By Geoffrey Rowlands
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Who would believe a gig at London’s Queen of Hoxton for an audience of about a dozen people could be a career-defining performance. Tom Odell certainly didn’t.
He was disappointed by such a sparse crowd. But the presence of one person set Tom on the road to his current position of holding top spot on the UK chart with his debut album, Long Way Down.
“It wasn’t some high-powered record company executive,” smiled the 22-year-old singer/songwriter. “It was a friend of a friend of Lily Allen. But the bottom line is that my demo CD was passed on to Lily and she was impressed enough to be in the audience for my next show.”
Lily was also impressed enough to make Tom the second artist signed to her In The Name Of record label. “Her label is backed by the Columbia Records branch of Sony Music so I also needed to make a favourable impression on their A&R people. Thankfully, everything went well so I was able to get on with the process of creating the songs you hear on Long Way Down.
“They’re not all new songs. I’ve actually been writing melodies since I was 13 and basically never stopped. I’ve had some of my tracks for years but they’re different now from when they were originally written.
“I don’t tend to write finished songs. Many evolve over the course of weeks, months or even years. I’ll start with a melody or lyric and then keep adding things until I eventually think I have a complete song which people will hopefully enjoy.”
Voters for the 2013 BRITs Critics’ Choice award certainly enjoyed Tom’s work. He became the first male artist to receive this award. Noting the success of previous recipients in his acceptance speech, Tom joked that he hoped he wouldn’t let the boys down.
Reaching No. 1 with Long Way Down and gaining a UK top 10 spot with his current single, Another Love, sees Tom en route to achieving the kind of success enjoyed by former Critics’ Choice winners Adele, Florence and The Machine, Ellie Goulding, Jessie J and Emeli Sande.
“It’s tough to follow such wonderful artists. My emotions in topping the album chart were relief as much as pleasure. I have been able to emulate those other Critics’ Choice winners, at least to some extent.”
But not everyone appreciates Tom’s music. Reviews of his album were mixed with NME giving it a zero rating. This drew angry responses on social media and a complaining phone call from Tom’s incensed dad.
“You pretty much know which publications will review fairly and those which have their own agenda. I never imagined NME would like my album but nought out of 10 was harsh even by their standards.
“It reminded me of my early days trying to perform at open-mic events. Gangs of lads who weren’t interested in listening to my songs and couldn’t care less about those who were would grab the mic from me and laugh. They were probably NME readers.”
Despite this mistreatment, it’s Chichester-born Tom who has the last laugh. His brand of piano-based intensely emotional and personal songs have drawn comparisons with the late Jeff Buckley.
“My songs tend to be about myself or people I know. Another Love is deeply personal. It’s about falling in love when I was 16 and having my heart broken. Most of my tracks relate to sad situations. I might never write another decent song if I end up happily married.”
Sick Puppies
Australian rockers Sick Puppies release their fourth studio album, Connect, on July 16. The Sydney-based trio of Shimon Moore, Emma Anzai and Mark Goodwin have kept busy issuing two EPs, Live & Unplugged and Polar Opposite, since their 2009 album, Tri-Polar. Three songs from the album, You’re Going Down, Odd One and Riptide, made the top 10 on Billboard’s Hot Mainstream Rock Tracks chart.
They will be hoping for more success with There’s No Going Back, the lead single from their new album. The song video can be seen at www.youtube.com/watch?v=wLvHws3wzi0.
If you enjoy their music, type the band’s name into the website search box to reveal a host of Sick Puppies video and audio postings on YouTube. These include every song on their previous three albums, Tri-Polar, Welcome to the Real World and Dressed Up as Life.
Cody Simpson
Another Australian artist, teen star Cody Simpson, issues his second album on July 16. Named after the area of Queensland’s Gold Coast City where he grew up, Surfer’s Paradise is the rapidly-released follow-up to 2012’s Paradise. This album topped the Canadian chart, hit number 27 on the Billboard 200 and number two in Cody’s homeland. “Making my first album was a kind of journey to find myself as a young adult and artist,” remarked 16-year-old Cody. “I felt more natural and comfortable making the new one. It represents my lifestyle and felt like being back home. I wanted to share that feeling with my fans so Surfer’s Paradise was the obvious title.”
The video for lead single, Pretty Brown Eyes, is posted at www.youtube.com/watch?v=EGDlVvIGTZk. The newly released video for second single, Summertime of Our Lives, is available at www.youtube.com/watch?v=UA0wb6E3hyg.
All 10 songs from Cody’s debut album, plus the three limited edition bonus tracks, can be heard at www.youtube.com/watch?v=k0hCAH34-x0.
Alli Simpson
Cody isn’t the only talented member of the Simpson family. His 15-year-old sister Alli is also making waves on the entertainment scene.
Having appeared in the 2012 movie, 12 Dogs of Christmas: Great Puppy Rescue, and become a brand ambassador for Pastry Shoes, Alli has now followed her brother into the music business. The video for her debut release, Why I’m Single, is posted at www.youtube.com/watch?v=IgGPmYpj1og.
Adele
Adele has become the first British or European female artist to receive a Diamond Award from the Recording Industry Association of America.
The award certifies sales in excess of 10mn copies for her sophomore album, 21. She is also the only British or European artist to earn this honour in less than two years from the album release date.
In other news, Adele is now so popular that she has been immortalised in wax by Madame Tussauds. Her effigies will go on display later this month at the Madame Tussauds venues in London and Amsterdam.
Miley Cyprus
We Can’t Stop, the latest single from Miley Cyrus, topped the iTunes charts in 24 countries and went top five in 16 more within 10 hours of being released. It’s little wonder then that the song video set a new record on VEVO. It notched up 10.7mn views in the first 24 hours after release. This surpassed the previous mark of 10.6mn for Justin Bieber’s 2012 single, Beauty and a Beat.
For those who haven’t seen it, Miley’s video for We Can’t Stop is posted at www.youtube.com/watch?v=LrUvu1mlWco. It has now registered nearly 50mn views.