MANILA, Philippines - It was his voice, that distinct husky and soulful timbre, that got me scrambling towards the speakerphone. James Morrison had finally surfaced after three weeks of playing cat and mouse, and I only had minutes to spare. He was calling from Brisbane, just hours before his final show in Australia. Days prior, his management told me he was still on vacation. “It was nothing too much,” James said, “I didn’t go on a sunny holiday or anything like that. I had a few little parties and just stayed at home with my family.”
At 28, James Morrison is a proud family man. He’s married to his long-time girlfriend, Gill, and is a doting dad to a young little lady named Elsie. “I’m a man now! I’m a young man!” he laughs, comparing himself with the boy who made his big debut with You Give Me Something back in 2006.
“I was naïve. I didn’t really know I was good, to be honest. I just wrote a lot of songs I liked and sang the way I’ve always sung, and it worked. Whereas now I feel like I’m a bit more in control with my music and my personal life. It’s a lot easier to manage now, especially since I have a kid.”
“In the beginning I was a complete open book,” he continues, “I wanted to be honest. It was good in a way, because it let people know what I was all about, but I think I would’ve had a little bit more tact when talking about my upbringing.”
Rough childhood
His rough childhood is no longer a secret, having been fodder for the British press. His mother split up with his alcoholic father when he was still four. He also had a miserable time growing up, not having enough support for his interest in music. “I didn’t realize how revealing too much would affect everyone else in my family,” James admits. “That was probably one of my main regrets. I had a big talk with my mum about it. It upset her quite a lot… but we’re good now.”
I asked him if he ever missed his old life, a question that made him pause for a few seconds. “Uh… no,” he cracks. Sometimes, James muses on what could’ve been if he’d never made it. “To be anonymous would let me do what I used to do before, but I enjoy what I do now. There’s bullsh*t that comes with being a singer, but the positives are far way better.”
One of those positives is getting to collaborate with other artists. “They’ve opened my eyes to what I can be,” he explains. James has since worked with the likes of Jessie J and Jason Mraz, but he still can’t help gushing about Nelly Furtado. The two had recorded Broken Strings for his second album. “Nelly is my favorite. I used to listen to her records when I was a kid. She was really cool.”
Collaborations
“In fantasy, collaborations are all good, but it can be a mission to organize it and stuff. I’m a bit more apprehensive about doing another one, but I wouldn’t mind if someone asked me for a change. I want someone to ask me!” Perhaps a James and James collaboration would work? The other James in this duo pertains to the sugary James Blunt, whom Morrison has been likened to over the years.
“I haven’t got any weird feelings towards James Blunt. I can see why people lump us in the same category, but it’s annoying,” James says in an interview with The Guardian. “A lot of people think he’s wet. I’ve never met him, but I stood behind him in a taxi queue once and it was awkward. I was admiring his leather jacket and didn’t realize it was him.”
For now, James is keener on writing alone, a process he considers more honest. “I try to write songs that reflect what I’m going through rather than songs that I think would work on radio.” The songs on his latest album, “The Awakening,” for example, were spurred by a six-week grieving period after his father’s death in 2010. “Losing my dad made me want to be more truthful. I needed to write to feel good again.”
Based on the high he’s getting from the tour, it seems that he’s doing a lot better. “The fans are awesome. The gigs are buzzing. There’s good energy,” he says and hopes to replicate the same mood when he performs in Manila on Oct. 9.
“I get nervous playing for a new country and new crowds, but there’s something about it that keeps my adrenaline going. If I wasn’t scared about it, then it wouldn’t mean anything for me. Getting scared is a good sign. It says I still care about what I do.”
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James Morrison “The Awakening World Tour” will be held at the Smart Araneta Coliseum on Oct. 9, 8 p.m. Special thanks to Dayly Entertainment.