Eoin Murphy’s New kid on the block bares his soulful Sober style
WHEN it comes to music one of the hardest things a new artist can do is to break through. Getting air play is tricky; you have to be ‘radio friendly’, which can mean sacrificing an edge to your tunes.
You are also competing with not just other new bands, but also superstars like Ed Sheeran and Rihanna. So when a newbie manages to get playlisted on the major stations, it is time to stand up and listen.
Tom Grennan is one such artist. Born and raised in Bedford, but with an Irish father, the 21-yearold’s childhood was a fairly typical one. He was football crazy and loved his moped. Aside from an MP3 player his mate’s brother loaded up with grime, music was never a big part of his life growing up.
Until, that is, he had a little too much to drink at a party, and demanded that everyone listen to him sing.
‘I was just going around like, “Oi, listen to me…” just being an annoying guy,’ he says now. But his performance, bolstered though it may have been by a generous dose of Dutch courage, was clearly impressive.
His friends, unaware before that night that he could even hold a tune, roped him into joining their A Level band, where he found an untapped knack for performing.
HIS father, a tradesman from Offaly, had hoped he would follow him into a career in the building trade, but a tragic mugging one day changed his path forever and sent him down a more creative path.
‘I love Ireland, my father is from Offaly so it is in my blood,’ says Tom. ‘I have family in Shannonbridge across the river. Music wasn’t a big thing for me growing up — I was more or less playing football. When I was 17 my music brain started to develop.
‘I was mugged one night and I had my jaw broken and that was the sort of eureka moment for me. I was jumped randomly and I lost my cousin who was my age as well and l just realised that life was just too short. My jaw was plated and screwed shut and I was having roast dinners that were blended which was horrible.
‘I was in the wrong place at the wrong time but it changed me and in a way I am glad of it. I realised that I needed to change paths and my creative mind sort of took over and I started to write music.
‘I didn’t play an instrument though and I was writing lyrics and just writing with melody. I was never academic at school so even writing with pen and paper was alien to me.’
There is something instantly likable about Tom. He is softly spoken and has an infectious laugh. He speaks openly and honestly and is as anti-showbiz a person as you could meet.
His latest single is Sober, his album Lighting Matches is released on July 6, and he plays Dublin’s Academy on October 27.
He is still pinching himself over his new career and admits he was lucky to have the support of two loving parents.
‘My dad is a typical country man from Ireland,’ Tom says. ‘He is a grinder, a builder and a carpenter but he has always been supportive of me. My mum is a big believer in embracing your creative side.’
Influenced by the likes of Ray Charles, Kendrick Lamar and Amy Winehouse, Tom’s music is deeply personal and filled with soul. When he writes from the heart.
‘I just found I could escape from it (by writing),’ he says. ‘I just loved doing it; it felt like a weight had been lifted off my shoulders. Now, anytime I feel anything, I write about it.’
Something In The Water, the title track from his debut EP, showcased Grennan’s gritty, soulful vocals. And while he is very much on the way to establishing himself as a rising star he is fully aware he has a long way to go.
‘I had two or three years slogging away,’ he says. ‘Getting signed was just the beginning. Now I have to go and make a name for myself so the label knows they have signed the right person.
‘There is a lot of hard work to be done and they are happy to help me grow and that there is potential there. I want to be an artist who has longevity.’