11million Spotify plays already. What happened there? A It just seemed to go like wildfire. I had another song in mind to release instead, but after the Tut’s show there was a clip on YouTube of Bruises and it went mental. Releasing that instead was an obvious thing to do, but then I went to bed the first night it was out and woke up to find it was at the top of things like the New Music Friday playlist in America. Then it was all over Europe and the plays just kept climbing and haven’t ever stopped. It’s absolutely mental, I don’t know what’s going on. It’s opened so many doors for me, though. Q How has all this new-found attention changed your life? A I’ve been asked to go to America to write songs with people. I’m just back from Germany where I had a few gigs. I’ve been on tour up and down the country, which I’ve never done before. It’s all just went off the rails a bit. I can’t complain though, it’s all amazing.