If you’re a fan of TV (and by God are we), you’ve probably had Tom Walker’s soaring hit ‘Leave A Light On’ stuck in your head just as often as you’ve had cups of tea during the break. His breakthrough single, it’s seen the Scottish born, Manchester raised singer/songwriter top the iTunes chart, rack up over 100 million Spotify streams among all sorts of incredible ‘online’ stats, soundtrack the Sony Bravia TV advert for the past however long, and now it has him on course for a Top 5 in the actual, proper UK Official UK Singles Chart. Ber-limey.
Hey Tom, how’s it going?
Yeah, all sweet thanks!
It’s crazy how far ‘Leave A Light On’ has gone this year, did you know when you were writing / recording that it was something special?
It was a really special song to me so I always hoped it would do well, but could never have imagined it to be as big as it has become!
What do you think has been key to the track’s success?
I get a lot of messages from fans saying it’s helped them or someone close to them through a dark time, everyone has been through a dark time and I just wanted to let people know that there’s always hope.
It must be weird being featured on an advert, does it making watching TV super awkward?
Yeah, it’s crazy to be sat watching TV then it randomly comes on, it’s all a bit surreal still.
Will the reaction to ‘Leave A Light On’ affect the musical direction of your future releases?
‘Leave A Light On’ is so personal to me and I like to put that into all of my songs, I usually write about how I’m feeling at the time and hope something good comes out rather than focusing on a certain direction.
Has it opened any unexpected doors for you?
Yeah loads, there are doors opening every day for so many amazing opportunities.
Are you working on the follow-up to ‘Blessings’ yet?
My debut album – I’ve been working on it for about 18months now and still got a bit to do but it’s getting there, I just want to make sure it’s right before we put it out.
You’ve got a really busy summer ahead, how do you find the globe-trotting aspect of being a musician? You must go on lots of adventures.
It’s really tiring at times but getting on stage in front of thousands of people makes it all worth it. There have been so many amazing experiences out on the road like road tripping across the US supporting The Script, and my sold out UK and EU tours earlier this year.
What’s your favourite thing about festival season?
Music, that’s the reason that draws everyone there, after all, it’s so good discovering new artists you may not have gotten the chance to see before. I’m playing over 40 festivals this year, so there has been and going to be plenty of opportunity for that
Are there any other acts you’re especially looking forward to seeing during this summer’s travels?
Arctic Monkeys are always sick live so would be great to catch them at some point but not sure we share any stages this year.
What else have you got coming up?
More touring in the US in August, my next UK and EU headline tours in Oct/Nov and plenty more music. My next single is just around the corner too, so I’m excited for people to hear that. It’s been nine months since we’ve put any music out, so it’s going to be nice to get something new out there.
Tom Walker plays Barn on the Farm in Gloucester from 5th-8th July – pick up your tickets here. He’ll also tour the UK this October.