Ben welcomes Northampton-based singer-songwriter Billy Lockett to All Things Business – The Podcast. Billy is about to embark on a European tour in support of his album Abington Grove and is in the midst of writing his second full-length project.
His love for music began at an early age, discovering a natural gift for playing the piano and committing himself to a music career, despite his Mum’s wish for him to continue in education.
Songwriting
Ben asks what Billy’s favourite song he’s written is, and Billy answers with ‘I Could Use A Friend’, which he considers to be the moment he found ‘his sound’.
Earlier songs were inspired by others, even if he was putting his own spin and own voice into things, Billy feels that ‘I Could Use A Friend’ is unique to him and sounds like himself as a person, as well as marking a jump in the quality of his lyrics. He’s aiming to include more songs like it on his second album.
Songwriting can be a fickle craft, with deadlines just as in any other endeavour, but unclear timelines for producing the goods. Billy says his songs can take less than an hour or several months to finish, but they can never be forced, much to the annoyance of management.
Performing
Billy recounts his trip to America to perform his track ‘Hard Act to Follow’ on James Corden’s Late Late Show. His label at the time rejected the song and dropped Billy shortly after. His co-writer, Andy Burrows of Razorlight, played the song to Corden on a shared family holiday, which lead to the invite.
While he wasn’t a huge fan of Los Angeles, he was still appreciative of the experience. The crew did an excellent job and were incredibly professional and the platform led to the song getting tens of millions of streams.
With a European tour and a show supporting James Arthur at the 15,000 capacity Delapré Park later this summer, it’s a busy time to be Billy Lockett. Billy is grateful, as it’s often the case that long periods can pass without work in the music business. He’s also wary of his success, having been in similar positions before where things have gone wrong suddenly. For now, he’s trying to enjoy himself, and feels he’s got a great team around him to ensure his continued success.
Watch and listen to the full episode here:
