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Sam Fender at the arena when he played there recently. Elton John was just mad. I mean, it’s Elton John. Another great guy with so much advice, He still texts me every now and again to see how I’m getting on, which is just crazy.”
Tom raises an interesting point and lockdown itself has produced some new artists who
have benefitted from the time when they were confined to their houses. Tom’s lyric’s do however sometimes seem a little deep and dark, is this a reflection of the time?
What does he think about Sunderland’s future? His enthusiasm levels up a notch.
“Ah Wembley was amazing. I had been in Glasgow the night before for a gig, so we had to set off really early to get to Wembley so my Dad just said, “Let’s just stay up” so we did. When we got there it was just incredible. Wise Men Say was spine tingling with the whole of the Sunderland end belting it out. Alex Neil looks like a really good manager and I think if we can get a mid table finish then that will be great progress for us from where we were.”
Favourite player?
“At the moment it’s got to be Stewart. All time I think Asamoah Gyan. There’s a lot of players I have loved across the years, but he was great. His little dance and everything. Great player.”
“Yeah, I do try and make my lyrics quite deep. Ultimately lockdown was a horrible time. It left people feeling vulnerable. Almost like they weren’t wanted or needed. I think some of that comes across in the lyrics that I write. For other stuff I do my best not to copy and try to make music that
I love. You can’t help some influences coming through, like Wolves for example. A lot of people have said it’s got a sound similar to The Cure but
I do listen to a wide array of music. I love Anthony Johnson but also like I said before Zep and Hendrix from my time with Barry and then listening to The Smiths. I’m a massive Smiths fan, So, all these things feed into what you produce.”
Tom A. Smith has so much enthusiasm for what he is doing, he has an unusually grown up approach to lyric writing but he is incredibly difficult to pigeonhole into a certain category. That is probably down to the wide influence of music he has absorbed under the influence of his family
Coming back to Sam Fender, Tom is a North East lad playing guitar and singing. Lazy media will make comparisons, how does he feel about that?
“Sam is absolutely blazing a trail at the moment. He’s doing some great things to put North East music on the map. If I’m being honest, to be compared to him would be an absolute honour.”
Tom speaks like an aged professional despite his youth. His voice is always upbeat and the exuberance of his youth glows while being measured with a sensible head. He seems to have wisdom beyond his years.
“I worked on Spark Radio for a while and I think that kind of prepared me for interviews like this to be honest. It was a really good grounding in terms of confidence. There is a strong local scene here and we used to get local bands in and just let them play and chat with them. That relaxed environment just helped me along with all of this. Jordan North was working there at the same time so hopefully I can have a catch up with him on Radio 1!”
There are some great things on the horizon for Tom. He has about 60 shows booked in the diary including the Festival Republic stage at Leeds Festival which he is really looking forward to. He has just released “Not Good Enough” as a single which is now getting airtime. He has an EP coming out in the next couple of months. Things are moving rapidly for one of our own.
and the Sunderland band scene that have supported his rise.
The Sunderland scene is strong, give it a listen.
ALOVESUPREME
ISSUE259
13
BY MICHAEL CONROY