About
Musicians used to brag about “paying their dues,” meaning that they’d spent years playing every Dog and Duck in the country until fame finally came knocking. Lee Mead’s route to success was a bit different, but when it comes to grafting, there’s nothing he doesn’t know about it. His Dog and Duck (as it were) was London’s Adelphi Theatre, and between July 2007 and January 2009, he did eight shows a week there in Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat. He was Joseph – yes, the guy in the loincloth – and there are two things he learned over the course of 600 sold-out shows. One: he never wants to shave his chest for a role again. Two: fame is a dizzying, life-changing thing. When his stint in the show ended, he needed to slow down and think about what had happened to him. So he moved to the countryside and started writing songs. That, in a nutshell, is how Nothing Else Matters came about.
This is Lee’s second album but he’d rather see it as his first. His debut, Lee Mead impressively sold nearly 200,000 copies and came out midway through Joseph. “The first one was great, but it was a real learning curve,” he says. “I had no time to stop and breathe and think about what I was doing. I was recording all day, then I’d get on the tube, whizz down to the theatre and be Joseph. But since I finished the show I can think and reflect. I’ve had a lot more time to look at producers and co-writers, and I’ve done a lot of writing sessions.”
There are impressive names in Nothing Else Matters’ credits, including Chris Braide (writer of Will Young’s 1.7 million-selling single Anything is Possible), Shelly Poole (songwriter for Kylie Minogue among others), Graham Stack (Tina Turner, LeAnn Rimes) and Nina Woodford (James Morrison’s Broken Strings) - but it’s definitely Lee’s album. “I’ve had time to do lots of demos and co-writing, lots of creative input, so I knew what I wanted. I wanted to make an album that stands out and you can listen to over and over.”
He has. Nothing Else Matters is full of sparkling originals (among them two songs co-written by Lee, Good to be Alive and the tempestuous love song Breathe You Out) and some surprising covers. Who’d have expected a version of Ryan Adams’ When the Stars Go Blue? (Still less that Adams’ ballad would be successfully transformed into a fragile duet with Hayley Westenra?)
Or a Meadian take on Spandau Ballet’s Through the Barricades? “Gary Kemp gave me his blessing for that,” he says, highly chuffed. “It was never going to sound like their ‘80s version, because that was big and theatrical, and I’ve got more of a raspey tone to my voice, but I like the way it’s turned out.” His quietly emotional version absolutely measures up to the original. “I tried to make it quite vulnerable and open – very exposed.”
It was moving from London to a farm in Kent – literally to greener pastures – that helped him to decide who he was as an artist. “Living there affected me when I was recording. I’m not going to pretend that I’m someone who at age four picked up a guitar and started writing songs and went to every festival. I’m still learning, and being in such a peaceful, beautiful place added something to the vocals. We [he and fiancée Denise Van Outen] have a lovely 17th century cottage with a few acres and sheep, so I’m a part-time farmer,” he chuckles. “There’s an outhouse that I’m turning into my writing pad. I’m learning guitar, too, which is cool.”
Having been a jobbing actor/singer from Southend who was picked from thousands of unknowns to play Joseph and suddenly became more famous than he’d ever imagined, Lee is ambivalent about the changes fame has brought. “When you become public property, it’s hard to adjust to that. And I’m now engaged to a very known person, so you kind of have to accept that people will be interested in what you’re doing. You can understand why people complain about the press, but you can’t really fight it.”
Being engaged has influenced the tone of the album, he says. Breathe You Out, which he wrote with Shelly Poole, “isn’t specifically about our relationship, but I’d be lying if I said it wasn’t related to the person I’m with. You can’t write a love song and not have it be about the person you love.” Breathe You Out is one of the highlights, along with the sleek, creamy Holding On to Letting Go and Everything I Left Behind, a classic can’t-forget-you number with dramatic bells on.
“This album has challenged me,” Lee says. “I’m learning more about music, more about how to connect with a song. It’s easy to coast, but when one human being connects with another, that’s a special thing, and that’s what I’ve tried to do in the songs.” He recounts a story about seeing Michael Caine give a speech at an awards ceremony: “He said he’s always been himself and never compromised who he is, and that stood out in my mind. It helped with the music, because you have to write and record from the heart and do what you believe. I feel I’m at a crossroads in my life – I’ve had a level of success that’s been incredible, and I feel that if you’re happy and your personal life is on track, your work will be at its best.”
He’ll be touring later this year – his very first tour - and is looking forward to it. “My manager asked how I felt about doing 25 or 30 gigs around the UK, and I said, ‘After 600 shows, it’ll be a breeze.’” He laughs as he says it, but it’s obvious that he can’t wait to show people what he’s made of. With Nothing Else Matters paving the way, it should be easy.
Nothing Else Matters is released on March 9th on Fascination through Polydor Records
Management: Merlin Music Company Ltd.Tel: +44 (208) 834 8900Email: info@merlinmusiccompany.com
