Gets political on spirit-lifting single
political edge, the gospelinfused track lifts the spirit. The singer said: “For me, it’s the message of walking into this life and having some fear and self-doubt, and the point where you grab onto something that you know is real, the silent and real things, the truth. Once you can grab onto the truth then this fearlessness comes.”
Gregory first found chart success in the UK when his third album Liquid Spirit went to No9 in 2013. This was followed by Take Me to the Alley which reached No5 in 2016 and Nat King Cole & Me which reached No3 three years ago. His new album could do even better, with Gregory throwing everything at it including the London Symphony Orchestra Strings and a 10-member choir. “Yes, you could say that I went big,” he said with a laugh.
Gregory has a theory about his success. He said: “I was soothed by my voice as a child and I think that’s the same thing others get from it. I’m trying to heal myself with these songs.”
While this is his first album since 2017, Gregory has certainly been keeping busy. He presented Gregory Porter’s Popular Voices on BBC Four and launched his podcast The Hang, which featured the likes of Annie Lennox.
This year he will be guest curator at the Cheltenham Jazz Festival and in May will go on a UK tour including the Glasgow SEC Hydro on May 13 before four nights at London’s Royal Albert Hall.
● Tickets for the Hydro are available from Ticketline. co.uk. All Rise is out on April 17.