“I’ve Never Spoken About This!” YUNGBLUD Breaks Silence On Bankruptcy, Dating & Toxic Masculinity

39:56Not everything is about money. No. But I think it's important, though, because how big was the deal? Because you said you basically left with 60 quid. 60 quid, and it came back with a$1.2 million record deal. We have to stop for a second, though. I remember 13 months of playing East London, The Old Blue Last, downstairs, The Lock Tavern in Camden. Everyone was like, nah. Every meeting I went for, rock music's not really happening at the minute. That's what everyone was saying. They're like, it's a little bit like the Arctic Monkeys. It's a little bit like this. oh I don't know he's a bit energetic I don't think like I don't think that's going to get on radio one I remember people saying that to me and to then go to America and someone go like we love this energy we love this defiance we love this because it's different you know what it sounds like it sounds like you and your drama teacher all over again yeah it does that's what I'm saying it's another bit in my life where Neil Jackson and John Janet go like We love it.

41:11I think any artist right now, your individuality is your best tool you've got. In the past, it would try and make everyone cleaner to fit to TV, to fit to radio. That doesn't matter. There's no rules. Now, as opposed to when I'm signing, the labels haven't got a clue what's working.

41:30Because there's no formula. Individuality is the thing that's celebrated. Even if your individuality is to be the most squeaky clean, normal thing, or it's to walk around with a pan on your head. If you've got 10 ,000 people banging a pan on your head with you, it's a culture. Right, right. You know what I mean? That's just it. So you have the deal. I have the deal. You come back. What's the mindset like? I remember what it was. I was like, send me on tour. I want to go everywhere because young people were my priority at the time. I was writing songs about my mates or what we were talking about.

42:06It was the tail end of Brexit. it I felt unheard so I had this anger and I was like I want to get in the I want to get on the road I want to get on the right like club nights in Berlin and Poland and I want to learn about young people in Slovakia and Poland and Australia and Dallas not just London as I how do I relate to a 19 year old person in Detroit or in Madrid that's what was my priority from the beginning and that's when I figured it out. Okay. I started talking to people on Instagram, on stories and people started to, I remember I got 100 views for my story. I got 100 views. Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa.

42:55Kept doing it. Turned into 1 ,000. Turned into 10 ,000. And at my formula, I was like, I would meet people and I would showcase them and then i got my black heart tattoos and then they would get black heart tattoos and i would just post it i was like this is what i have a problem with the world do you agree and they would inform your art i would imagine categorically inform my art every story i would hear would inform my art and would inform my dialogue in interviews in podcasts in because i was almost was speaking on behalf of the things I'd learned from other people. Yes. It was epic. Yes. And that was amazing.

43:43But then also at this point in my life, now I've got to have written this new album, I almost had to go back to 19-year-old. I need to write for myself. Because the past two albums were about others. And when I was writing about others, I started to get a little bit more lost. Who am I now? you know and i felt like youngwood almost became a mouthpiece that needed to evolve okay and is it true that uh and i don't know if this was incorrect or correct in the research is that when you were creating your festival yeah the initial idea was that would almost be the the death of young blood if you will my second album came out and went number one well commercial success right yeah and the album is about to come out just written was my next artistic instinct.

44:37I started writing that then, 2021. This album I'm about to put out is like nearly four years old. Like, oh, well. But I was dissuaded from the album because we'd had commercial success. The album I was about to put out is wild. Nine minute songs, complete explosion of color, one through line concept record. And the label at the time, like, ooh, no, no, no, no, no. Let's ride that commercial wave. Let's ride that commercial wave. and I'm like that's not Youngblood, Youngblood was always about being like true and wild and that's why we got the number one in the first place nah nah nah nah, yeah yeah yeah let's keep on this wave and I listened to others and I wrote an album called Youngblood which is so crazy, the most lost I've ever been is my self titled album my third album and I started to write it from a perspective of what would Youngblood say as the character that you know as opposed to what would Youngblood say at this moment in his life.

45:35Okay, I follow you. And after the album came out, I was in a hotel room in New York. New York always comes back. I'm kind of realising kind of these weird epiphanies. I was at the top floor of the Ace Hotel in New York. It had gone number one in seven countries. And the reviews came in and some people said I compromised. I was like, you're fucking right. There were great songs on it. but I'd almost written an album about what the caricature of what you know Youngblood is would say. Okay. And I called everyone and I was like, I need a minute. Because it was album tour, album tour, COVID, album tour, album tour, album tour, COVID.

46:12You know what I mean? It was like a whirlwind. And I was like, I need to have some space to figure out what it was. Because I think with me, I've been such a polarizing figure. People love me and people don't. And I didn't really realize until I stopped how much of an effect that has had on me because I would read everything. Because I did my own social media. It was always me. So you were on it. I was on it. You were reading all the comments. My own social media I've always done. Still do to this day. Right? I felt like I have too much responsibility to a community that I've built. And it became a bit of an addiction.

46:51And I was like, I need to be on this. but I would start to read things about myself that I didn't even know I was insecure about. Could you give us a few examples? I really struggle with my body. I always have. I was always a little bit chubby. And people would say this shit in the comments and that led me to kind of go down a real hatred of my own body and then a questioning of inauthenticity. Almost the same, it dragged up all the shit from school. he's too much they can't be real his accent's fake he's did it and the people would formulate these narratives on the internet and i would read it all and i would read it all and i became addicted to reading it all this self-destructive weird shit that i would kind of go down and read it and read it and read it and read it and read it and i needed to take a break from it so i was like i am i am not well i am drinking a lot i am eating myself i am things i was doing after i was eating i'm like i'm really like oh shit i'm not right right now yeah i mean just and there's a line you tell me but but what were you doing after eating you can imagine what i was doing after you know i mean i was fully just eating myself till i was sick basically and and i was i was like i was i was um i was just going on mad binges and then eating nothing for four days and then like Like, you know what I mean?

48:23Like eating myself till I was sick and drinking myself for days and just trying to find distraction anywhere. Okay. You know what I mean? I was literally just being like, I can't face this shit. Let me go and indulge in any regard. You know what I mean? and I think I didn't even know how bad it was until I stopped. And I was just like, I would have these kind of intellectual people ridicule what I was doing when all I was doing was creating from my gut. And it's really hard when kind of people try and intellectualise someone's soul. it's hard to intellectualize art because that's just someone's expression you kind of try and put a meaning behind Picasso maybe Picasso was just scratching his arse and painted that you know what I mean like we try and intellectualize it all but you know what I mean maybe he was like this means this and this means that but maybe it didn't it was just an explosion of the soul and I had to really go inside myself and find meaning and again not allow myself to give them that power.

49:51Right. But when you think about these battles, we had Gabor Mate on, who is really the godfather of trauma. He talks about how what trauma does to us is it reshapes how we then view the world. And when we internalize the trauma, it shows up in our body and in negative behavior. So when you think about this trauma that's happening to you. How does it impact you physically? How does it impact you mentally? It was...

50:24I was a bastard. I was like, I won't talk to my mum. I won't talk to my girlfriend. I won't talk to my sisters. I was, like, blaming everything and everyone. You know, I think, like, you blame the world. I think when you internalize everything, that's why it's, again, such an important thing to talk about. If you don't talk, the poison festers and you start to blame everything around you. That's not the person we want to be. That's not the person we are. I think with it all, I had to fall in love with myself again. So I had to kind of, I had to be alone. I've been saying like, I don't want to be alone in my whole idea of my fundamentals.

51:07And I really had to be alone and be like, what do I want? What do I want? What do I need? and now that's where the festival came and that's where the new album came from I was pissed off with festivals anyway I thought they were taking the piss out of people you know what I mean when I'd like go to Coachella right because what the ticket prices yeah ticket prices or just like fundamentals it became a thing of absolute privilege like$2.50 for a festival ticket $1.25 to$1.50 for a gig ticket right I was like okay I'm pissed off with that anyway I want to get everyone together so let's let's start a festival sick right And I think what Bloodfest did was it really made me realize where this whole thing's at.

51:51It made me kind of go like, oh, this has become way bigger than the idea that I think this is. And this young blood is different to you. It's different to you. It's different to you. It's different to you. It's different to you under this whole fundamental umbrella of individuality and love. but it means something different to every single one of the 35 ,000 people who are here right now. It made me fall in love with the name again because it became ours, not this thing that is placed upon me. It became an idea in personified form. Right. And what I see with it is that in complete diversity, in thought, in representation, in lived experience, but the one commonality, Youngblood.

52:43Exactly. Exactly. Yeah. And it was bringing it back to the Gareth Southgate thing again. And he said that he was like, as England manager, right. I'm bringing in players who are all born in England, but they have different backgrounds. They have different religions. They have different cultures. Yes. What is our common goal as a team? Declan Rice and Saka is the same England team. Who are we together? Yes. and that is the question for the world right now that is the question for everyone in our beautiful colors in our beautiful different mad perspectives that might disagree with each other we need to ask each other who are we as a collective as a human race because we're failing at the minute we are so divided and with no compromise or no will to compromise or no no will to hear each other or actually see each other who are we we've all got a heartbeat we all take a piss right we are human beings and i think again the idea when i saw blood fest and everyone in different iterations i'm like this is so sick because to me it's rock music but to everyone else it's a world it's a world but it's rock music i think with the i don't want to say unique message because there's so many incredible rocks with great messages.

54:12But I think that it's, you know, I think you do a superb job in delivering your traumas. Yeah. You know, and allowing people to connect with that. Because I have read, just like you, I've read the comments. Yeah. And there's a wide range of comments, but the overwhelming amount of the comments on all of your videos, all your music is how people connect to your lived experience. Completely. there one song i have to talk about yeah you already know what song i'll probably talk about is hatred yeah you know that was uh that one uh hit me yeah that was wild and what i'd like to know is one is if you could talk a little bit about the song but how do you have the strength and almost i'll say confidence because you know we're talking about this conversation of masculinity yeah what to say what not to say i can imagine the moments before releasing that or even deciding to write that you must have been second guessing i remember i made that song in new orleans in new orleans okay one of my favorite places yeah amazing it was such a crazy experience right hey because obviously the song is about me being molested in a doctor's surgery while my mom was in the room because I was behind a curtain.

55:33Right? And...

55:40I remember Paul, when we were writing it was a little bit like this and I never told anyone, I didn't even tell my mum. You know, I didn't even know what it was when it happened. I'd just been like, what is this? I was like seven years old. I didn't even know what it was. And we were talking about this thing about kind of masculinity and does that make me less masculine to have gone through something like that? and by writing that song and by gutting myself it was kind of probably one of the most courageous things I've ever done and I say absolutely not, I think it makes me more of a man and I think weakness, to show weakness and to show vulnerability and to ask for help is the most strong thing you can do you know, I think like it could have gone two ways it could have defined my life biggest killer for under 50 men under 50 suicide in this country because we feel like we can't talk about it because there's such this staple, don't be emotional, don't get weak don't talk about that, bury it, bury it especially in British culture as well bury that shit mine, don't talk about that I'm like looking for that experience I've kind of been able to paint with that been able to get that out it was beating the internalised dark character sat next to me.

57:09I think that's got like 10 million streams or 30 million streams or something like that. One of those 30 million people who's listened to that might have found the strength to go, that shit doesn't define me. That shit doesn't make me less of something. That shit actually makes me up who I am. And that experience, I can find strength in that now because it made me who I am. Yeah, absolutely. You know, I so appreciate you talking about that. Yeah, I'm an open book. I'll put that to you. I'm down. It's one of those where it firmly falls into this. Really, it feels like the theme of this conversation is masculinity.

57:50Yeah, it's weird. I think it's very weird you've caught me there at this point in my life. I got 27, you know. I think like I am I've been on such a journey and kind of like arrived here at this place at this place at this at this kind of turning point you know and we know 27 I mean we have to talk about the 27 yeah as well you know this is something that looms over so many yeah incredibly talented musicians at 27 we lost hendrix yeah us amy winehouse yeah you mentioned kirk cobain yeah 100 you know we lost all of that 27 were you aware of that entering your your 27th year historically yeah and i think i think with it all i think like when you again such a staple of youth young bud was yes but is and but whatever

58:47you either die which was kind of probably maybe on the cards with the way i was drinking and eating and doing whatever and indulging it's definitely like an like a possibility you know if you ask me managers and me mates like it were it was wild you either become a pastiche of yourself where you do the same thing forever and you become a staple of the 90s or the 2000s or the 2010s or whatever or you reinvent and you become reborn and you change and i think that's what we're meant to do as humans you know i mean like i think like that's why when you fall in love with someone you've got to fall in love with them 15 times in their life because they're going to change yeah well you know i've been in the the love space forever i've never heard that that's a great you know i mean because you get the love of your life so chris gotta be the love of your life 10 times because that person's gonna change you can't hold on to the you can't hold on to the person that you met on the first day you met them when you're 80 you know i mean you can look back on it and be like oh my god i remember when i fell in love with you but that person's gonna probably become completely different she's gone on 79 years of adventures together absolutely that's the reason why you know with with love yeah it's so important to have that connection of values yeah because your interests will change but the values kind of yeah leave you anchored and that's cool and that's that's that's literally it it's like everything i know about love you know i mean look we have a lot of reality tv stars on we need to talk and i'm always talking to them after the recording about what's happening in their lives and you know what always comes up is that they all are building their own businesses.

1:00:35They are their own brands. And what amazes me most is between filming, interviews, events, and creating content, they actually have the time to run a business too. But when I ask how they do it, almost everyone gives the same answer. They're using Shopify, which also happens to be a sponsor of this show. You probably know Shopify as the platform that helps you sell products around the world, managing things like shipping, inventory, and returns. But what I didn't know is how much more it can do. Shopify's AI integration writes copy, enhances photos, and even creates campaigns. If you're starting your own business and need extra help, visit shopify.co.uk slash need to talk to sign up for your one pound per month trial.

1:01:26I was talking with your show sponsor, Tinder, and they wanted to know if you've ever been on a date that ended up in an unexpected way. Do you have anything like that? Oh, absolutely. Endless, endless stories. I mean, one in particular is that when Jill and I were dating, we went to a slam poetry competition, which I will say I knew nothing about slam poetry. And that's when I learned that you snap your fingers, right, when you applaud. I specifically went there because I wanted to impress Jill so that I can get a little, I'll say, bonus afterwards, you know. But what I learned through one of the poets is that we are all artists.

1:01:59The poet specifically said, we are all artists. And that triggered something in me. It made me click to the point where I realized that I wanted to create. I wanted to figure out how to do that. So afterwards, we went out to eat, Jill and I, and we started talking about creating art together. And I learned from that date that, you know, the date isn't just about the other person. It's not about your physical pleasure. It's not about their physical pleasure. It's about what you can learn about life, about yourself. It was an unexpected outcome from a date. So wherever a date may lead, it starts with a swipe.

1:02:36That's why you need to download Tinder.

1:02:41Can we talk about love? Yeah, we can talk about love. Yeah. Yeah. You've had some, I'll say, notable girlfriends. Yes, I have. Girlfriends. I have. Yeah. But I'd love to talk about your identity. Yeah. You know, how, at what point did you feel like you were firm in your identity and sexuality? I think really when I came to London, you know, I think like I came to London at 15 and I think I had loads of questions. You know, I had loads of like, I went on loads of adventures. With me, I really felt about like, whatever it is, I'm into it. but I couldn't really no one really got that up north I was like what or then I was almost forced to be like well what are you right what are you I'm like I'm a viber you know what I mean like whatever you are like if I like you then I might fancy you or I might have sex with you or I might like if we vibe out together then that's that's the way I see things I love human beings I love human beings I'm like whatever it is I'm down if it's a vibe.

1:03:53Right. And this year has been such a strange thing for me because it's the first time that probably the biggest love of my life I've taken space from and I've asked for space. Last year, I was really having problems with myself and it was all a me problem. And I think... I think I, uh... Her name's Jessie Jo, basically. Probably, no, Jessie Jo Stark. She's probably the most incredible person I've ever met. And she's my best friend. And I feel so lucky to be in her orbit because... I got to talk this through with her. And she understood. And she needed a moment. And we talk every Sunday. And...

1:04:52I mean, ultimately, I think in my life, all roads lead to her because I love her. I never loved anything like I love her. I love her as, I don't know, I love her as everything. I love her as, as if I'd love, you know, I'm saying, water. I need it, you know, and I think I'd never experienced love like it because when you can be that honest with another human being, even in times when we're not technically together, Right. I was like, she's just insane. So right here where you sit. Right here where I sit. You're still in love with her. Yeah. So why not be with her? I think at this moment in time, I needed to build up

1:05:42a fundamental basis of a personality. I was a shell. So I didn't know what I could love. But do you fear? Yes. that when you're ready to go back, she may no longer be available. I think that's the risk that I take. Well, we talk every Sunday, and I look forward to every Sunday, and I get coffee out of the tea. We have coffee out of the tea cup. It's our thing. Okay. And we communicate. Okay. It's complicated, but it's our story, and I love her. Yeah. So you know what's interesting about that? Everything I got, you know what I mean? Yeah, it's like, I think that we live in a society that likes to have a definition for everything.

1:06:31Categorically agree with you. The thing about it is, right, we went to Coachella together, right? Coachella's not my favorite place in the world. I'm a Donny boy, fucking England, you know what I mean? It's not really my vibe that. She's a Cali girl from Malibu and she loves it. and I was so distracted by trying to go from place to place or meet person to person or network or do whatever that I wanted to do it on my own. I'm like, why do I not want to do it with her? And now I look back and I was like, I should have just held her hand, man. Because the memories I remember from that weekend were getting ice cream, walking through the site with her.

1:07:09Yes. Chilling out in a pool with her. It was all her. Yes. Everything's her. Yes. but I've got to I've got to get myself right I think that's it's so easy to be like it is easy to be like well you love her so be together I'm like nah the timing was we've got to figure the timing out but I ain't letting it I mean but as long as you're communicating through it as long as you're communicating it's our that's what that's our thing it is that's our thing and that might be like my mum and dad met at 15 oh wow and now they're still together and they've had the most like again turbulent crazy domestically violent probably 20s to 30s but now they're 55 and never been like teenagers well they figured it out and i don't know what's gonna happen but i will love that girl until i die right and if that ends up like we like i would love it for one day to have loads of kids with her and vibe out and do all the like whatever the fairy tale thing is but if that doesn't happen that doesn't happen but that's why i got tattooed on my arm i was like look at that she's there she's always she's always there and people like are you not scared if you don't if you don't get back together i'm like nah man she's on my skin she's in the same way that she's inked into my heart you have to love yourself in order to love another fun like and i didn't yeah do you today do you love yourself today i think i love myself yeah a lot more i think i i battle with a lot but i've learned again i needed space to process it and I think kind of what's what I think to give her a little bit of credit with Jessie Jo Wright I really think she needed a moment to to kind of bask in her power a little bit I don't know I can't speak for her but I think like she's always been kind of like part of the Cromarts family or Youngblood's girlfriend or someone's friend when she is fucking awesome right I see exactly what you're saying yeah I mean and you know and what you're saying I don't think is so unorthodox if you think about the whole notion of you put the oxygen mask on yourself first or you put it on the person next to you.

1:09:11Completely. So in a relationship, what that truly means is that, yes, you need to have a sense of self-worth, high enough self-esteem. You need to be enacting self-love first. And kind of the fundamentals of being a rock star get placed upon you. And can you be a rock star in a relationship? Right. And then if you're a rock star, you're either not in a relationship or you need to be with another rock star. Yeah. It's like, again, these boundaries are placed upon you and you're kind of like, how do I deal with this? Is that how you, so I know, I'm assuming before Jessie Halsey. Yeah. Right. Was that because she's, you know, renowned music artist?

1:09:58you are is that is that kind of how you two naturally gravitate cool yeah when we met at the time you know and and and i was cool to her and and and it was it was that was almost two things colliding that's why i don't think we worked out and it was epic but we were two um we weren't complete in each other and that was earlier in your career as well yeah i was so young 19 yeah no I was like 21 I think can't remember how old I was I was like I was young do you believe in marriage? yeah you do? yeah do you want to be married? yeah I think so I think like I'm a little bit of an old soul like that okay so that was a shock to me yeah really I thought you were going to say I'm married I don't really nah I'd love to get married really?

1:10:51I think so when the time is right I think okay It's weird. I'm a little bit of a... I'm a complete contradiction me. I really am. That's why people don't know how to gauge me, because on the one hand, I'm like, yeah, whatever, and on the other hand, I am quite traditional in terms of marriage. I would love to do that. So I'm sure you want to have little ones as well on your team. Loads. I want loads of little fuckers. Honestly, right, stop... Honestly, I'm going to be such a mad dynamite. Stop picking on your sister. I've got to go on stage now. See you after. Or come on stage with me. Oh, yeah, get up on there.

1:11:25but not for not till song three i know you're gonna steal the limelight yep yep all right i love it i want to get into some of the things that i saw in the comments yes all right i want to have you address some of that some of the controversies negatives right um one yeah is around your upbringing yes i see this happen completely all the time i'm i know you see it yeah it's so crazy so the i think that the notion is is okay where is he really from is he is he truly from the north yeah is he working class or is he actually yeah kind of this upper class and the reason why i think class comes into plays because when i got here to the uk i had no idea it's how regimented yeah it's such a it's such an old school concept you know i mean it's like it's our country's 2 000 years old my dad gets really angry about this because me dad was like i went to work we had money we didn't have money and then we had it again and then we didn't have it and i'd never written that first lyric i put out i'll admit i've never been broke but i have been broken the first line of young blood that ever came out and i really think the internet wanted to put a narrative on me because i've got an accent like this you think my accent's about to hear me mum talk hello love and he's like yeah i mean mum and And it's interesting.

1:12:50People want to put you in a box. Right. And I ain't ever said anything other than the truth. That's it. Right. You know what I mean? Right. That's my vibe and that's all I can, that's the, what I can say about it, you know? So what, what do you think the idea is behind trying to say that you were from a different, because I feel like the idea, and correct me if I'm wrong. Yeah. You've been hearing this your whole life, right? Is that you're, you're from an upper class than what you are it's almost like you're misrepresenting yeah i don't yeah i don't i don't get that i don't get where that is from because again like what my dad says he goes right your granddad went to war came back got a gas station in stainforth that had an hardware store of his brother with a house in the back and then they had two sons richard and philip My granddad was in a band.

1:13:46Uncle Philip went to school and became a doctor, moved out of London. And then my granddad started a music shop. And then we had a music shop, and then you were born into a music shop. So it's just like, I don't know what class that makes me. Right. But we had a successful music shop. My family's the real deal. I know more about rock and roll music because it was my education. And sometimes people will be like, oh, well, you had it handed to you because you were from a music shop. I'm like, I'm telling you, you're tripping. I'm into it. And now I'm 27 years old. I'm like, and kind of formulated my internal argument.

1:14:24Yes. I'm like, I can't. I don't know what to say to you. You're talking shite. Yeah. Like, move on. Yeah, move on. And it's kind of just like, oh, is that all you got? You were going to use that. Cool, man. Cool. All right. That's fair. You know what I mean? What about this is? All right. Another. I think misconception but let's see is queer baiting. Ah, I knew you were going to say this. All right. What, yeah. So with queer baiting so everyone you know understands is this notion of alluding to having same-sex relationships Yes. but not having same-sex relationships but the reason why people allude to it is so that they can they can gain an audience Yeah.

1:15:06you know, a queer audience. 100%. What's your My vibe is like I don't know what people want to say about that. I've fucked everyone under the sun, and that's the vibe. And I love love. And if it's a vibe, it's a vibe. And that's, again, it's interesting to be like this. I think when you sign up for entertainment, people are like, this is performative, this is da-da-da, and people can formulate an idea on something that they don't even know. In the same way we were talking about John Lennon or whatever, it's like that song is about that it's like no i just woke up and had a shit today and i wrote a song but some days it's just like oh yeah no say what you want i i don't know what to say to you i mean i'm into what if the person's a vibe the person's a vibe right rock and roll man do you know what i mean i know i were wearing a skirt since i was six you know i mean i was into that vibe i was into like brian moco from placebo and that's why i wore you know i mean and i was but i get people jumped on a bandwagon sometimes to to get access but me it's a bit more pure than that i'm just like yeah man i'm into the vibe but so now at 27 yeah doesn't bother you no it's funny i think it's like i think it's like i it's funny i'm just like yeah man think what you want just go with it but yeah so i'm saying it's like whatever man yeah because you knew i was like you were like i knew it i knew it i mean i'm into the vibe are there any other misconceptions about you that you just find that are you got the ones in the comments you got those two are those two are the main things that went around the internet that you when you're 21 years old and twitters when you're the main character on twitter for a day and a narrative that isn't real becomes truth yes what do you do in that situation 27 years old now i probably like right you're all talking bollocks and here's why 21 years old you shut down yeah because you're like oh god oh and then you almost have like kind of you just don't want to you just don't want to get you don't want to open that can of worms because you feel like you're justifying yourself one other that i just thought about hit me but This isn't a misconception, but it kind of, it's a particular word.

1:17:28Yeah, go on, I like it. Last comment I saw was, someone wrote under some kind of video was, I don't understand why people hate on this guy, right? So you think about that. I don't understand why people hate on this guy. A lot of folks in the comments, what I've noticed is that there's a sense of, I need to have a voice, an opinion, okay. but there also seems to be like this targeted I want to come after him yeah do you feel that? yeah I feel a target but I get it why though? I'm louder than myself I'm a little bit of an easy target I think because I think I'm quite opinionated and I like I think I've got an energy that people don't believe is real that's the thing like went out to the pub the other day

1:18:23And one of my best mates was with another artist. And my best mate went, oh, Dom's going to come through. And the person went, oh, no, I don't know if I can handle that. What do you mean? People just think I'm false. Or I'm going to be a dick. Or I'm a little bit too excited. But what people don't understand is the places that they see me in. Radio, TV, award shows. Of course I'm excited. I'm on the radio. I'm on the TV. What do you want me to do? All right. How's your day going? Yeah. You know what I mean? It's like, and then I went to the pub, met the person, and they admitted to me, pissed off a bit later, was like, oh, my God, I completely got you wrong.

1:19:10And can I tell you what? I am a little bit exhausted of people getting me wrong because I promise you I am exactly wrong. the same here as I am when I meet you. Every pub I go into. You're actually right. Oh, you're actually nice. I'm like, what does that even mean? You know what I mean? Oh, my favorite thing is the masculine thing. Oh, yeah. I thought you were a bit of a dick. I don't really like your music, but you're actually the sound. I'm like, thank you. Don't know how to respond to that, but I appreciate you. You know what I mean? like it's it's such a bizarre thing but was it was it all of these kind of misconceptions that led you to take your social media break yeah because the thing about it is right if you think about me right i walk into a pub people like probably might not even know it's me but when you're in that world yeah there and why is this so help me understand this yeah why is it that there's a fixation on the comments rather than the content because i see this with my 14 year old son yeah his friends is that they go to the comments before they go to the content because as human beings we follow what does other people think about this can i like it instead of going do i like it do you like that picture on the wall i love it Hell yeah, so do I.

1:20:44I'd tell you if I didn't. What if there were 17 comments underneath going, that picture's shite? Would that influence your decision? Would that influence your son's decision? Do you know what I mean? That is the way, that's why I think art, or that's why I think the world is pretty scary right now because we base our opinions off of everybody else's instead of going, do I like this tree? Do I like this sneaker? Do I like this music? My friends don't like this music. My friends don't like these sneakers. Shit, I better not do that. You know what, ultimately, that's self-esteem. Completely. Because when you have low self-esteem, you need the validation of others.

1:21:32100%. And I think, again, with this album, I had to be like, this is about me. Okay. And this is about myself. it's about me creating something for myself for yourself so that break you took it sounds like you needed the break for many different reasons yeah but did you take that time and just put it into the album i went into the album what what happened was i think when you when you write in la or london with songwriters whatever that means everything's great mediocrity slides because people want to cut if you're a relatively successful artist so what i had to do is i went up north to make the next album with my producer matty okay who did the first album with me and my scottish guitar player we spoke about earlier adam who's my best mate and a guy called bob who's known me since I was 15, right?

1:22:33Oh, well. As humans, we teach ourselves to hide. We hide. All the time. We hide. Because if you genuinely reveal yourself and you genuinely put yourself on a plate and someone else rejects it, turns the nose up at it, invalidates it, it's the biggest trauma and the biggest internal question you get you go like oh my god and you hide we would rather not say something in our fear of being like uncool or judged or we just hide and i was hiding i was hiding after this in this point in my life you know when i went to make this album and what was amazing making this album with people who just want their truth from me they kind of unpicked me yes and allowed me to kind of like show me eyes again.

1:23:32I always say that. I like allow people to steal your eyes. You know I mean, I always say that kind of weird metaphor I'm like, let them steal your eyes. Let them see your eyes, you know? I mean because it might inspire. Like I meant. Let them take your soul. Like you know when you get like a little bit, I'm looking at you all right, you got a little bit of white light in your eyes. Yes, yes. That's when you let people like, let me, let me make up at that. I'll let you make a bit about that because that's how we connect and how we communicate Wow, so you would say this album will be your most raw.

1:24:04So in the past, I've gone like a song like Hated. This is what this song's about. This is what it means. This is what, et cetera. Whereas on this album, I wanted to kind of relinquish my ego and let my internal subconscious talk and write songs about change and time and mortality and life and why am I here and why did I feel this? But in such a way that it will mean something different to your life than it will to mine. Yes. And it's going to be a double album that comes out in two parts. Okay. And part one is almost like the light and the self-reclamation. And part two is almost like it comes crashing down to earth and I comprehend my mortality.

1:24:49You know what's so profound about that is your first book, in essence. It's a journal. Yeah, it is. you know um and i was writing loves and hates yeah and the i ended with the last love was the moment yeah man just love loving being in the moment that's that's that's the vibe in it and that was such a such a strange uh thing for me to write because that book really came in in a period after the album when the book the festival going to the album wow okay was very much like okay i needed to write something that would allow me to ask questions to myself and help people through the life it's like all right what are six things you look like you love about yourself and six things you hate about yourself today i was like so kind of like doing these weird exercises to kind of like start a journey of like you aren't all right right now and then i was like maybe we should make this a book and it was like very like cool to kind of talk to people about it because people were like six things you love i'd be like chocolate football and then something profound like the moment the moment yeah so it can kind of it doesn't always have to Salvador Dali or Mahatma Gandhi level profound shit one day you might just be like coffee in bed in Primrose Hill with her holding me mum's hand because now I'm 27 and I feel like I can again and three watching Donny Rovers become first in the league you know I mean it can kind of be like or then it can it can literally just be like my confidence yes yes and I can see those are your true loves.

1:26:38Yeah. Yeah, and hates. Can we come back and spend a second on your grandfather? Yes. Your reflection, so did you mention that your grandfather passed? Yes, he did. Okay, how long ago? My grandmother and my grandfather passed within five years of each other and my granddad died to 18 months ago now. Okay, all right. I'm sorry to hear that. I didn't know about this. but it's interesting because I wanted to come back to ask about what they think of your career. So now I have to come and say that in that moment when you think back to what they would think about the man that you've become, what is that?

1:27:28The last time I ever saw my grandmother alive we'd just sold out Wembley Arena and it was his birthday. And my granddad

1:27:45was so important to me and my dad. He really gave me, again, the fundamentals of community and rock music. He gave me this adventure. I grew up in adventure. Yes. and grew up in this choose life mentality, do it, do it. Do not pass up on an opportunity for a moment or a memory. That was my granddad. He was like, ride till the wheels fall off. You know what I mean?

1:28:16And he was a bit of a cynical little bastard, especially when it came to music, because he was the musician in the family. And then I started to want to do that. So he always kind of felt a sense of responsibility to tell me what was good or bad. He'd ring me, not your best, or that song's all right, or this and this. 21st of February is his birthday, and we headlined Wembley Arena, 21st of February, 2023. And I sang happy birthday to him, and I couldn't really see him. And he kind of wasn't someone who would say he was proud of you, because he wasn't built in him. And I think, like, me dad wanted that from him his whole life, and I wanted that from him.

1:29:01him just because he was such a legend um but i've seen videos of him just smiling like i'd never seen him smile before and it was cool to kind of like see that i remember we got on our bus and i was last on and um just turned to me and just went that was the last time i saw him and i think i think he said he was proud of me in that Because, again, when we talk about the misconceptions in my upbringing, it was like everything I did was being judged by musicians in a guitar shop, and a lot of them hadn't made it. Granted, Granted wanted to be a rock star, but he didn't have the words. He didn't have the words.

1:29:52He couldn't put his emotion into words. and that was a fundamental battle that i think i've faced with people is like i found the words this makes me have to ask your song zombie yes all right what is zombie back so this is my favorite song on the album because it was the first song that came out off this new project where I was wanting to strip everything back and be like, right, let me write about a fundamental experience. And this song is about my grandmother and my grandfather. My grandmother was the most glamorous northern lady you've ever met. Red nails, leopard shoes, blondette, rollers in.

1:30:42So northern. And she died of alcoholism. when we uh when the business went bankrupt kind of she she just she never kind of came back from that and she like she always used to have a drink but she really started to drink a lot and the song is about

1:31:08deterioration and watching her

1:31:15deteriorate and what was what was harder than watching her deteriorate was her watching herself come to the realization that she deteriorated so far that there was no way back and um the biggest thing i learned about writing this song was um

1:31:37taking that fundamental emotion

1:31:42and wrapping that inside a song that would again make it feel accessible to people in different scenarios. We all feel ugly. We all feel like we don't want to ask for help. We all feel like we have to go at this life alone.

1:32:09but one experience can change that by the time she asked for help it was already too late you know and no one really knew that the main lyric of the song is if i was to talk about the words they would hurt so if you were to ask about the pain i would lie that was the first line i came up with and that was partly about losing her but also partly about me thinking what what would she have said you know and I and I kind of left it on ice for a while and then my grandfather died um and uh i really needed to kind of revisit that for them you know and finish it and yeah that's what the song's about it's about this feeling of kind of

1:33:08uh feeling ugly and feeling helpless and not wanting to be a burden for somebody which is often made up in your own head. It could never have been a burden for me. It could never have been a burden for my mum, my dad, my sisters, my auntie. We wish you were still here. We would have done anything, you know? But people...

1:33:36We get into these dark places where the six things we make up in our heads aren't often the case. You know what I mean? And if only we would talk about them. And if only we would communicate. This is what I'm feeling. Maybe the people that love us would go, yo, what are you talking about? Or like, no matter how far you stray from each other, there's someone out there, even if you're related or not, that will show you kindness. And I think that's why I believe, like people call me a bit of a tripper or a bit of a dreamer you know but i really believe in people as much as the shit that i see fundamentally on the day a day like really believe in kindness and i really believe in

1:34:32in love because i see it every day at the gigs i get to watch a show every night people forget that yes i get to watch 20 000 people I get to watch lovers kiss I get to watch people have an argument and resolve it I get to watch I get to watch a father and a daughter find common ground in this yes I get to watch old people and young people connect on something that otherwise they would have like been rivals you know I'm saying I get to watch beautiful things and and and that's the fundamental like meaning of the song and I can't wait for it to come out I think it's probably one of the best pieces of Young Good music yet It really shows that your grandmother, your grandfather all these loved ones they live through the music Yeah, I can't wait for it to come out That song's been amazing for like five years and I'm finally putting it out Look at that It's so weird how songs kind of rear their head and find their time yes and now's the time yeah now is the time it's crazy yep what would seven-year-old dom say if he met 27 year old dom he'd probably stick his tongue at him like who the fuck are you because that's definitely me as a kid i went back i looked at all these interviews and sometimes if you know going back certain years i didn't see this level of of brightness in your eye yeah it was one instance I want to talk about that kind of really impacted my life and really kind of summed up the album when I brought into the real world because I've written it right right I've written it in the studio and when you take it to the world that's when you really learn what it is you have an idea of what it is when you give it to the world the world kind of tells you back what it is and I was at this um I was at this event in Amsterdam and a load of people had turned up outside and you know it's like when cameras are there and you're a bit like whoa but I got to have this human interaction with a girl and she was like your music saved my life you saved my life.

1:36:55And I was like, no, I didn't save your life. You saved your own life. Maybe my music was a soundtrack to it, or maybe it provided you hope, or maybe it provided you a little bit of a spring in your siddhap, but you made the fundamental change or turning point in your own life to even say these words and that is what i wrote this album about and it's called idols because it's the first time in my life i realized that i was the one with the answer the whole time to to peace in the same way that you are your piece 27 years and you figure that out just now just now yeah you've got to turn to yourself you know it's very crazy it is as well and to your point is that we have to go through that storm yeah in order to build up the resilience in order to be self-reflective completely you know so i'm completely with you dude you know what's so wild is is don it's like we need to talk we talked about it all yeah you know and i always have a last question yeah that i ask and then i i have an ending thought, but I cannot wait to hear the answer to this question.

1:38:13Everyone gets this question. If you think back to your 27 years, you've had some incredible conversations with incredible people. Which conversation stands out the most? And who is it with? What did you learn in that conversation? 15 years old, I went down to the basement of a the producer who is with me now called Matty Schwartz. And I never thought the love of my life would be a 54-year-old Israeli man. Kicked me out of his studio in 15 minutes. And I remember this changed the trajectory of my life because I was in London and I was kind of like trying to make it, right? and I brought in these songs that I've been listening to other people.

1:39:10Blah, blah, blah. And he's like, these are shit. I never had someone like hit me like that. I was like 15 years old. And he looked at me and he was like, who are you? And I didn't know. And I left that studio traumatized. but I really remember that that conversation changed my life because I went home but in the back of my mind I was like this guy's right and I remember Thomas my manager at the time kept ringing Matt he'd be like you gotta get back in with him you gotta get back in with him and this started a thing called the month and I call it the young blood month because I went home and I had a front room in Wandsworth and Thomas, my manager, was paying me rent.

1:40:08I sat in my front room and I just wrote that down. And I had a TV and a couch. And I was like, who are you? And I came up with, I literally spider diagrammed everything. I was like, what am I mad about? What do I wear? What do I want to look like? That's why the pink socks came out. I knew that I loved Sex Pistols Pink. and I went back and if you ask Matty today I came back with fire in my eyes and then that led to the get down the song I wrote in the get down the poem about Brexit who are you? no one ever asked me that no one ever asked me that, something that simple go on the journey stories, everything's about stories yes stories are everything how you got your record that's the story I was actually talking to a guy who's just come into my life, who is a guy called Ocean, who is a pub landlord.

1:41:07He's just opening an Irish pub called the Devonshire in town. And we have a deep love of music. And he's got this crazy pub with a back room that's like, he allows crazy artists to come in and you'll find like Ed Sheeran or Capaldi or me or Niall Oran just back there playing and like you just like pints of Guinness doing all the vibe. It's so funny you said that because we were talking about that yesterday. We were just like, we went for breakfast yesterday and we were just like, what's it about at the end of the day? Stories. It's all about stories. If you're a pub landlord owner, if you're a musician, if you're a doctor, if you're a decorator, it's all about stories.

1:41:48You, when you sit down on your deathbed or when you sit down at Christmas, what's it about stories if when we sit together stories we tell stories so make sure you're present enough when they're happening or you're gonna have no stories to tell that's golden it is it really is this day and age yes that's golden damn this has been incredible dude honestly thank you so much i've loved it honestly I felt like you gave me a voice that pushed a lot of shit down, especially with misconceptions around me. You know? I felt like I just had to kind of let it go and let people think that shit and not kind of have an argument back.

1:42:37You gave me that today. I appreciate that. No, it's been an honor. Thank you. It has been an honor. And I tell you what, I cannot wait for the album. Yeah, dude. Come and sue my son. And I say, my son can't wait. Dude, honestly, no cap. Bloodfest, if you're around 21st of June, bring your whole crew. You know, I've never done a festival with my boys. Oh, my God. That could be lit. And to be honest, let's make that happen. That'll be sick. We'll bring him backstage in that. Oh, my God. He's just going to go. Yeah, it's going to be epic, honestly. I think he'll freak. All right, done. Done and done and done.

1:43:11Thank you. Thank you. Thank you, man. Thank you. You're a legend. That was so sick. You are, man. Yeah, you are. You're doing it right. Yes. Oh, my gosh. Once again, I love the conversation. The plan was not to go in and talk about masculinity. That was not on the cards, but I found we continually went back to that topic. And you can see it was on his heart. And at 27, he's now just fully realizing and understanding what masculinity means to him. And I think that's powerful for him to be so forthcoming about that, you know. And he admitted to still being on this kind of journey of exploration and self-love and dealing with insecurities.

1:43:59But you know what? Who isn't? We are complete in our incompleteness, you know, and he represents that concept well. And what I loved about this conversation is we began to remove labels of things. That's a label that we need to remove. what he has is a version of love. As he was saying it, my initial thought was, well, you need to be with her. And I'm going to now coach you into being with this woman that you love. I was like, I'm just gonna let you talk and then I'm going to start coaching you. Send me the check later. But then as he continued to talk, what I realized is that he truly is identifying what his self-worth is, what his self-esteem is.

1:44:40He's regaining his self-confidence. And to his point, and he said this eloquently, is you need to have that intact or an assemblance of that before you can fully emotionally connect with someone. Because he used the example in a disagreement. He would just walk off or not fully understand. So he actually is doing it right. Do you think you can be friends with your ex? The quick answer is absolutely you can be friends with your ex. Many people are not because of how the relationship ended. It sounds like this was a mutual decision that they made. So to me, it feels healthy. I'd love to see them get back together.

1:45:23I'd love to see it. The conversation around who are you. Yeah, yeah. You know, when Don was saying this, right, I was in my mind, I kept saying, I hope he doesn't ask me. I mean, that should be asked on a date, every date. Who are you? Right. Who are you? Who are you? I guess it depends on how you say it. Yeah, you say it. Who are you? Who are you?

1:45:58Are you ready? That's probably too much. Let me see. How about... Everyone. Everyone. Everyone. Oh, my God. Sheffield. Sheff. Scott, how do you say this? Is it Sheffield? Sheff. Sheffield. Sheffield. At least this isn't live, right? Well, no, but that's about to change, isn't it? So we are going to do We Need to Talk live for the first time. The magic is in the conversation, so we'll have a very special guest. You know what's probably most cool about this is this will be the first time that the We Need to Talk community will come together in person. You know, I'm curious to see what does everyone look like?

1:46:39What do they smell like? Sheffield, July 5th at the Crucible Theater. So to get tickets, very simple. It's crossedwires.live. It's very important to buy tickets quickly because they will go fast. We'll make sure that there's a link below.

1:47:07Thank you.