“I can’t believe I’ve met the royal family. It’s, like, one of those things you never expect to do in your life.”
“Sam Smith knew who I was!”
“I started out with acoustic guitar and loop pedal because I thought I wanted to be Ed Sheeran.”
“It’s funny going to America because you’re starting again. You’ve just won a Brit Award, but nobody will care. You have to prove yourself, but it’s good to do that stuff. You might be big in Britain, but you still have to work at it everywhere else.”
“Sometimes music can really seem like a popularity contest with beautiful people.”
“I saw Angus Young running around in a schoolboy uniform shredding on the guitar and just thought, ‘That looks like a cool job.’”
“If you want to make it in America, you’ve got to work for it. And I kind of like that.”
“I’m not trying to appeal to anybody. I just try to do my thing and make the best music I can make.”
“I grew up in a Glaswegian house because my parents are fairly Glaswegian-sounding.”
“As a 27-year-old, I’m like, ‘everything is hard for me. Being young is so difficult.’”
“I always write music if I’m feeling a bit rubbish and I don’t know how to get over or through something.”
“I set out to make music people enjoy, but it is really cool that it is helping people get through.”
“I wasn’t sure what to expect when I toured with Danny from The Script, but he is so nice.”
“Each song is a little snippet of my life – and I got to work with Rudimental!”
“I did splash out on a 1964 Fender Jaguar guitar in L.A.”
“I was a part- time chef. I can cook you the best steak you’ve ever had.”
“I didn’t start singing and writing songs properly until I was 19.”
“I was a massive fan of AC/DC, Foo Fighters, Muse – I went to see all of them live. B.B. King, Chuck Berry, I love Ray Charles. I just like a bit of everything.”
“As soon as I’m in the studio for too long, I wanna be out on tour.”
“I feel like songwriting, for me, is kind of therapy.”
“I have received so many messages from people all over the world who’ve connected with ‘Leave A Light On’ and shared their own story of struggles and the people who’ve helped them.”
“Toilets are the best place for awards.”
“I tried to take my gran to the Brits, but she’s 81, and I don’t know if she was up for making the whole journey all that way for one night anyway.”
“I stay round at gran’s when I come up to visit.”
“It’s always just nice to see your hard work paying off.”
“Scottish crowds are always a good laugh: they never take life too seriously, and there’s always great banter.”
“I’ve always loved good music; I’m not really fussed where it comes from.”
“It was awesome growing up listening to Oasis and Paolo Nutini, but I also loved growing up listening to Ray Charles and Muddy Waters.”
“I’m a huge fan of Paolo Nutini, I’m so in love with his songs and his voice.”
“My dad is a huge music and vinyl fan.”
“I’ve got such close ties to both… Glasgow with all my family, then Manchester with all my mates that I grew up with. So my heart is definitely in both.”
“I’m a bit of a perfectionist and sometimes need someone to tell me to stop.”
“Winning the Brit award – I really didn’t expect to win, and I was just there for the party, but then I actually won it! I’ll never forget that moment and the weeks leading up to it.”
“There’s something about the pipes that just connects with Scots, they go mental for it – it’s in our DNA somehow.”
“It’s amazing to be nominated for two Brits, and I’m in great company. I’m not a politician out blagging votes, but if people like what I do and feel like giving me a vote for British Breakthrough, imagine how mint it would be if I actually won.”
“I really am very grateful for the support from everyone in Scotland.”
“My dad took me to loads of concerts when I was growing up.”
“My first concert I can remember was AC/DC when I was 9 years old, in Paris. It’s a good first one!”
“The town I grew up in, there were no musicians to play with; it was just me. The town I grew up in, there was two shops: like, a paper shop that sells confectionery, sweets and stuff, and, like, a farm supplies and a petrol station. That was literally it.”
“Eventually, my dad bought me a guitar for Christmas, and then I just went from there, man. I bought a drum kit a few years later and bought a bass, started producing, started singing.”
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