TomtuneisRedHot
FANS DEMAND SONG IS RELEASED Brit nominee on his unlikely team-up with pipers and how his legendary gran has become his PR person ahead of awards
TOM Walker has sparked fan fever with his sensational new verison of smash hit Leave A Light On.
The reaction to the track – which he performed with the Red Hot Chili Pipers at Murrayfield after busking it on Buchanan Street – could even see it released for sale.
Now, the Daily Record is backing the campaign to have the song made available, possibly to raise funds for charity.
Double Brit award nominee Tom told us: “I can’t believe the reaction it’s getting, it’s been mint.
“The whole thing started off as a fun idea for the Glasgow busking session. We thought the song would sound pretty sweet with some pipes.
“I’d seen the Red Hot Chilli Pipers before, so they were the only ones to ask.
“They’re such great musicians and a great bunch of lads. As soon as we played it through the first time, we knew it would be good.
“Then we bundled into our vans and headed up to Buchanan Street. I was a bit nervous beforehand – you book these things and you never actually know if anyone’s going to BY MICKEY McMONAGLE m.mcmonagle@dailyrecord.co.uk show up. I still feel that about my gigs even when they’ve sold out.
“But the sun came out and loads of people showed up. It turned out to be a really special experience.
“When the Pipers kicked in on Leave A Light On, you could see people going, ‘What’s this now?’ The energy from it was next level.”
The Pipers were playing Murrayfield for the Scotland vs Italy Six Nations match earlier this month and asked Tom to join them.
He said: “To be on the pitch singing in front of 67,000 people was a surreal experience – it was my first stadium gig. What an opportunity and an experience I’ll never forget.
“My mum and gran were in the crowd and you can see them shed a wee tear in the video. I watched the rest of the match afterwards, so it turned into nice little day.”
Meanwhile, Tom is hoping fans vote for him in the Brits as British Breakthrough artist – and don’t make the mistake his legendary granny Sadie’s friends have done.
He said: “My gran would be very proud – she’s got all her friends voting. She’s worked out that all her mates aren’t checking their emails to validate their votes once they’ve done it and giving them a right telling off if they don’t. She’s like my Scottish PR person, it’s brilliant.”
As for our campaign for the single release, Tom admits it depends on the powers that be at his record label Relentless.
He said: “So many people need to say ‘yes’ and we don’t even have a proper recording.”
To vote for Tom at the Brits go to http://votetomwalker.com, click on Tom’s face, fill in your details and the security code, click submit, Check for vote verification email (it may be in your spam folder), click “confirm vote”.