UK based Singer/Songwriter Billy Lockett has steadily risen to become a household name. Years of hard work and dedication to his craft has seen Lockett build an incredibly large and loyal fanbase who help sell out shows all over Europe. Having toured with major names such as K T Tunstall, Lewis Capaldi, Jamie Cullum, Dean Lewis and more, Lockett has been signed by major labels, released his debut album Abington Grove and has been played on the radio all across the globe.

Following the success of his 2023 debut album, Billy Lockett has spent the past two years working on new music for his upcoming album. Most recently, he released a stunning jazz rendition of the beloved classic Pure Imagination for Sky Sports, which served as the theme track for The Masters golf tournament.

A huge star in the making, this is just the beginning for Lockett and we expect we will be hearing and seeing many great things from him for years to come. His music can’t be held to one specific genre, that’s part of the charm to his craft. There is something for everyone whether it be Pop, Rock, Classical, Drum & Bass, Jazz and maybe one day even Country.

In this interview, Billy and I discuss our shared history in Northampton, including music venues and local hang out spots. We discovered that I attended college with his friends from Northampton based band The Departure. As well as talking about up and coming shows, including Christmas dates in his hometown of Northampton, Billy also shares that he is currently working on a new album. He shares insights into his creative process, including producing and mixing his own music. He discusses details about his song “Things Are Looking Up,” which is inspired by his father. We also touch on his experiences with major labels and the challenges of being an independent artist.

I used to live in Northampton. So I thought I’d break the ice and ask you if you knew these places and if they are still around?

Big Noise?

The rehearsal space? Yeah, that’s still going, one of my mates actually has a studio there. Yeah, it’s a rental space, it’s still kind of going,

Soundhaus

I thought that was going to be next, yeah, man, that was a great venue. Do you know what? Soundhaus was a tiny bit before my time. I think it closed. I think it closed when I turned 18, so I used to, I used to sneak in there. I’d sneak in there when I was about 17, but because I had a fake ID, but they were pretty strict on it. But yeah, I did go a couple of times to see a couple of bands.

Spin a Disc, Penny Whistle and Phoenix comics?

Wow. Okay, so Phoenix Comics is still going. Spin a disc is still going, still going strong. Actually, that place is really thriving. Penny Whistle is now this dive bar called Bar Rumba with sticky floors, but that used to be a great pub that was probably one of my favorite pubs back in the day.

Mine too. That’s so funny.

So, are you ready for all your up and coming shows?

I’m excited for this Brasenose Arms gig I’ve got, in Banbury. (On 17th May info and tickets here)

You still play in Northampton, quite a lot, don’t you? I know it’s months away, but you’ve got like, three Christmas shows in December already booked?

Yeah I do it every year. The first year I did one (show), then the second year I did two, and then last year I did two, and this year we’re going for the hat trick. So it’s kind of becoming a bit of a Christmas thing to kind of go to a Billy show at Christmas.

Amazing! And you’re touring now….

Yeah, I’m back on tour with Jamie Cullum, so that’s kind of the next thing I’ve got, but that’s the final date with him. I’ve been on tour with him for the last half a year.

How has it been?

Yeah, it’s been really great. Jamie’s fans are really, they’re really into music. They’re proper music lovers. You know, they buy vinyls and CDs and they really listen. I’m kind of used to having to fight crowds to sort of care in sort of noisy pubs, but with Jamie’s shows, it’s kind of a dream situation. They’re theatres and seated, and sounds amazing. And, yeah, it’s been a, it’s been a dream tour for me to be honest.

That’s my ideal gig, if it doesn’t have a seat, I’m like, nah!

I’m the same. I’m the same. I hate standing up.

It’s hard, isn’t it? And at a festival , I always check if I can bring my own seat.

But then you’ve got to carry it.

True, I make that mistake. So I have two small children. I’m like, brilliant, let’s bring seats for all of us and then it’s “Oh no.”

Who’s been the most kind and influential person that you’ve been on tour with?

Wow. There’s been so many. I mean, everyone’s been great. I think Dean Lewis. I saw him most nights on tour, and I kind of just, I was really inspired by him, not just kind of how he is on stage, even though he’s insanely good on stage, it was more….he had a really great work ethic. He doesn’t party. He’s really focused on his health and just on being the best version of himself on stage and off stage. He is a really positive, happy, inclusive guy. I was first on, but he made me feel like I was the headliner with him. You know, he’s a good mate of mine, and has been for a long time. But it was really cool to just watch him work and it definitely made me think. I said to my team when we were on the tour that this is definitely the kind of the goal to get to. Not that Jamie isn’t and Capaldi isn’t, and all these other people but there was just something about Dean that was really, really inspiring. I mean, Capaldi and Jamie are also the most incredibly talented people I’ve ever seen in my life. But, yeah, I love Dean’s energy. There was something really cool about his energy. I’d say he probably, out of everyone, he inspired me the most.

I’m glad to hear that. I have to know what it was like at BST Hyde Park with Andrea Bocelli, because it was torrential rain!

Yeah, it was, yeah haha. It was a great day but yeah, we did get soaked. I mean, there was still a big crowd. To be fair, there was still probably a couple of 1000 people, but yeah, it would have been much better if it was sunny, but it was still, it was still a good experience and a great gig.

Let’s talk about ‘Pure Imagination’ and how that cover came to be?

So basically, Jamie (Cullum) was supposed to do it. I think he said yes to it, but then last minute, for some reason, I don’t even know why, he just suddenly couldn’t anymore. And I’ve got the same manager as Jamie, and so they managed to sort of convince Sky Sports to use me instead. Because, I mean, it’s kind of, I guess I’m kind of like the Primark version of Jamie, like, I’m more the cheaper version. So they said I can do the song but the thing is, they wanted it to be exactly the same as Jamie’s version, and Jamie’s, you know, a jazz singer, so it’s kind of all over the place – not in a bad way, but in a very technical, complicated way, you know? I don’t think there was one line that was the same melody as the one before, you know, and I was literally having to record it line by line. I listened to Jamie’s version because, they were adamant that that was the version they needed. So I just kind of had it on Spotify, and I had my logic up, and I was just AB’ing it over and over again every 10 seconds, recording the next line every 10 seconds. And my mate, Ben, who’s also my keyboards player, he pretty much created the track and I was like, “Look, you just need to rebuild the song”. To be honest, I think he really loved doing it. It’s almost a bit of a challenge to him, trying to get it as close as he could, finding all the same sounds. I actually, personally prefer our version, actually but no disrespect. And then, yeah, we did it. They hadn’t said yes yet. We sent it to them. We did it in a couple of days in between the touring. I was back for three or four days, got back, did it in the studio and then sent it to them. And luckily, they liked it enough to kind of get me over to sky, the sort of the village in London. It’s insane. It’s almost like a whole village of sky. So the gates open, and then you walk in and there’s a road. It’s like a whole neighborhood of buildings and roads and all sorts. Every building in there is a different part of sky, sky sports, and you’ve got sky movies and sky Atlantic and Sky Arts and all these different areas, it’s crazy. Then we just filmed it, and it was on the TV pretty much the week after.

It actually sounds like you’re describing going into the sky building as if it was the chocolate factory, and Pure Imagination would be playing as you walk in, like it would in Charlie and Chocolate Factory.

Yeah haha! I guess it’s because the golf course is supposed to be, you know, the most beautiful golf course in the world, right? And so the whole point is, it’s like, come with me into this magical land of of golf. I mean, I’ve never played golf before. I know nothing about golf, so it was almost a bit wasted on me, but, you know, I don’t think I realized how much of a big deal it was going to be either, you know, for me, it was just kind of like, “Oh, I just got another job” because I’ve done this for so long now that I’ve learned to never get your hopes up about anything really. And then when it came out, even when it came out, I didn’t really watch it. I was still working, and all of a sudden my phone started buzzing, and I was like, “Oh, cool. That’s happened”. But then I walked outside and as soon as I stepped out my front door, some guy was like, “I saw you on TV, on the golf” and I was like, “oh, okay, cool”. And then I went into the pub and about four or five different people came up, and I was like, “Oh, is this actually something people watch?” It went straight over my head, as if it was nothing and now I’ve got this really unusual, massive fan base of golf fans.

In Northampton, before you were discovered and stuff, where did you play to get noticed?

I used to play a lot at the Picturedrome. The Black Prince, which was called the Racehorse.

Oh yes, I remember that place.

The labor Club, which is now the lab, that was, you know, these were my first shows. I think my, actually, my very first show was at the White Elephant, which is essentially just a pub, you know. And it’s not really changed that much, to be honest, and then actually also at the Penny Whistle. But yeah, I’d play everywhere. I’d play pretty much anywhere I could for the first couple of years. It was only after about three or four years I started to kind of pick and choose what I did, rather than just saying yes to every opportunity, you know,

Nice! So you’re independent now – how do you find that? A lot of people I speak whom have had major record labels and gone independent say there’s a lot of creative freedom now.

I mean, yeah, there is. I can pretty much do whatever I want, which I am, you know. I mean, this whole (new) album is completely me. I’ve written a lot of it with a couple of mates, Amanda, one of my mates, she’s written half the album with me, and she’s also my backing singer, and I now have a couple of guys. I’m keeping it very, very small with the team and then I’m essentially playing, producing, mixing everything. So the whole thing is just being built in the cellar. So it’s quite DIY and I kind of like that. I haven’t got a label, So firstly, you know, there’s no deadlines. My manager has got a little bit of a deadline, but she’s kind of pretty chill about it. So, yeah, I’m in charge. I’m completely in charge. The downside is…

Money?

that, yeah, I’m broke pretty much until this album comes out, because I spent everything from the first album, because that was like, you know over three years ago now, and I did a deal with that. I signed to Warner, and then I signed to Virgin, and I just never seem to have any money ever because hacks and then lawyers and everything, you kind of just end up like not really ever seeing it. So with this, I’m kind of thinking I’m just going to make the thing and pretend maybe, if there was a label that came and I really felt something with them, then great but I’m going to probably end up releasing it independently and see. You know, I’ve never done it before. I’ve never properly bit the bullet and taken a risk and put it out so who knows what will happen, but I’m just going to make it first and see. But I think the point is, I’m not scared of the whole independent thing. Yeah, you don’t have any money, but the payoff can be huge. You know, if a song goes well and you own it, you’re a millionaire. You really are and Spotify doesn’t really pay unless it pays. And when, if you own it and something works, it can really go but I think the problem with the label is that even if you get a hit, you don’t really see that much money, I guess the label takes it and you know, you’ve got to stream so many to have a hit! You need hundreds of millions of streams these days, whereas, if you’re unsigned, you only need 20 or 30 million, and you can have a comfortable life, you know?

Yeah. I mean, I’ve heard a lot of artists say that and also that they’ve made a whole album with a label, and then it gets shelved.

This is another thing, you know, you make the whole thing and then they don’t like it and they don’t release it, and that’s terrifying to me, especially when you know I’ve learned how to do all this production and mixing in the last couple of years, and it’s not really a boast as such as I like, produced and mixed and played and everything. It’s more that I just couldn’t afford to pay anyone so I had to learn, and also it was never quite what I wanted it to be. It never sounded exactly how I want, whereas, now, from doing this on my own, it’s made me learn so much about music, also about myself, like it’s given me like a purpose in life. It’s given me a reason to wake up. It’s given me a reason to not abuse alcohol and drugs and it’s turned my life around, actually learning all that. If a label was to come in and shelve me, it would be, it would be so much more soul destroying than ever before.

Yeah, yeah, no, I get it. I mean, as I said, I’ve heard horror stories, not only to get shelved, but suddenly nobody’s replying to emails and your phone calls, and it’s horrible. But what can we know about this album? Is there anything that you’re allowed to tell me?

Yeah. I mean, it’s upbeat. It’s a lot more hopeful than it used to be. There’s you know, there’s a couple of sort of ballady songs on it, but really, it’s a big sounding record with all sorts of different things going on. It’s mental. Some of it doesn’t make sense. I don’t really know what I’m doing, which has actually added some beauty to the whole thing. It doesn’t sound like anything else I’ve heard before. I think it’s, you know, when you’re working on something and you’re like, “God, I’m pretty sure that this is really, really like, good and way, way more exciting than anything I’ve ever done”. I know everyone always says that, “I’ve never been so excited about anything” but really, I really mean it. I’ve spent like two years on this, like, all day, every day. I mean, I’m tweaking things. I’m now at the point where I’m just, when I do a mix, I just date it, because I’m getting so confused with how many changes I’m making. And it’s like a lot of people are, “oh, you don’t want to overdo it. You don’t want to go crazy with it” because then you’ll gild the lily almost. But I don’t care. I’m having the best time. I just wanted to make it better, you know? And it’s almost like if I can just, even just get it from 95% to 96% then it’s worth it. So, I mean, who knows how it’s gonna do, but it’s by far the “I’m in my moment”, when you kind of, like, you know, as an artist, as a person whatever you’re doing, there’s a point in your life where you go, “Ah, I’m on the top of my game now”, ” I’m really in the zone”, and I’m, you know, ridiculously sober as well, so I can’t blame it on drugs. It’s fully me and I feel in the pocket right now. So even if it does flop, I love it!

I love that. What’s the most obscure thing you’ve ever written about?

Well, one of the my favorite songs on the new album is called, ‘We Know’, and it’s all about a sort of a booty call situation. It’s all about a one night stand situationship thing, where it’s kind of a little bit seedy, but also kind of like, you know, there’s nothing going on -We know, there’s no strings attached. It’s probably my sexiest song. I’ve been working with one of my mates Amanda and she’s really good because I just throw a load of stuff at the wall, whereas Amanda’s really good at filtering it out and kind of going, “No, I feel like you could make that a little bit sexy, or a little bit softer”. And, you know, doing all these different tricks with production, where you sing really quietly, but you turn the gain up really loud, so it feels really close, but almost feels like a whisper. There’s all sorts of different things. A lot of it is love, but love is an umbrella, you know so there’s just so many different takes on that,

Yes, and there’s Thing’s Are Looking Up as well?

Yeah, Things Are Looking Up is, I think, what I’m going to call the album and the single is, that’s about my dad. I’ve got this….I’ll show you actually the original. (shows me his Dad’s original artwork of a group of what he called things and they are looking up) My dad was an artist. He was an incredible fine artist. So when I got my first tour, when I was about 18, I tweeted K T Tunstall and asked if I could support her and somehow, by some miracle, she saw it, and I told my dad, and yeah, so he then drew this for me. He drew it as a bit of a joke and it has been sitting on a shelf in my studio for the last ten years. He died pretty much straight after that tour so he never got to see my tour with Capaldi, Lana Del Rey, Cullum, any of them. It was right at the beginning of my career. I was touring with Birdy just at the point where he passed and so I looked at this (artwork) and thought, “Why don’t I just call the album this?”. The thing is, I didn’t have a song, at the time. This was like three or four months ago and I thought if I am going to call the album something then I should have a title track and it should be one of the songs on the album. I ended up writing the song after I had come up with the whole idea haha and so the song is all about my Dad.

Beautiful!

How do you decide the bookends of an album? Are the opener and close important to you?

It is! Weirdly with this album, I have always had in my head which one is going to start and finish. I don’t know why but everything with this album has been so obvious. All the production just felt like it was effortlessly clear to me with what I had to do. All the bits in the middle, the complicated bits, that takes thinking about. The only thing that hasn’t come obvious to me is the cover. I have an amazing creative director called Gavin Wallace and I leave all that to him. I trust him. He did a great job with the first album so I was like “do your thing”.

You have said you are more involved with the production side of things now. Have any of your songs sounded completely different from the writers room to full production where you were like “I didn’t know my song could sound like this“.

Yeah, pretty much all of them haha! When you can produce, honestly I can’t recommend it enough to artists who can’t produce, you are missing out on so much. It’s a whole new world. Now, whenever I am writing something, it always starts on the piano or guitar but at the same time, I can now hear pretty much the finished song in my head from the beginning. I always forget that people I am writing with can’t so when I am playing something I will be like “oh did you hear that? that sounds great and Amanda will be like “what?” and I will say “Oh I’m sorry, I just heard a drum feel in my head”. In producing, you do kind of make it up as you go along. There’s one song ‘Master Plan’ where it was essentially just a strummy guitar song but right at the end I came up with this little picky thing in a Ukulele. It cost me like £5 at a charity shop. I don’t even know how to tune it so I just tuned it so it would sound alright. I played this little riff (plays me it) and that has ended up being the whole spine of the song. It sounded so cool and weird that it ended up changing everything.

Can’t wait to hear it. So, have you bought your life time supply of Pot Noodles yet?

I haven’t yet but I do pretty much live on them because it is the only food I can eat when I work.

What flavours?

Beef and Tomato or Curry or a Bombay Bad boy if I am feeling a little bit extravagant.