ALEX HASSELL - THE SCOTSMAN
Grooming by Richard Wynne-Ellis
Alex Hassell stars as Rupert Campbell-Black in the Disney+ TV adaptation of the Jilly Cooper novels set in the 1980s. Pic: David Reiss. Stylist: Olga Timofejeva. Grooming: Richard Wynne-Ellis
The Eighties was the decade of excess - big shoulder pads, big hair, big bestselling bonkbuster books by Jilly Cooper detailing the antics of the aristocracy and their loadsa money chums in the newly deregulated world of independent television, and now it’s back in the long awaited TV adaptation of Rivals.
The eight- part series focuses on the second of Cooper’s 11-volume Rutshire Chronicle novels, which follow the scandals and shenanigans of the county’s upper-classes. A lot of work has gone into adapting the contemporary 1980s novel into a period TV show 40 years on, skewering the sexism, racism, homophobia and snobbery of the Thatcher era with irony and a modern take.
Alex Hassell stars as the priapic and picaresque playboy, Rupert Campbell-Black, a former Olympic Champion show jumper turned Tory Minister for sport, along with a star-studded cast that includes David Tennant as his nemesis Lord Tony Baddingham, Aidan Turner as TV star Declan 0’Hara, Nafessa Williams, Lisa McGrillis, Katherine Parkinson, Danny Dyer, Claire Rushbrook and Emily Atack.
Alex Hassell as Rupert Campbell-Black in the Disney+ series adaptation of Jilly Cooper’s Rivals. Pic: Robert Viglasky/Disney+/PA Wire
Born in Essex, Hassell, 44, is the son of a vicar and a nurse and loved acting from an early age, first performing in youth theatre as Bugsy Malone, then training at the Central School of Speech and Drama in London.
He’s best known for roles in Joel Coen’s The Tragedy or Macbeth, opposite Frances McDormand and Denzel Washington, Netflix series Cowboy Bebop, the BBC One adaptation of The Miniaturist with Anya Taylor-Joy and the action- comedy film Violent Night. He also appeared in Seth Rogen’s dark comedy The Boys and the Coen Brothers’ Suburbicon, directed by George Clooney, and Red Sea Diving Resort, currently streaming on Netflix.
Hassell is married to Scottish actor Emma King, with whom he starred in the 2015 hit-man thriller Two Down, and who is known for Dagr (2024), The Cry (2018) and the Vanishing (2018).
On top of all the rivalries and romping, jodhpurs and glamour, Rivals has a thumping 1980s soundtrack of The Communards, Cyndi Lauper, Erasure and Meat Loaf that will make you want to leap into a leotard and dance around your handbag. So saddle up, take Frankie Goes to Hollywood’s advice and ‘Relax’ as Alex Hassell tells us all about Rivals.
FOR THOSE WHO HAVEN’T READ JILLY COOPER’S BOOKS, TELL US ABOUT RIVALS.
It’s set in Rutshire, a fictional place around The Cotswolds, where Jilly Cooper set her novels. This is the second book, based in 1986/7, in the world of a very rich, privileged, Tory enclave. It’s about my character, Rupert, who is an ex-gold medal-winning Olympic show jumper who is now a Tory MP and Minister for Sport, as well as an international playboy on the front page of all the papers.
He has a rivalry with Lord Tony Baddingham, head of the new Corundum TV franchise who employs a new interviewer, Declan O’Hara, a sort of young and sexy Wogan/Parkinson figure, played by Aidan Turner. Declan and his family integrate themselves in a successful and unsuccessful way, and rivalries, backstabbing, power dynamics and lots of shagging ensues.
It’s bright and colourful and has a wonderful Eighties veneer with soundtrack, costumes and sets, and is brilliantly in that world, but is also using that world to satirise and bring to light what has and hasn’t changed since then in our contemporary culture.
The cast of Rivals with author Jilly Cooper, who wrote the original books on which the Disney+ drama series is based. Pic: (left to right) Aidan Turner, Katherine Parkinson, Emily Atack, David Tennant, Jilly Cooper, Danny Dyer, Alex Hassell, Nafessa Williams, Bella Maclean, Claire Rushbrook and Victoria Smurfit, at the UK special screening of the new series. PA Pic: Lucy North/PA Wire
TELL US ABOUT YOUR CHARACTER, RUPERT CAMPBELL-BLACK?
He was the best show jumper in the world and has had to quit due to an injury so he’s now a Tory MP, Minister for Sport in Margaret Thatcher’s government. He is extremely privileged, estranged from his ex-wife and children and a lothario. He’s a not altogether savoury character but for some reason is adored by thousands of people and is a kind of international playboy in a way that is quite specific to the Eighties.
DO YOU LIKE RUPERT?
He definitely does some very bad things and has lived a life of such extreme privilege and been adored so he’s lost his fame of reference for what being a goof man is, but deep down he begins to realise that so there are parts of what he grows into that I can like.
Alex Hassell and Aidan Turner at the UK special screening of the new Disney+ drama Rivals, London, 2024. Pic: Lucy North/PA Wire
We are very different people and I definitely don’t condone all of his actions, but he’d probably be fun to have a drink with if he wasn’t being his worst version of himself.
ARE THERE ANY SIMILARITIES BETWEEN YOU AND RUPERT?
In very different ways we’re both very driven. To try and make it as an actor you need both a thick skin and a thick skin and to be very determined, unless you’re exceptionally lucky and fall into it very young, which didn't happen for me. I’d say I’m very focused and can be quite single-minded, but unlike Rupert I wouldn’t shit on other people or gamble with other people’s money and happiness in the same way.
HOW DID YOU GET IN THE HEAD SPACE TO PLAY HIM?
It was a real task to be honest. I really loved it. As much as I’m making a clear distinction between Rupert and myself, it’s extremely fun to play him. And it was quite hard because I’m not from a privileged upbringing so it was quite a character part. I had to really think myself into a different frame of reference and physically carry myself through the world in a different way. I was very much helped by the costume and the sets and also how everyone else was told to respond to me.
Obviously the source material books were very useful, and the scripts so brilliantly realised. Jilly said two things about Rupert that were very helpful: that he doesn’t apologise and doesn’t like to show weakness or vulnerability.
Alex Hassell stars as former Olympic champion show jumper turned Tory Minister for Sport Rupert Campbell-Black, along with a cast that includes David Tennant, Aidan Turner, Nafessa Williams, Lisa McGrills, Katherine Parkinson, Danny Dyer, Claire Rushbrook and Emily Atack. Pic: David Reiss. Stylist: Olga Timofejeva. Grooming: Richard Wynne-Ellis.
DID YOU PRACTISE WEARING JODHPURS A LOT AT HOME, TO GET INTO CHARACTER?
I didn't wear jodhpurs at home, no. I’m sure there’s a crass Rupert-based joke in there. But I did have to do lots of riding. I could ride already but not very well and hadn't done it in years, so I had to get up to speed pretty quickly and that was a great pleasure. That helped to try and get into Rupert’s headspace and physicality.
IF YOU COULD BE RUPERT FOR ONE DAY WHAT WOULD YOU DO?
Ride a horse around. And play with the dogs. He has six and it was so great acting with them.
RUPERT IS ACCUSTOMED TO PRIVILEGE AND TO PEOPLE HANGING ON HIS EVERY WORD.
Yes, he’s been internationally famous since he was in his twenties so he’s used to it. There’s something of the era of Oliver Reed and Richard Harris, those infamous playboy wild men, and he has this reputation as a great lover. Also he is unafraid to be rebellious and reckless and stick two fingers up to what polite society thinks should be done and I think that’s very appealing. People want to know what he’s going to do next. Jilly describes him as Mecca for most women, which is an interesting thing to try and get your head round playing.
DID JILLY COOPER COME TO THE SET?
Yeah, a few times and was so positive. I was quite intimidated. I met her at the first read through where we had this enormous table read where you’re meeting all the actors for the first time and there were all these people from Disney. It’s intimidating because you’re not even playing the character yet, but she had seen my audition tapes and was immediately very positive, so it was very helpful to have her seal of approval.
She loved being on set, and as she would say over and over, loved being around the men. She loved being in that world again I think. I saw her very recently at screenings and she was doing interviews and continues to be over the moon about it. I’m so pleased that’s her response.
THE EIGHTIES WERE DIFFERENT TIMES WITH DIFFERENT SOCIAL NORMS…
Obviously, one doesn't want to condone or glorify those things, but it wouldn’t be a true depiction of the Eighties without that, in the same ways as the casual sexism, misogyny and racism, prejudice and snobbery, are important to explore. They were such a part of that world, and I’m pleased we haven’t shied away from it.
THE SERIES MANAGES TO SATIRISE THE 1980S WITHOUT KILLING ALL THE FUN AND GLAMOUR.
Yeah, it has its feet ever so slightly off the ground. And what is really keeping it light and fun despite some really knotty subject matter, is that the characters are very witty and quick and intelligent and sharp, and they’re brilliantly cast. They keep the whole thing moving along in such a dynamic and fun way.
WHAT THREE WORDS WOULD YOU USE TO DESCRIBE RUPERT?
Competitive, lustful….searching, even though he wouldn’t want to admit that, it’s in there somewhere.
WHAT THREE WORDS WOULD YOU USE TO DESCRIBE YOURSELF?
Searching, loving, driven.
WOULD YOU LIKE IF, LIKE RUPERT, WHEN YOU WALKED INTO A ROOM PEOPLE STOPPED TALKING AND WAITED FOR YOU TO SPEAK? MAYBE THRY DO?
No, I’ve done lots and lots of work that I’m very proud of, but definitely this is the biggest shot at the idea of being more known so no, that hasn't really happened to me. For every actor there’s a desire on some level to be looked at or witnessed, otherwise you wouldn’t do a forward facing job, but there’s also a notion of that that would terrify me. I am very open but I like to choose who I’m open with, so there’s a degree to which I would both love and find that really complicated.
Often when I was playing him I would realise he was performing to an audience even if he was alone. He couldn't help but amuse himself by looking at his own life and actions whilst doing them. So there’s a very strong performative element to Rupert and what happens through the course of the story is seeing what is underneath.
DO YOU KNOW OR HAVE YOU MET ANYBODY LIKE RUPERT?
I did meet two of the models for Rupert but we were way into shooting by then, and obviously they’re so much older now, and it was just a light conversation. He’s based on real people Jilly knew, one being Andrew Parker Bowles [the former husband of Queen Camilla].
They’re from privileged backgrounds. I’ve never been in those echelons of society, but to play him I did think of people who had a sort of louche ease. They’re very nice people and that in itself is not a negative thing, but yo unconsciously magpie stuff from people. I stole another actor’s walk - but I’m not going to say who.
YOU WERE SIX IN 1986 WHEN RIVALS IS SET. DO YOU REMEMBER ANYTHING OF THAT WORLD OF PHONE BOXES AND NO MOBILE PHONES OR COMPUTERS?
The painstaking effort of all departments made this a fully realised 3D, 360 world, and the attention to detail was amazing. We filmed around the Cotswolds and Bristol and it was a dream because it was such a hot summer and we were in these beautiful, massive houses and there were so many parties and we were just surrounded by the Eighties, with so much colour. It was amazing.
But I do remember the 1980s. I remember dressing as Bugsy Malone and Michael Jackson and walking about and going to church dressed as BA Baracus [Mr T in the 1980s TV show, the A Team].
THIS WOULD BE THE CHURCH WHERE YOUR DAD WAS VICAR?
Yes. My parents were always very supportive. I wasn’t even thinking of being an actor then, I just had that child-like enjoyment of dressing up. And that Christmas my best friend was also dressed as BA Baracus, so there was competition for roles even then.
And I remember the poll tax riots. We lived in Tottenham and they went down our street. I wasn't very conscious of the adult world but I remember Thatcher, definitely.
WHAT WAS YOUR FAVOURITE PART OF MAKING RIVALS?
It honestly was one of the best experiences I’ve had. The producer found people that were perfect for the roles but also nice, funny people and there are so many scenes where the social aspect was a huge part of it. And playing a character so far from myself who is so important through the story was really fun.
In terms of the scenes, one of the times when I started to go deeper into the character was when he appears on Declan’s television show. I completely believed that DECLAN was a real show and Aidan does it so brilliantly. We had a fake live studio audience and set and did 14 minute-long takes.
DO YOU THINK THERE WILL BE ANOTHER SERIES OF RIVALS?
We hope so. Obviously Rupert is in lots more of the books so we hope people would like to see more.
WHAT ELSE WOULD YOU LIKE TO DO?
Every time I do a job it makes me want to explore more characters and different things. I love Shakespeare and would love to go back to that. I’ve done a lot, including Joel Coen’s Macbeth and I’ve love to work with him again. But also I love to just keep pushing out into different areas I’ve not explored.
TELL US ABOUT YOUR SCOTTISH CONNECTIONS?
My wife’s Scottish, from Edinburgh. She did Edinburgh Youth Theatre and all of that. And I’ve worked in The Lyceum in Edinburgh and done the Edinburgh Festival.
DOES IT HELP BEING MARRIED TO ANOTHER ACTOR?
Yes it does. This job can be full of quite weird things you have to do and places you have to go, so definitely. We talk about it all the time and she is my informal acting coach.
WHAT;S YOUR FAVOURITE THING TO DO IN EDINBURGH?
Obviously now I have a very strong emotional connection to Scotland and Edinburgh and we come up to see the family, walk along Portobello promenade and go up Arthur’s seat - I always love that. Last time we were walking around Arthur’s Seat someone was practising the bagpipes but we couldn’t see them. I’d just finished doing Macbeth and it felt so viscerally powerful and wonderful.
IF THERE’S ANOTHER SERIES OF RIVALS, MAYBE THERE COULD BE SOME BAGPIPES - SOME OF RUPERT’S SET MUST OWN SOME OF SCOTLAND…
Ok, I’ll ask Jilly.
JAMES BAY - Songwriter sits down with 1883 for his cover story to discuss his new album, Changes All The Time
Grooming by Joe Mills
Over a decade into his career, singer-songwriter and guitarist James Bay is steadfast in his commitment to constantly pushing his boundaries.
In many ways, English musician James Bay is the quintessential example of a hard-working songwriter done good. In 2013, the artist released his debut EP The Dark of The Morning and within two years, Bay bagged his first BRIT Award in 2015 for Critic’s Choice and released his debut LP, Chaos and the Calm. Undoubtedly, it was a record that smashed sales expectations, earning Bay his first No.1 on the UK charts. More importantly, it introduced him to the mainstream masses. Listeners were drawn in by his soulful tones, passionate lyricism, and melodies that effortlessly traverse indie, pop, blues, rock, and soul. Album tracks like “Hold Back The River” and “Let It Go” have understandably become global hits. From there, the rest is history, he’s earned two top-five records with 2018’s sublime Electric Light and the gorgeous 2021 album, Leap. Bay has sold out many headline shows across the globe and toured with The Rolling Stones, Bruce Springsteen and other songwriters he would cite as heroes.
However, no matter the achievement or glitzy accolade, James Bay isn’t willing to rest on his laurels, and that’s easy to understand when you look at his background. From the age of 11 years old, the bright-eyed youngster picked up a guitar, enamoured by songwriting greats like Ray LaMontsgne, Aretha Franklin, Ray Charles, and countless others, hungry to learn the craft. After studying at the altar of these colossal artists and bravely taking his first steps through open mic events in Brighton and London - a rite of passage for most songwriters - James honed his craft over the coming years. As we spoke on a September afternoon, it became abundantly clear that Bay is a humble and self-aware individual who is purely in pursuit of an almost “superhuman” experience when it comes to creating music. An experience which offers connection, growth, and what could only be described as a cathartic release, given how the wordsmith pours every fibre of his being into his work.
Over the years, it may be easy for the uninitiated to pigeonhole the artist as a talent who is known for only penning sad ballads and wearing signature fedora but this is far from the truth. Bay is s multifaceted individual when it comes to his music. With his new record, Changes All The Time, out tomorrow via Mercury Records, James Bay is at a place of unwavering creative freedom born from his years of experience jin the industry. The spirited body of work offers the listener a thrilling journey which conveys the most direct representation of who James Bay is as an artist, musician, writer, and guitar player. The record’s soaring highs are nestled between devastatingly beautiful moments, an emphasis on guitar playing and some of his most introspective lyricism to date. He’s taken his live band members into the studio, worked with The Killers’ Brandon Flowers and artist Holly Humberstone on some of the album material, and co-produced the album alongside Gabe Simon and more.
Now in his early thirties, the 33-year-old, has crafted a record which sees him express himself in the present moment, fulled by a desire to create music that connects on a deep, human level. The end result is his best work to date.
In conversation with 1883 Magazine’s Cameron Poole, James Bay speaks about his new record Changes All The Time, his first and last open mic, getting back into skateboarding after 17 years, his desire to start a supergroup, and more.
Hi James, your fourth studio record Changes All The Time is out tomorrow. With this record being a real confident statement about who you are as a musician and showing your clear passion for the guitar, in the writing process, did it bring up any memories from when you started playing the guitar at age 11? As it has been said, this record is you coming home to the guitar.
Yeah, your question is so lovely. Here’s what we sort of went for me more than ever, I said something around the build-up to this record about reaching a sort of higher sense of musical freedom than I’d ever sort of felt before. That was achieved with the help of my lovely mate and co-producer on this album, Gabe Simon from over in Nashville. He is so heavily invested in what we have done and what we sort of did when we worked together. Lots of producers are invested to different degrees, of course, and Gabe is so all in. He’s only a couple of years older than me, we relate on so many levels. The first time he ever saw me play live, he saw me solo acoustic, in front of about 500 people, and he said his favourite thing about the show was that it was like witnessing a whisper and a hurricane all at once, which I appreciated. It sort of resonated. He knows a fair bit about, you know, the 11-year-old me, the 14-year-old me, in his bedroom, learning riffs, and guitar solos late into the night. And he also said, Where is that guy on your records? And I’ve been asking myself the same question. So he really helped me do this thing, as you put it, come home to the guitar. Before being a lyricist, a singer or even much of a live performer, I was a guitar player in my room, playing with mates and playing guitar myself as well. I would listen to records and learn everything by ear. I wanted to be that in my music, more than ever.
I’ve been on a journey for the last sort of seven years, bringing that side of myself to my live show. When I started playing live professionally and playing to people, I had been playing live for a long time at that point, but it wasn’t as focused and I was focused on translating the chorus to people. Ten years after my first record, it felt like time more than ever to allow myself to have the courage and to allow myself to be the singer, songwriter, the guitar player. As that’s what I’m all about. I think I’ve been more shy about that in the past. A great vocal, great lyric and great chorus reach more people, I think we can all appreciate than a guitar solo might and that’s okay, that’s all right. But there’s a guitar-playing-animal in me that needs to get out now. So I’ve enjoyed with the help of Gabe, really stepping into that, owning it in a bigger way than ever before on this album.
The concept of change is terrifying because whether we like it or not, it’s going to happen for better or worse, and change is the crux of your new record - you’ve said you try and have control over change, how is that as a musician and in your everyday life?
Well, I guess you can be sometimes dictate the kind of pace at which you move towards different sort of junctures in your life. These are hypothetical things, I’d love to sort of give you more realistic sort of scenarios, but I don’t know. For anybody, it might be I need to buy a car, or I need to sell a car, and that will change how I get around. If I’ve moved to a city, do I need a car? Well, I have to face getting up a bit earlier, getting on public transport and that’s okay, that changes the cost of things, that changes the outlook of your life for a moment. And these are all, in their way, sort of uncomfortable and necessary or comfortable and unnecessary. Like, for example, I treat the way I make music a bit like painting in my mind. You have your blank canvas, which is silence, and then you put colours into that blank canvas, and into that silence. You could argue that I could do all of that with one guitar. But I have lots of guitars because they are all represent different sounds, which I liken to colours. It’s a very fortunate situation that I exist in wherein I could dictate for having those more or less and a decision and a consequence, good and bad, comes with every choice or every change. If some change is inevitable, for example, then I might be able to control the speed at which it happens, for example.
Sorry, I feel like I’m rambling, it’s hard to answer your question, because there are some things that I’m never going to tell you about my life that certainly would make for an answer to your question. But here’s the good one. It takes narrowing songs down and deciding 10 or 12 to make a record, typically speaking. But 100 or more will get written. A few have to get cast aside in that process that you fully understand why they did. That all in itself is a change that I can control and will choose to based on the kind of artist I want to come across as. The artist that I come across as means a lot to me. It means a lot to my self-consciousness, my confidence, my anxiety, my vulnerability. I might want to put songs out that have more revealing lyrics that I’m comfortable with, and because I am uncomfortable with the lyrics, I might choose then not to put them out, and that’s my opportunity and my ability to control circumstances about my life.
Last part, my personal life and my professional life exist very close to each other. The line between them is very blurry. That’s very difficult, but thus far, I have had a brilliant, very fortunate, sort of successful experience. So I don’t want to overlook that either. I’m not trying to whinge or moan about my life. It’s unique though, and I can’t share the experience with even some of my oldest, closest friends, because they don’t know what it’s like. What a massively long-winded answer to a very complex question.
I’m sorry I shouldn’t start with such a complex question [laughs], but I appreciate it.
No it’s alright, it’s a very difficult question to answer, but I’ve chosen some pretty heavy subject matter to make an album about [laughs].
Given you’ve spent more time focusing on expressing yourself in the present moment on this record, and thinking less about the aesthetics when compared to previous records, how did that positively manifest inside the studio?
It positively manifested as having my touring band in the room, so frequently having more people in the room made for a really, and we’re always trying to reach this, superhuman experience. We are humans in a room together playing instruments to make a great noise, to make sound, to make music. The result of that we record and it comes back at us through the speakers, we’re looking for that to feel a bit superhuman. That’s why music is referred to as magic. In sharing those days in the studio with more people, people that aren’t just anybody you know, these are the guys that I tour with as well. One of them is Tom, who is my oldest friend since I was three and he plays bass in my band, and this was the first time he’d spent a lot of time in the studio with me. That’s one of the ways that it manifested, by sharing the experience. By the way, in front of other people, I am invited, if not required, to make music more honestly.
I might think this song needs to be fast, rocking and I might look in the eyes of the people around me in the studio and go, they’re not reacting. They’re not finding this magical. This needs to be a ballad. This actually needs to slow down. That was very important to me, and I lent into it more than ever before. So there’s a clarity, purity and honesty, an earnestness and a simplicity to these songs that I was able to achieve as a result of the ingredients I’ve sort of referenced. Just me and my head, I’ll struggle to get to that place. It’ll get very sort of complex, convoluted and confused. And it’s the way that you can hear the air and the space between all the noises that are being made, which is quite a sort of abstract and maybe complex thought, but that really makes this record for me, in many respects. I really lived and embodied the lyrics as well, and that really sort of made it feel more powerful when making it. Even when I listen back and hear it, it feels more powerful as a result. Music, I think, is supposed to be powerful. It’s supposed to move you
I think it speaks to your very humble and self-aware character that you’ve been performing some of the material at open mic events in London before the launch. It’s really beautiful because before you made your name that’s what you did, play open mics. And when someone has got to a certain level, they may think that’s beneath them, but you clearly haven’t forgotten the importance of that live setting. Can you walk me through your first-ever open mic experience and your most recent- how did they differ it at all?
Wow, they differed in many ways, particularly based on experience. My experience is completely different. At the first one, I don’t know if I’d done really any hours of practice and gained many hours of experience. At the most recent one, I well surpassed my sort of supposed 10,000 hours, as they say, of practice and training. In both cases, there was that very healthy, very exciting, very necessary degree, of uncertainty, fear, apprehension and anxiety. These are ingredients that can make for a very engaging, sort of magnetic performance. And that’s what I’m trying to do. I was trying to do that the first time I ever performed at one and I was trying to do it the last time I ever did an open mic. I’m trying to do it every show. But I really respect and appreciate the experience that I’ve gained, and I wear that on my sleeve, and I hold it inside me the most recent one. When I did my first ever one, I can’t tell you too many things about it because it was such a long time ago, and I’ve done so many since. But I can guarantee you that in doing it, I was hoping that one day I would have 10,000 hours of experience doing that and be more than 10 years into a career where performing was my bread and butter.
Why? Because of the therapy and the medicine that live music performance is for me and other people at the same time. I think you’ve asked about differences, one of the sort of similarities that has its own differences compared to my first open mic and my most recent, one of them is connection. That’s the one of the most addictive bits, I love the feeling of singing, the vibrations in my body, literally. I love that. I love playing a guitar and what that takes, and how moving that feels, and how emotional that can be. But the connection, whether I’m standing up there at my first open mic night with my eyes closed the entire time, or whether I’m looking at the whites in people’s eyes at my most recent one, or whatever, it’s that connection. There’s something incredibly unfussy about an open mic night. When I did my most recent open mic night, at some nearly empty bar in Camden on a Tuesday night about three months ago, there was about 15 people in the room, half of them are sat down. I snapped straight back into open mic mode and I had to introduce myself. Part of my ego was concerned that people already recognised me. The rest of me didn’t know or care, because I am still just another one of the millions and millions of people who get up on a little stage and holds a guitar and says I’d like to sing you some of my songs.
All of the best things happened, some people recognised me, some people gasped, some people were walking up the stairs, and when I said, ‘I’m James Bay’, they turned around and came back down. One lady afterwards said hi, and she walked in halfway through the set, sat and listened. She had her phone with her when she came over to me, she had Spotify open. She said, ‘can you tell me? Can I find your music anywhere? Can I listen to you again?’ Perfect. There’s no airs and graces. It’s just connection in a public space, it’s so full of love, and I’ve wondered a bit from what your question is asking, but it’ll always be that for me, it’ll always be the great leveller.
I talked to my mate, Russell Howard, who’s such a fantastic and successful comedian, about ultimately, the power of an open mic and in many respects, unless it’s a big ticketed event. You know, a lot of comedy can feel like an open mic night. Comedy is also born from open mics, ultimately, in the same way that singing and songwriting is. To walk into a space where nobody’s even bought a ticket, and they just want to stand and have a drink in the same room that has a microphone and a PA system in. They just want to talk to their mate and catch up. To try to have the fucking balls to say, ‘I’m going to take your mate, your drink and I’m going to make you more interested in what I’m doing.
It’s a fascinating exchange and a magical one when it works. And it is something to be learned from when it doesn’t, its just as important to fuck it up [laughs], or for it not to go well. There have been so many differences, but many similarities for me between my first ever open mic and the most recent one I did.
Just to pivot somewhere else for a moment but keeping in the spirit of getting back into old hobbies, after 17 years, you returned to skateboarding earlier this year, how is it going, and why was now the right time to get back into skating?
It’s interesting, it’s a good question. It makes me think about how we’re always searching for something else in ourselves, or at least, rather than sort of opening up that wide, I should just say to you that I’m always searching for some other part of myself. I’m always curious to sort of remain multi-dimensional, rather than one-dimensional. I’m publicly a musician with a guitar in my hand and a song to sing, and I love that reality. But I’m so much more than that. By the way, that can be narrowed down even further, to most people, I sing a little delicate ballad and that’s who they know me to be, and that’s what works for them. But I love to play loud, hard, fast, and because I have a desire for adrenaline, and endorphins in a very particular way. Some people get on rollercoasters. Some people take pretty heavy drugs. I like to get my pulse up, get my blood pumping and I like to do that by playing live. I like to do that by running around playing football. I like to do that. I used to love to do that by skateboarding and crashing down onto concrete, grazing my knee, getting up and having another go. I was 15 or 16 when I last sort of did that regularly. I thought, why don’t I do that anymore? Because, okay, lucky me, I’m basically the exact same build that I was when I was 16. Very fortunate, sure. I put that partly down to having a pretty erratic metabolism, for all kinds of reasons, I’m sure, but I just wanted to feel it again.
It’s a very tactile, physical, sensation skateboarding, just like football is, just like music is. This might go over a lot of people’s heads, but when you play a guitar, you can have very soft, thin, white gentle feeling strings, and if you hit them too hard, they will fall out of tune, because they’re not that strong, but they’re guitar strings nonetheless. Or you can have very thick, heavy gage, robust guitar strings. I need those ones because when I go on stage, even if I’m playing a delicate ballad my body is quite tense. There’s a fuck ton of adrenaline coursing through me. I don’t know why, because it means that much, but because the whole thing’s a very physical act. So to pacify and to provide for that part of me that’s navigating so much adrenaline, I took up skateboarding again. It is freeing as well. it’s such a freeing feeling.
The things that I got confident to do again in the first few weeks of skating again was so fun to do. Initially, it was hard to do an ollie, which is to just sort of pop the board in the air. But then I was back to doing all these flip tricks and flying off the ramps and all of this different stuff, going to all different skate parks around where I live. I can do it on my own, and I can do it socially with mates as well. I inspired a mate of mine, who’s only a year younger than me, to get back into it as well, for the first time in about 15 years. So I think I wanted to see if that version of me still exists, or if he still can exist because I don’t ever quite feel sort of settled as one thing that everybody sort of thinks they expect and understand. Not sure why that is, probably a whole therapy session to be done there.
Whether it’s gaining a UK number-one record with Chaos and the Calm, selling out shows, opening for Bruce Springsteen, performing “Beast of Burden” with the stones, or working with Brandon Flowers on “Easy Distraction” - you must have so many highlights over the last eleven years. How have these moments shaped you as an artist, and what did you take away from working with such iconic figures?
They always teach me that there’s always more to strive for, there’s always more to work for. I get a little look behind the curtain and behind the scenes at why my heroes and everybody you’ve listed is a hero to me, they all have a gift, talent, a drive and be great to a kind of superhero like level. Something about Brandon Flowers is like standing in a room with Superman, from his big, charming grin to his abilities…he’s a musical Superman, I think. We would get some chords recorded with a little backbeat and loop them round, have them playing back to the speaker and he would stand up in front of a microphone, open his phone, where he’d sketch down hundreds of different lyric ideas, and he’d sing them all in. They all felt and sounded quite profound. He has a very prolific ability. The way that Mick Jagger is so so constantly. He really lives. Mick Jagger is not a character. He’s a real existing being. What an unbelievably lucky world to have that in. I got to fly so close to that sun, and it felt fucking awesome [laughs].
I will never forget, I opened for the Stones wearing some very bold, exciting and eccentric silver trousers. About 45 minutes or an hour later, after our set, was invited on stage with them. I was still wearing my silver trousers and black T-shirt. Up until then before my song with The Stones, “Beast of Burden”, Mick had been wearing a red jacket an I wonder if it was chance, or if it’s just how tapped into the show he is…But just before he announced me on stage, he stepped off for a second, switched into a silver shirt, which matched my silver trousers. He walked back on and said ‘Ladies and gentleman, we’re going to have James Bay back on’.
You know he coordinated with the guest. I don’t know if it was an accident, part of me felt like it was a little bit intentional, and that was such a wildly particular and genius little insight into one of the absolute pop-rock legends of all time. There was so many nuanced, bold and brash things that I’ve learned, and I continue to sort of look back at pictures of those times and think about the experiences and all sorts of things get picked up again and again. The way we arrive at our own unique style as an artist is in failing, very legitimately, to accurately emulate our heroes. That’s why the reason I’ve written with people and worked with people and they say the way you always do this on a guitar, and where you always sing like this in this way, and your melodies do this thing, those are the things that are so signature about you, that’s real James Bay stuff, which is such a wild thing for me to receive. It’s very flattering. It’s a massive compliment. There’s a little voice inside me that says, you sound those ways James, because you will never be Ray Lamontagne. You will never be Adele, you’ll never be Aretha Franklin. You will never entirely be Keith Richards, but by failing that clearly something signature is coming through as a result that is all my own.
Talk is just an emotional rollercoaster on the record and probably my favourite song on the LP, what’s your current favourite from the album?
It is a tough question to answer, Talk has been the answer to the question and will be again I’m sure. I love Dogfight so much. I really went on a journey with it, I loved writing it with Holly [Humberstone]. Not just with her but with my great mate Phil Plested. They are both artists, and there is something about writing with an artist – as I experienced with Brandon too. That is just even more sort of a concentrated experience of writing. I wrote Dogfight and recorded it a few months before we made this record. I really liked how it felt, but I could never quite get comfortable with it so. We had a different go at it and on the second go, we got what you’ve heard on the album now and there are so many things I love, I just tried to sort of pair it back in its sonics and its delivery to allow the emotions in the words to come through.
I think I struggle with myself is the truth and that’s where hell, it’s been rough, It’s been a dogfight, really sort of resonates with me, because I think I naturally have to and also choose to work very hard to present myself as best I can to the world, doing the thing that I do. But to differentiate that between who I need to be, have to be or want to be, get to be my personal life, the way of those sort of atmospheres and scenarios interchange, and it’s a lot to deal with. Dogfight was a real kind of mantra type of thing to write.
But the performance in the delivery of it in a studio and in the way that we got it to sound how the band played, fucking hell, an absolute privileged to be anywhere near that, as it was happening. I’ll take credit that I can for doing my bit, but everybody brought their A-game and it’s in the things they didn’t play.
This makes me think of that funny Jazz quote that says it’s about the notes you can’t hear and that you don’t play. Sometimes that really applies and everybody held back and exercised restraint in their performance in the studio for that song. In the most eloquent,
and emotional way whilst giving everything to the stuff that they did play. To listen back to it is a wild experience for me. I’ve found it very emotional because it expresses things that I am incredibly uncomfortable talking about. That’s no offence to you. But I’m still glad I’ve put the music out. I am still glad it exists in the world and I will look forward to playing it live because I will want to and need to express and exercise those emotions. I might find it very hard like I did find it very hard to sing it down the studio.
And yet, for all those extreme emotional reasons, it is the answer to your question. It is my favourite, I’m really proud of it.
You’ve got quite an extensive guitar collection, this may be too difficult, but if you had to give most of them up and only keep one, which would you keep and why?
Ironically, I’m in a room with 20 guitars at home and the one that I would keep I don’t have here. The one I can’t give up is the guitar that played such a huge part in my career, which is a 1966 Epiphone Century. It’s bright red but you can still see the wood grain through the paint. I found it when I went to New York in 2013 to meet my record label, well those that would become my record label.
I went to meet them to maybe sign a record deal. I performed a few songs to them on an acoustic guitar that I’d taken which is also a special guitar. After I performed, they asked my managers if they would stay in the building and if I would just go off and explore New York, they would try to do a deal right there and then. In sending me off around Manhattan, I went down to the lower east side to Bleecker Street where there used to be a shop called Matt Umanov Guitars which doesn’t exist anymore sadly. I walked in and I picked up and tried this guitar and it felt very special. Also, it felt very difficult to play, and I found that quite aspiring. I had recently at that time listened to Jack White talking about how he liked there t be some kind of struggle in the guitars that he played. He didn’t want it to be soft, silky, easy and accessible, he wanted it to be he wanted somewhere to put his adrenaline, which I could really relate to. So I found this guitar that kind of strung up and felt a little bit like an electric guitar. But it also had more soft acoustic guitar-styled strings on it and all these different details that made it a bit awkward. I loved it. It was fucking expensive [laughs] and I could not afford it, so I put it back.
I said to my managers as they joined me in the shop, I said, I’ll come back one day. That’s my plan, that’s my dream to buy that guitar. We had dinner with the label that night and went home the next day and everybody said, hope to see you again. No deals were made or anything. Less than a week later, my managers asked me to come to the office, there was a package for me. I went down and there was a big box, opened it up, a very dusty guitar case inside, there was a note from the guy at the label that said ‘when we went to dinner, you couldn’t stop talking about this guitar. We really want you to have it and of course, we would love to work with you’. I didn’t remember banging on about that guitar but apparently, that’s all I did. I went on and wrote “Hold Back The River”, “Let it Go” on it, and I recorded most of my debut album on it. I have recorded lots on it since but particularly those two songs. It’s very important to me, so I would have to keep it.
Speaking of live shows, with the big headline tour in February which includes a date at London’s OVO Arena Wembley, what’s exciting you about the live aspect for your latest era?
Yeah I’m exited for that and for trying to replicate what we did in the studio lives and also trying to tweak that you don’t want to do exactly the same thing. I’m looking forward to how the new songs can be emphasised or evolve on a stage and in a live environment. That’s a huge excitement for me. The Wembley Arena is my first UK arena, so that’s a big one for me. A lot of the venues outside of that on this UK run, I’ve been to before but not for a long time, they’re a bit bigger and I’m really excited for those because I love them. But the other thing I’m excited about is exploring. I’ve been saying a bit, so I’m going to have to start sticking to my word, but I’d like to find out how I can reinterpret some old songs. I think at about 10 years since the first album, it’s about time. I saw Paolo Nutini live recently, and he does a bit of that, few artists do.
They deliver a song that you know and love in a different way and I’m inspired enough as a musician, as a musical person to try that. I typically work that kind of stuff out myself and then in the rehearsal with the band. I love that process. I’d like to surprise fans at shows with those kind of moments because the fans are already incredibly good at singing along, so there’s almost a little bit like let’s have fun with this, let’s see if you can sing along to it like this as well, in a different way.
How has fatherhood changed you as a person and as a music fan, when Ada is old enough, what albums and artists are you excited to show her?
Oh I’m excited to show her everything. I’m excited to say to her, you know, on the one hand here’s the streaming platform, you can find everything in here, but on the other hand, I’m excited, she already likes the dropping of the needle on a record at home. She’s nearly three and she’s excited by how that goes and she loves to sort of put those records on and hear them come through the speakers and dance around the room. It’s hard to answer the first part that a question because I’m not really sure. I’m not really sure how it’s change me but I’m fucking dead certain it has. To become a parent, does change. It changes you forever, it’s like you grow a new limb, but that limb is going to wander off into the garden and have its own existence and its own life, it’s not going to be attached to you forever. I don’t know if you’ve got kids, but it’s only in the very first instance that you really sort of feel this thing, this person, this new human attached to you and all the cliches are true. There’s no question about that.
The most terrifying and most euphoric feelings come with having a child, and that’s all hitting in a new way as she has been a toddler and she’s starting to become a little kid. It makes me think about my own mortality of course, it makes me think about so much. It’s not an overwhelming question, but it’s an overwhelming thing to think about and yet there’s also such a stunning, beautiful simplicity to a small child and parenthood. We get so complex, busy, for so many ultimately unimportant, peripheral, things in life.
A kid just wants to hang out, wants to chat, eat sugary stuff which you’ve got to keep an eye on. I think it makes me reach further as a songwriter, and in my work. I want her to have a nice, comfortable, exciting life. I want her to be curious and feel drive, witness her parents being driven people, ambition. I’d love her to get passionate and hungry about things that she finds and obsesses over in the ways that I did because it is an exciting journey. It’s reignited all of those things in me and how I understand about myself and how they could be possible for her.
As mentioned earlier, On Changes All The Times, you worked with co-producer and friend Gabe Simon, someone you’d like to work with again – what ideas or sonics would you like to explore next with Gabe in the future?
Good question. There’s a few things that come to mind. On the one hand, I would just like to do what I did Gabe again, because it felt so emotionally, musically, spiritually, nourishing. I’ve made a bunch of records and I’ve had different kinds of experiences, some of them really unbelievable some and some of them less so. But with this record, it stood the line, it was unique. Particularly in how invested Gabe was in the experience as my friend, let alone as a collaborator and a colleague. So that’s one reason, and that’s one thing I’d sort of like to explore. When I say again, on the one hand for the first time my life, I’m realising I would love to go back to RAK the same studio in London and maybe take the same people in with excitement in the new songs. We had such a great process to the way we worked on this record. It was equal parts constantly in the studio around-the-clock, and then also for the first half, we’d give ourselves the weekend and give us some time to ease in.
A separate answer to your question is, with the help of Gabe who’s really helped spearhead the idea, I got to release the first single “Up All Night” in collaboration with Noah Kahan and The Lumineers who are mates of mine and mates with Gabe, they are giant artists in their own right. I would like to manifest some sort of super group, let’s do a record, let’s do a tour. I am the only one saying it at the moment and that’s okay, someone has got to start. I know the lads had a very good time doing it and were happy to be involved. I’ve spoken to them and seen them a bunch since and it was a lot of fun. But they’re busy guys, lots of touring, new releases to come. It’s not just because super groups are a fun thing that sort of existed in the past, I’m a massive Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young fan. I would love to do that, I would love to do a version of that and I think with those lads it would be a lot of fun to do even a small record and a small tour. I think we started something that could be good, so I’m just a guy out here manifesting that, I would do it with Gabe too.
The possibilities are endless. Is there anyone else you would have in this hypothetical supergroup?
I’m a big fan of Maggie Rogers, and I think it’s her kind of sonic neighbourhood as well. Her, Feist, my mate Margaret Glaspy as well, check out her music, she is wonderful, she would be great in it as well. So there is a whole host I’m sure.
Finally, if your debut EP The Dark of The Morning was a snapshot of the beginning of your journey, what would Changes All The Time say about you at this very moment?
It’s a bit cliché, but it would say I am still a work in progress I am still curious, I’m still hungry. It would say I have learned a few things, it would say check this out, I’ve learned this along the way. The Dark of The Morning was pure naivety, innocence and being such a newbie and saying ‘I know nothing but I want to share this’. But this music would say, ‘I’m a work in progress’ and that feels like the most important thing to express, share, and talk about.
James, I know you’ve done a ton of interviews and human-to-human right now, I want to emphasise how much I appreciate you taking the time to chat.
No question man, thank you, Cameron. I do hope we can do a little in-person thing one day, that would be fun as well. It’s been wicked, thank you so much.
James Bay’s fourth studio record Changes All The Time is out tomorrow.
Interview Cameron Poole
Photography Garry Jones
Styling Benedict Browne
Grooming Joe Mills
Styling Assistant Alfred Humphries
Production Kelsey Barnes
Production Assistant Issy Dimauro
James Bay Publicist Jannat Choudhury @ JC Publicity
Location CHATEAU DENMARK, London
ALEX HASSELL - YOU MAGAZINE
Grooming by Richard Wynne-Ellis
Photography - @Simonemmettstudio
Creative Director - @Natashatomalinhall
Picture Editor - @Stephbelingardphoto
Styling - @Joanne.m.kennedy
Styling Assistant - @Pernilemv
Grooming - @Richardjwynneellis
Writer - @Sophiamoney-coutts
Location - @Jumeirahcarltontower
DIET COKE ANNOUNCES JAMIE DORNAN AS NEW AMBASSADOR
Grooming by Ky Wilson
London 9th September 2024: Diet Coke is privileged to announce that Jamie Dornan will take on the roll as ambassador for the brand. Jamie will bring his own unique aesthetic, passions, style and personality and build on Diet Coke’s legacy of partnering with some of the world’s leading talent.
Jamie will use Diet Coke as a platform to inspire generations, by bringing to life the new Diet Coke ‘This Is My Taste’ campaign. The campaign shines a spotlight on fans and encourages them to proudly take ownership of their unique tastes, personal interests and own their Diet Coke break moment, however they choose to take it.
Celebrating the announcement of the new partnership, Jamie stars in a new TVC in October, which reveals his own love of cold-water swimming, with a cheeky Diet Coke twist. Joined by a wider cast of characters, from festival-goers to fancy dressers to experimental chefs, they are all united by their bold self-expression.
Jamie Dornan commented on his appointment: I’m really pleased to join the Diet Coke family. The ‘This Is My Taste’ campaign resonated with me instantly as it reminds us all to take moments for ourselves to do whatever makes us happy. Especially if that includes taking a break in your day to drink a Diet Coke whilst lounging on a unicorn floatie.”
Louise Maugest, Senior Director, Marketing at The Coca-Cola Company, commented: “We are honoured to announce Jamie Dornan as Diet Coke’s latest ambassador, adding to the brand’s rich history of collaborating with some of the biggest names in film, fashion and culture. We’re excited to work with Jamie to bring the new campaign to life and truly inspire people to own and celebrate their own style and taste, all whilst enjoying an iconic Diet Coke break.”
This Is My Taste, the new campaign by Diet Coke featuring Jamie will go live in October.
TOM GLYNN-CARNEY - BOYS BY GIRLS
Grooming by Joe Mills
Photographer Lauren Maccabee at DMB Represents
Fashion Ben Carnall
Production Rachel Allison
Photo Assistant Phoebe Somerfield
Styling Assistant Aaishah Perager
Tom Glynn-Carney never had a plan B. He was determined to pursue acting and told his mother that a backup plan was akin to anticipating failure. There was no doubt in his mind. From an early age, he was drawn towards performance as an outlet to express himself without any limitations or fear of reprimand. He found his purpose in acting and sought it with unwavering certainty as if it was already a sure thing. He says, “I never thought I wouldn’t [be an actor], I just always told myself I would.”
This year promises to be a big one for the British actor as the second season of House of the Dragon premieres in June. The forthcoming season is a study of familial discord, focusing on the Targaryen civil war, a brutal war of succession between half-siblings Aegon II Targaryen and Rhaenyra I Targaryen. Stepping back into the shoes of Aegon, a character marred by cruelty and promiscuity, Tom seeks to uncover the trauma hidden beneath the veneer of tyranny this season.
Portraying a central character in a cultural phenomenon like House of the Dragon inevitably brings scrutiny. Tom admits he has never felt more vulnerable and exposed, a feeling he also attributes to the challenges of portraying Aegon's state of mind throughout the new season as the character grapples with the reality of kingship. When the whirlwind of the industry becomes overwhelming, Tom instinctively gravitates towards the countryside, yearning for the vast expanse of space and the soothing cloak of solitude. Here, the outside world fades into insignificance as he finds his way back to himself.
In our conversation, Tom candidly shares his thoughts on the upcoming season, the evolution of his character Aegon, his stubborn dedication to the acting craft, and the wholesome pastimes that anchor him while off-duty.
“I don't get to talk about how I feel completely at home in the countryside and how much value I put on space, peace, and solitude. I find myself really engaging with who I am again when I'm on my own and able to sort of disappear for a while. I live in a cottage in Lancashire Hill Country and there's a river right by and rolling hills and sheep. It's my escape. I think I'd be a different person without that.”
Take in the full 16-page story beyond this teaser. Our brand new Spring Summer 2024 issue Breaking Waves is available to buy online and in select stores worldwide.
RAKE IN PROGRESS: DÓNAL FINN
The Irish actor Dónal Finn is starring - or singing his heart out - in the London production of the hit musical Hadestown. But he saved enough of his voice to chat to us about his childhood, life lessons and greasy spoons.
Hair by Ky Wilson
Date: May 2024, Author: Charlie Thomas, Creative Direction: Brandon Hinton, Fashion Direction: Grace Gilfeather, Photography: Kim Lang
Dónal Finn is incredibly generous with his time when I chat to him at the Soho Hotel in Central London. Interviewees are often quick to the point, with pre-planned answers they know will tick the journalist’s boxes. But Finn is thoughtful with every response, and gives his full attention to our 90-minute conversation over coffee and a red-berry smoothie. It’s especially generous as his vocal cords will need as much rest as possible over the next nine months. He’s just landed the lead role in the award-winning musical Hadestown, in which he’s required to sing throughout the entirety of each performance - and there are eight shows a week.
Hadestown makes its London debut at the Lyric theatre after an electric run on Broadway. It won eight Tony awards in 2019, including best musical and best original score for its jazz-infused soundtrack. Finn plays Orpheus, a troubled young singer who puts his life on the line to save his lover, Eurydice, in the dystopian world of Hadestown. It’s a departure from Finn’s recent work, which includes SAS Rogue Heroes and The Wheel of Time, but he’s never shied away from the mic. “It’s a part of out culture,” he says in a thick Irish accent. Finn, from Dromina in Country Cork, is part of a new generation of exceptionally talented Irish actors looking to put their mark on stage and screen.
Suede overshirt, pleated trousers and roll-neck, all Ralph Lauren Purple Label
Chambray shirt and pleated trousers, Brunello Cucinelli; fine knitted silk tie, Budd Shirtmakers; watch, Royal Oak Selfwinding, 37mm, Audemars Piguet.
Suede overshirt, pleated trousers and roll-neck, all Ralph Lauren Purple Label.
How would you describe Hadestown?
The show was originally booked until July or August, but now it’s been extended to December. It will be the longest stretch of theatre I’ve done. It’s entirely sung-through, so there isn’t any dialogue as such, and the conversations happen to music. There’s a heightened kind of reality to it.
The story of Hadestown is based on two Greek mythic love stories, which are the stories of Orpheus and Eurydice and Hades and Persephone. Essentially, the world is in disarray because the seasons are out of line, and there’s only a roasting summer and a freezing winter. Orpheus meets Eurydice - she changes the course of his life and they fall in love, but they get divided in a storm. Along the way, she’s coaxed into going to the underworld of Hadestown, where she’s offered all the comforts of food and shelter, and when Orpheus learns this he starts a quest to save her. And it’s all through song. The music is by Anaïs Mitchell, and it’s amazing. It has a quantity of jazz and a kind of 1920s New Oreleans deal within it, but she’s a folk singer as well, so it has this fireside quality in a kind of storytelling tradition.
Have you always sung?
I started singing in school, but there was always music in our house. I suppose it’s like a part of the family tradition as well. For family gatherings, as the night rolls on people do start to sing. So the notion of singing in front of other people I always saw as a kid. People that aren’t from Ireland or whatever, maybe that’s not their background, but it’s definitely part of our culture.
Suede overshirt and pleated trousers, Ralph Lauren Purple Label; T-Shirt, Sunspel; watch, Royal Oak Selfwinding, 37mm, Audemars Piguet; necklace, Dónal’s own.
Suede overshirt and pleated trousers, Ralph Lauren Purple Label; T-shirt, Sunspel; watch, Royal Oak Selfwinding, 37mm, Audemars Piguet; neklace, Dónal’s own.
Who are some of the people who have had the biggest impact on you and your career?
I have a lot of inspirational influences from people I haven’t worked with - people I really admire, like Jessie Buckley, Cillian Murphy. People who are doing incredible, incredible work; people navigating that line between stage and screen. I worked with Jack O’Connell on SAS Rogue Heroes, and that was my first time doing a screen job with a character that had a big arc. He put me at ease with the creative progress, and I didn’t feel nervous telling him that this was kind of a new thing for me. He was so generous and careful in discussing the scenes, the relationship between that characters, and exploring what risks we could take in the scenes that would live in the parameters of this amazing script from Steven Knight. He was really generous and has stayed constantly, really supportive and really engaged. Yeah, he’s a great man.
What’s the most important life lesson you’ve learned?
It’s a lesson I’m still learning. I have by no means mastered it and I need to practice it a lot more: it’s the importance of keeping things in balance in your life. And trying to ensure there’s a harmony between work and family, life and friendships and relationships. Anything that’s going to be good in your life is not goof because of it being passive. Even relationships with friends that you’ve had for years. Family, partners, they all have to be worked on. I think that’s a massive lesson.
With such a long run of live performances, how do you wind down?
Last year I got a bit into exercise and looking after that side of me. I like to run a lot. And I’d like to balance that out with a bit of different exercise this year, because I did a lot of running last year. There is something comforting about the routine and the structure of theatre which is different to filming. But I'll switch off by seeing my mates as well. They’re a big part of my life.
Leather bomber, knitted polo, Dunhill; Coniston boots, Crockett & Jones; watch, Royal Oak Selfwinding, 37mm, Audemars Piguet.
Leather, bomber, knitted polo and pleated trousers, Dunhill; Coniston boots, Crockett & Jones; watch, Royal Oak Selfwinding, 37mm, Audemars Piguet.
What is the best city in the world?
I have an awful lot of love for Cork, because I think I could definitely live there. I don’t really see any faults with the city, and love the humour of the city. And then I have a lot of love for Prague. I think that’s because of the experiences and the people I’ve met there when filming The Wheel of Time. We’ve built a bit of a community there, and it’s picturesque and has incredible food.
Favourite restaurant in London?
I love a greasy spoon. I like going to Bar Bruno in Soho because it’s so reliable. It’s so close to the theatre at the moment. There’s crisp in Hammersmith. It’s kind of like a pub but it does really good pizzas. There’s some great places in Shoreditch as well, like Padella and Manteca for pasta.
Aside from Hadestown, what are you most excited about this year?
We are wrapped on season three of The Wheel of Time. But I think this year could be an opportunity, while I have the routine and structure of theatre, to go about exploring other outlets, like writing, creating. If you’re an actor, you naturally have an interest in telling stories. I think there’s a further exploration of that, obviously, in being part of creating a story that you want to be told.
Locklear leather jacket and pleated trousers, Ralph Lauren Purple Label; cable knit jumper, Polo Ralph Lauren; York fedora, Lock & Co.'; neckerchief, Anderson & Sheppard.
Locklear leather jacket and pleated trousers, Ralph Lauren Purple Label; cable knit jumper, Polo Ralph Lauren; York fedora, Lock & Co.'; neckerchief, Anderson & Sheppard.
DEL WATER GAP- BOYS BY GIRLS
Grooming by Andy Smith
Photography Ruth Hodder
Fashion Rachel Allison
Interview Tari La Fauci
WONDERLAND - SAM CLAFLIN
The Daisy Jones & The Six star talks the connection of the cast and prioritising his mental health.
“I relish the opportunity of providing people an escape from their own lives. I love watching films and I’m learning to love reading too, telling stories; watching them; listening to them; reading them. They should leave a person asking questions about their own lives or wanting to learn more about the story in front of them or the people in it. Stories allow us the opportunity to feel something - be it purely entertained or otherwise.”
Covering our Summer 2023 issue, Daisy Jones & The Six’s Sam Claflin is back from the ‘70s. Now living in the moment, the British-born actor discusses his process of transforming into an American rockstar for the award-tipped role, the magical connection of his cast, and prioritising his mental health and role as a father. Pre-order the issue now at wonderlandshop.com
Sam Claflin wears Omega.
Photographer - Rhys Frampton
Fashion - Doug Broad
Words - Scarlett Baker
Editorial Director - Charlotte Morton
Editor in Chief - Toni-Blaze Ibekwe
Editor - Erica Rana
Deputy Editor - Ella West
Art Director - Livia Vourlakidou
Contributing Art Director - Michael Morton
Grooming - Joe Mills
Production Director - Ben Crank
Producer - Isabella Coleman
Production Intern - Lola Randall
Photography Assistants - Josh Showell and Chris Chudleigh
Fashion Assistant - Letty Collins
MAN ABOUT TOWN
YIORGOS COVERS MAN ABOUT TOWN’S SPRING/ SUMMER 2023 ISSUE
Hair by Andy Smith
Buffalo Stance!
Enter, new face in town Yiorgos wearing burgeoning fashion designer Bokh Xuesong Yang on the cover of our Spring/Summer 2023 issue, shot by Bartek Szmigulski.
Photographer Bartek Szmigulski
Fashion by Tony Cook at One Represents
Hair by Andy Smith at Joe Mills Agency
Skin by Kylie McClelland at Joe Mills Agency
Model Yiorgos at Pophouse
Editorial Director Huw Gwyther
Editor-in-chief Damian Foxe
Editor Andrew Wright
Cover design by Livia Vourlakidou
Production Director Ben Crank
Producer Isabella Coleman
Special Projects Producer Mar Indiveri
Production Intern Frankie Baumer
Fashion Assistants Olivia Laghi & Emiliya IIieva
JAMES BAY FOR ISSUE 17 - BOYS BY GIRLS
Photographer Rebecka Slatter
Fashion Nathan Henry
Writer Sophie Razvi
Groomer Joe Mills at Joe Mills Agency using Woolf Kings X, Lab Series, and Dior Beauty
Fashion Assistant Stoyan Chuchuranov
Photographer Assistant Marika Krapivnitski
In the Boys by Girls timeline, this conversation is the third chapter in the chronicle of James Bay. We met him in 2020, in 2022, and today. It’s a fitting moment. As the wave of his fourth album release, Changes All The Time, climbs to a crest, we find a man confidently striding forward, fulled by the conviction of all that has come before. There is an appetite for something new in James. If his last album Leap was about edging towards a new type of vulnerability, one that says “I know I can’t do this without you,” his latest offering is an unashamed embrace of everything he doesn't know and all that he hopes to achieve: in music and in life. We connect over our shared British sensibilities as James immediately offers up, guitar in hand, that the bathroom of his LA eco-hotel has filtered tap water (“That’s mental!”). It’s an openness and infectious humanity that eases us into topics like the ordeal of being seen, and how, admid changes all the time, one can hold onto their artistic integrity.
We obviously can't get enough of James Bay. We especially love him because each time we chat with him he literally plays the guitar and sings through some of his answers throughout the entire conversation. It's like a little mini-concert except we have to act casual when he does it.
James tells us that while he thinks he comes off particularly vulnerable in his music, he thinks he's quite a guarded person. He does, however, always bring vulnerability and candour to our conversations even if it's in the form of admitting that he's afraid of vulnerability. A bit of a vulnerability inception, no? Okay, we'll stop saying the word "vulnerable" but it is the first word that comes to mind when we think of James throughout the years.
His album is aptly titled, Changes All The Time, as most of our conversation revolves around changes in his becoming a father (lots of nappies as the main change) and maybe more importantly, the changes that come with his filtered tap water LA bathroom. Here is a sneak peek for you:
"I am surprised that we are constantly a work in progress, always. I slightly hate to confess, because it takes a bit of vulnerability, but I'm still a work in progress. I'm sure I always will be. I'm a little bit embarrassed to say it because I’m trying my fucking damnedest to feel all right on this roller coaster journey."
This print issue, we all learn to try not to feel shame in being a work in progress.
