Tom Grennan is a powerhouse in more ways than one.
Not only does the English artist sport husky, wrenching vocals that stop you in your tracks, he's also faced enough adversity for a lifetime, and come through the other side with optimism, grit and relentless energy.Grennan comes from an Irish family, but grew up in Bedford, England. At the age of 19, he was violently attacked by strangers. Four weeks in intensive care were followed by another nine months of recovery. Add onto that several metal screws and plates in his jaw for life.
Yet even in that experience he still finds the positive, crediting it for triggering a creative streak, as he turned to music to come to terms with the attack.
In his second year of university, he was signed to Sony Records. Jumping straight into touring, he was then asked in 2016 to provide vocals for Chase & Status track 'All Goes Wrong' that skyrocketed him to fame.
Since then, he has played mostly sold-out shows such as Alexandra Palace's 10,000 capacity venue, passed 250 million streams for his latest album, and is currently one of the top 200 most streamed artists in the world. "I never, ever thought I'd be doing this," he confessed to GoldenPlec back in 2018.
A chance meeting with a karaoke machine and The Kooks 'Seaside' at a party with friends provided the encouragement he needed to take up a guitar and start writing. And boy are we glad he did.
His debut album 'Lighting Matches' was released in 2018, reaching #5 on the UK charts. 'Evering Road' followed in March 2021, and debuted at #1 buoyed by singles 'Little Bit Of Love' and 'Let's Go Home Together'.
The album is named after the East London address he lived at with his ex-girlfriend, the album's main inspiration. "It represents love, heartbreak and redemption," Tom told Songwriter Universe last year. "It's me saying 'I'm sorry for what I've done'.
"I've made mistakes. But I'm a human being, and want to right my mistakes. I want to say sorry, and to say thank you. Because if I didn't have that time and that experience, I wouldn't have been able to grow into the person I am today."
His positivity flows into his songs, such as 'Little Bit Of Love'. "It's all about unconditional love, and I wanted to write a song that represented me. . . realising that I do deserve love," Grennan shared in the same Songwriter Universe interview.
"No matter who you are and where you come from, everybody deserves that little bit of love. So I wanted to write a song that represented that. I wanted it to be uplifting, but also have meaning behind that."
The album is poignant, memorable and refreshingly positive. The feel is gospel pop. And the production is expansive, with strings, brass and multiple vocal layers – the minimum required to back Grennan's powerhouse vocals.
His voice really has to be heard to be understood. The special edition of 'Evering Road' was released in September of 2021, with five new tracks. One track, 'Don't Break The Heart' was inspired by the passing of a friend's mother.
Grennan was due to tour Australia for the first time in June, but was delayed due to recording another album. The dates have been pushed to September, and it can't come fast enough.
We don't have to wait long to find out what a night with Tom Grennan is like, and we might not be the same afterwards.
Tom Grennan 2022 Tour Dates
Thu 22 Sep - Max Watts (Melbourne)Sat 24 Sep - Factory Theatre (Sydney)
Sun 25 Sep - The Triffid (Brisbane)
