Tom Odell interview: 'At the beginning of the tour, I was terrified'

Tom Odell hit the height of fame at the same time as a lot of other young singer-songwriters; the likes of Jake Bugg, Ed Sheeran and Ben Howard and had us all revelling in the sound of young male angst coupled with acoustic melodies. His debut studio album, Long Way Down, was released in June 2013 to critical acclaim, and established Odell well and truly, and deservedly so, on top of the music scene.

As he prepares for the first of two sell-out shows at the O2 Academy Brixton, Odell is calm, focused and measured. He seems surprisingly composed for someone still so young. Odell, 26, says, “I’m looking forward to this, very much so. The last time we did Brixton was at the beginning of the tour and I was terrified; this time we’ve done a few other gigs around the country so I feel a lot more oiled.”

Yet there is still a young innocence about him – deer in headlights is a metaphor that wouldn’t be completely out there – after all, it’s only four years since he was an unknown doing circuits around small towns.

However, the boy backstage is a very different man on stage. Confident, collected and oozing charisma, it’s clear that performing comes naturally to Odell. And it’s no surprise Lily Allen once compared Odell’s stage presence to that of a younger David Bowie. Allen went on to sign Odell after seeing him perform at iconic London venue Ronnie Scott’s. Odell says, “I was doing lots of shows in Brighton and then started coming to London. Someone had told Lily about my music and she came and met me at Ronnie Scott’s and signed me to her label [she had an imprint at Columbia Records].”

open image in gallery

Despite the Bowie comparisons, Brixton on this night belonged to Tom Odell in his sharp navy suit. Odell, seated at the piano, began with “Still Getting Used to Being On My Own”, a track from his latest album, Wrong Crowd. Released this year, Wrong Crowd is Odell’s second studio album. Odell says: “This album is closer to what I wanted to make. The first album I felt a bit naïve as it was my first time in the studio; second time round, I felt I had a little more creative control and could be myself.”

On performing the second album on tour Odell says, “It’s been really incredible to be playing the songs live. It’s been great coming back and doing this tour, it feels like a second date with someone, the audience and I know each other a little better, there’s more of a rapport, it feels more genuine."

The relationship with the audience that he speaks of is also genuine, and it was no more apparent than during his rendition of “Concrete” as lighters and mobile phones lit up the venue to accompany the melodic keys and heartfelt lyrics in a way that was sincere yet spectacular to see.

This is something that is important Odell. “I don’t want to sell out stadiums, I have no desire to chase that. I want the people here tonight to come back to a show in two years' time, that’s what my ambition entails,” he says. “I think having done the second record and being able to come back here is great, people coming back and bringing others, it’s happening organically, it feels more real than anything I felt in that crazy first year. It’s a contentment that fills something deeper than the instant fame. This is what I dreamed off when I was 13.”

“Can’t Pretend”, “Grow Old With Me” and “Hold Me” all followed on the first night in Brixton, the breakout tracks from his debut album that shot Odell to instant stardom. “It was interesting doing those songs live, four years on from when I wrote them – some nights they mean different things to me now than they did when I wrote them because life has moved on from that point. However, I’m really enjoying singing them, I’m really proud of that first album.”

Despite the successes, overnight fame can have its drawbacks, and being thrust into the limelight at a relatively young age has proved much of a challenge time and time again. Odell says; “I went a bit weird for a few months, I’d been doing gigs for so long, so playing on stages wasn’t daunting, the daunting side was the interest in my private life, it was relatively minor compared to more public figures, but it was interesting nonetheless – it was a real shock. I was a wide-eyed kid, I didn’t get much sleep and it was difficult to take in.”

Odell may sees wiser than his years, less likely to be swayed by the lures of fame, less likely to go down a path with a little less light, but the fact of the matter is, he loves his craft, it’s a genuine passion. Odell says: “I find songwriting is the thing that makes me get up in the morning, I feel impassioned by it and spend a lot of time doing that. The whole process of the challenge of songwriting is something I feel that, regardless of what I do in my career, I will always love.”

Odell won the prestigious Ivor Novello Award for Songwriter of the Year in 2014, joining artists such as George Michael, Damon Albarn and Phil Collins. Odell says: “I remember reading about it at 14 years old. I thought back then it would have been mind-blowing to win that, so when I did it meant a lot to me.”

open image in gallery

Back at Brixton Academy, the crowd is in full chorus, the much-anticipated “Another Love” began to play, and the elation among the audience is palpable. Standing on top of his piano, Odell, gripped with a raw passion and heart, drew the biggest singalong of the night, one that even the biggest cynics would find impossible not to join in with.

The much adored and never ignored encore brought with it “Till I Lost” and “Somehow” before Odell closed with “Magnetised” to a spectacle of confetti cannons and fluorescent lighting to send the Brixton crowd home happy.

Despite an incredibly successful “No Bad Days” tour, Odell is already looking ahead, “There will be more touring in February through to April and I’m hoping do some more festivals. I also want to make another album next year; I’ve been writing a lot.”

He closes our chat with his thoughts on the next year and his enthusiasm is genuine and contagious – this is a boy that has become a man in the public eye and he just wants to make good, honest and real music. Odell says, “I’m really excited about next year, I can’t wait to get back into the studio.”

Odell’s new Christmas EP “Spending All My Christmas With You” is released on 9 December on Columbia Records. The EP features new single “Silhouette”