If you don’t know the name James Bay and haven’t yet been charmed by his recent ‘Let It Go’ EP, chances are your education isn’t too far around the corner.
With radio plays racking up and some big-name support slots in the bank, the Hitchin-born singer-songwriter is well set for a rise to pop stardom thanks to some stunning vocals and impressive songwriting that belies his tender years.
After opening for Jessie J at the iTunes festival, which has been doing its thing at London’s Roundhouse all month, Bay was in suitably high spirits when we caught up with him.
“Last night was amazing,” he said. “It was my first time ever in the Roundhouse, which I’ve walked past about a thousand times and thought: ‘Wow, what an amazing place.’ It was a lot of fun. The iTunes people deck it out pretty seriously and I had a really, really great time. When you play in a great venue for the first time, you just want to go back. I love it, I love playing in big spaces like that.
“It’s been a real cool few weeks, or almost months, but it’s been very busy. I like to smash through lots of stuff and push things forward, but there have been a couple of nights when I’m buzzing a bit and not really sleeping, so I’ve not really had time to take it in. I haven’t had a second. I’m on a plane in a few days and it’s a nine-hour flight so I’ll try and do that then.”
Bay’s turn with Jessie J was the latest in a run of support gigs that has seen him share bills with Tom Odell, Kodaline, John Newman and, at this summer’s Calling Festival, Stevie Wonder.
“It is still, again, just like a dream,” he said. “I remember the soundcheck and all his band are really cool people. Unfortunately, none of us got to meet him, but just being in the same vicinity as him is a pleasure. It was cool to say I shared the stage a bit and we were on the same bill. It was a great day. It’s an honour being asked to be on those bills. Playing at something where lots of people are there to see a really big name and getting exposed to them is great.”
Earlier this month, Bay enjoyed a couple of headline shows in a rather unusual setting, when he played two sold out nights at St. Stephen’s Church in Shepherd’s Bush. The surroundings may have been evocative, but that doesn’t mean the transition was risk-free.
“Being in a church and being sold out, those two things married together made it the great experience that it was,” he said. “I’ll be honest with you; I was quite sceptical about the church. I loved the idea of it, but lately I’m plugging in the electric guitar, we’ve got a drum kit and we’re doing a bit of rocking out. I didn’t know with the enormous ceiling how it would work as there’s lots of room for sounds to echo and bounce and reverberate. Would we be able to control and tame all that stuff?
“I was a bit wary, but the beauty of it was that it was sold out, people packed out the room and made it a beautiful atmosphere. It all came together and they were two of the best nights of the year for me, it was incredible. I’m now really pleased it was in a church. I think that was such a cool backdrop and setting.”
November will find Bay on the road for a full UK and Ireland tour, with the opening show in Manchester and closing night at London’s Scala already sold out. His plans for the trek - which will feature support from Port Isla - are starting to take shape.
“I’m always scheming and planning so I always take a bit of time to decide what to do for the shows,” he said. “We might drop in a couple of new songs; I’ve yet to decide basically. We’ll also be keeping it to the point and just chucking out the tunes as we, and I, like to do.
“I like to change things up in the detail, but we might have two or three nights where we keep the same set. I’m still getting used to playing with a band so it’s about growing the songs live and checking out different reactions and then changing things if we want to. Throughout the tour there’ll be developments and that’s what’s exciting about London being the last show; we can bring all the elements together and try to make it the best night we can.”
Before that, Bay will undertake another support slot, this time spending six weeks touring around the US with fellow singer-songwriter Hozier.
“I’m pretty chuffed about it, I can’t wait,” he said. “He’s a really decent bloke and a really nice guy, so it’ll be great. The audiences will be great, so fingers crossed. I’m just excited to get out there and of course to hear his live show night after night will be a pleasure. It would be amazing to work together, but at the moment we’ve got a lot to work on individually, but we’ll keep our fingers crossed for the future. He’s incredibly talented and I’m a big fan above anything else.”
With 2013’s ‘In The Dark of Morning’ and ‘Let It Go’ already out there, Bay is now turning his attention to a full-length and, we’re informed, it won’t be too long in coming.
“Definitely next year, that’s all I can tell you,” he said. “I’ve been working away at it and it’s just about there, so although I’ve got a few other things I want to do before releasing it, it’ll be on it’s way the first half of next year. There’s some pre-album touring I really want to do, get my face and my music out there.
“Build my fan base up, release some little teasers beforehand, and just work my way up a little bit more to releasing a big ‘ol body of work like that. America and the rest of the world is one thing, but I want to get around the UK as much as possible. It's home, I love it and I love playing here.”
James Bay Upcoming Tour Dates are as follows:
Fri November 14 2014 - MANCHESTER Academy 3
Sun November 16 2014 - GLASGOW Art School Glasgow
Mon November 17 2014 - DUBLIN Academy
Tue November 18 2014 - LEEDS Brudenell Social Club
Thu November 20 2014 - BRISTOL Thekla
Fri November 21 2014 - BRIGHTON Haunt
Sat November 22 2014 - NORWICH Waterfront
Mon November 24 2014 - BIRMINGHAM O2 Academy Birmingham
Tue November 25 2014 - LONDON Scala
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