The singer-songwriter on the rock’n’roll lifestyle, his happy childhood, and the fateful night out in Bedford that changed his life for ever
Born in 1995 in Bedford, Tom Grennan found fame as a guest vocalist on Chase & Status’s 2016 track All Goes Wrong, which led to his inclusion on the BBC Sound of 2017 list. Known for his blend of soul, pop and indie rock, he released his debut album, Lighting Matches, in 2018 and has since had more than 1.5m album sales and 2.5bn streams. His new album, Everywhere I Went Led Me to Where I Didn’t Want to Be, is out now. He tours from September.
This was taken in my mum and dad’s first house in Bedford. It must have been Halloween but I’m not sure what kind of monster wears socks on his hands or a Tom and Jerry T-shirt. I look very happy but boisterous, too – that graze on my face was probably because I’d fallen off my bike.
My childhood was rich in love: my mum was a teacher and my dad is a builder, and while they worked hard, they were always there. Mum played a lot of pop like Madonna and Robbie Williams in the house, and my dad liked Irish music and had an accordion. It was a very working-class background, and while we didn’t have a lot, I wouldn’t have noticed. We lived on a quiet street, we had a back garden and all I needed was a football. As well as being a handful, Mum says I was a kind boy who was quite emotional, too.
