There was a time when Tom Grennan believed he was destined for a career in professional football. The Bedford-born singer/songwriter had spells with Luton Town, Northampton Town, Aston Villa and Stevenage. Yet the day on which Tom was told he just wasn’t good enough to play professionally also turned out to be the day when he discovered his true calling.
“There was a party that night,” recalled 23-year-old Tom. “I’d had my football dreams shattered. There was a karaoke machine and I thought I’d get up and sing.
“I didn’t remember much about it but when I went into school, my mates all said I was really good. In fact, my mates who were doing A-Level music asked if I’d like to help them out with a piece. Once I realised they were serious, I did the work with them and ended up loving it. Everything I have now stemmed from there.”
His music friends started a band asking Tom to be their singer. When they decamped to university, Tom followed them.
“I hadn’t thought about going to university. I was never particularly good academically. I was more interested in socialising and messing around at school rather than listening to the teachers. I look back now realising how foolish I was and wishing I’d been different.
“I’d never been into music so I couldn’t join my mates in studying music. But I needed a course which was non-academic so I ended up studying acting. Not that I did much studying, particularly during my first year. I mostly hibernated in my room, learned guitar by watching tutorials on YouTube and wrote songs.”
This was not a happy period in Tom’s life. He was mugged on the street by a gang of strangers and was so badly beaten that four metal plates were needed to hold together the multiple fractures of his jaw.
“I was in the wrong place at the wrong time. My jaw still hurts during the cold weather. I was in a very dark place after the attack and felt sorry for myself. One day, I decided to write about what I was feeling.
“It all came out in my song, Something in the Water, which was also the title-track on my first EP. I wrote about what I was going through and how I felt. It was therapy for me at that time. But when people got to hear the song, I found they really connected with it.”
When Tom finally started solo performing, he spent most of his university years gigging and did so almost every night.
“I’d go into clubs asking if I could do a gig. I was never paid much, usually about 20 GBP. But it was all good experience and I managed to build up a following of people who would bring their friends to see me so I was gradually becoming known.”
It was after a gig in London that Tom found himself approached by an A&R man from Insanity Records.
“I was told they would like to work with me and asked if I would be interested in signing with Insanity. Interested! I couldn’t sign my name on the contract fast enough. It really was a dream come true.
“The people at my label have been brilliant. They put no pressure on me. They’ve done nothing but help. I have to give them so much credit for helping me to become the artiste I wanted to be.”
Something in the Water was released in October, 2016. This was followed by two more EPs, Release The Brakes in March, 2017, and Found What I’ve Been Looking For last July. Tom also provided vocals for the Chase & Status single, All Goes Wrong, and duetted with grime artiste Bugzy Malone on Memory Lane.
But all this is nothing compared to the success of his debut album, Lighting Matches. It has entered the UK chart at number five.
“I’ve been doing a UK tour since March and then made a successful attempt this month to break the Guinness world record for number of gigs in different towns during a 12-hour period. I started at 6:45a.m. and did ten shows. I performed songs from the album, as well as some old favourites, during all of my gigs so I guess people were prepared for the album.
“Even so, I couldn’t believe it would get into the top five. I felt really emotional and was lost for words. There are so many people to thank. I genuinely feel like I’m on a journey with everyone who has helped me, not to mention the fans who enjoy my music and have bought the album. I also feel like there is so much more to come and our journey together has only just begun.”

in 
brief

David Baddiel/Frank Skinner/The Lightning Seeds
England may not have won the World Cup but optimistic fans Cpropelled the Three Lions football song back to number one on the UK chart for a record-breaking fourth time.
The track was originally recorded in 1996 by comedians David Baddiel and Frank Skinner along with Lightning Seeds singer, songwriter and musician Ian Broudie. It marked England hosting the European Championship, the first major tournament in England since the 1966 World Cup.
This is how the lyric it’s coming home, football’s coming home was derived. Indeed, the official slogan for Euro ‘96 was “Football comes home” as the modern game of association football was invented in England during the 19th century.
Three Lions topped the UK singles chart on May 26, 1996, and then returned to the summit on June 30. A slightly reworked version, to reference the Euro ‘96 penalty shoot-out heartbreak, topped the chart for three weeks in June, 1998, as England played in the World Cup.
Further chart success accompanied England’s subsequent appearances in World Cups and European Championships. But Three Lions did not hit number one again until Gareth Southgate’s young squad unexpectedly reached the 2018 semi-final.
Although four other songs have topped the UK chart on four separate occasions, Three Lions is the only one performed by the same artists. Frankie Laine’s I Believe had three spells at number one but the fourth was a cover by Robson and Jerome. Singing The Blues hit number one on all four occasions in 1957. Guy Mitchell enjoyed the honour three times but the fourth was a version by Tommy Steele.
The Three Lions video can be seen at www.youtube.com/watch?v=RJqimlFcJsM

Pussy Riot
 Football fans may have wondered about the identities of the pitch invaders who interrupted the France v Croatia World Cup final. It was not surprising to learn they were members of the Russian feminist protest punk rock group Pussy Riot.
Veronika ‘Nika’ Nikulshina, Olga Kurachyova. Olga Pakhtusova and Pyotr Verzilov are currently serving a 15-day jail term for violating the rules for spectators at sporting events and wearing police uniforms illegally.
Pussy Riot are known for their outspoken criticism of Russian President Vladimir Putin. Their World Cup stunt was staged as a message to free political prisoners in Russia.
The group originally gained international notoriety in 2012 when they performed inside a Moscow church. Their protest was against the Russian Orthodox Church leaders’ support for Vladimir Putin during his election campaign. They were eventually stopped by church security men and later convicted of hooliganism motivated by religious hatred for which they received two-year jail sentences.
A number of the band’s songs can be found on their YouTube channel at www.youtube.com/channel/UCQYcCfKYfYMcuCsem8z5CyQ If you enjoy the songs, some of them do have accompanying videos. They can be located by typing Pussy Riot and the song title in the YouTube search box.

CKY
 American rock trio CKY have just released Wiping Off The Dead as the latest single from their 2017 album, The Phoenix. The accompanying video is posted at www.youtube.com/watch?v=KLYIBlZaSc0The Phoenix is CKY’s first album since 2009’s Carver City. The intervening years have seen the band undergo a number of personnel changes.
Bassist Matt Deis returned to CKY in 2015. He had left five years earlier and been replaced by Matt Janaitis.
Original frontman Deron Miller quit in 2011. He was replaced by Daniel Davies, son of Kinks guitarist Dave Davies. But Daniel’s other commitments meant the time he could spend with CKY was limited. Although the band recorded several songs with Daniel as their singer, the material was eventually scrapped in favour of recording new songs with guitarist Chad I Ginsburg also performing vocals. There are accompanying videos for three other tracks from The Phoenix. Days of Self Destruction is at www.youtube.com/watch?v=b0Hc-9w2vqE Replaceable can be viewed at www.youtube.com/watch?v=8BJcJalxEdo while Head For A Breakdown is posted at www.youtube.com/watch?v=jzy65cBiJRU