This post is about not giving up.
It’s early 2010 & I've signed a lease on a small recording studio in London. I have no idea how I’ll pay the rent.
The first few months I create without restriction. As time passes the need to earn money means I start losing focus. I begin writing with lots of different singers searching for that magical ‘hit’. As well as losing focus musically, I also start to lose contact with friends.
3 months in and I’ve been sleeping at the studio to save money. The facilities include a crappy microwave and no shower. I sit down and try to write ‘something for radio’ and ‘something uptempo’ and ‘something positive’ after being told this is what I should be doing.
Anxious about life in general I end up writing a song called Heaven is Empty. It sums up the barrenness I'd been feeling
I send the demo to a trusted friend who replies "I'm trying to think who could sing a lyric like this and still make you want to listen to it repeatedly. It's quite heavy.” I wonder if the song will ever see the light of day.
June 2010 I work with China X Factor winner Mary Jess. The stress of having my family pay my studio rent and desperately trying to pay them back was taking its toll. In between writing sessions I was exhausted and feeling down.
In October I play Mary Jess my Heaven is Empty demo. She falls in love with it and sends the record over to her A&R at Decca records.
November 29 I end up in Chelsea and Westminster Hospital for a blood test to try and explain the dizziness I keep getting. The doctor tells me it's stress. That month I find out Heaven is Empty is going to make it on to her record alongside another of my songs. This will be my first major label release.
December 21 I cancel a session half way through after coughing up blood. I end up in the hospital for more tests. I pack up and leave London early for the Christmas break. I go back to the warmth of my family home. It’s -7 degrees and snowing heavily.
The day after I get home I receive an e-mail saying Decca would like me to attend the recording session at Abbey Road where the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra will be recording both tracks.
December 23 I feel like shit but get in my car and drive to Abbey Road studios. I go out on the Studio A balcony in the room The Beatles broadcasted their worldwide satellite performance of All You Need Is Love.
Listening to the weight of the full orchestra playing on a something I wrote in my tiny damp studio I get the feeling that things are looking up.