Interview with Lewis Capaldi | Stingray PausePlay

In this episode, PausePlay’s host Zac Monson chats with Lewis Capaldi.

I'm Zac Monson, welcome back to a very special edition of Stingray PausePlay, here with the star you already know, Lewis Capaldi.

Lewis: Hello!

Hi, Lewis Capaldi!

Lewis: How are you doing?

I'm great! How are you doing?

Lewis: I'm good. A bit tired, a bit sweaty. But, it's all usual.

That's pretty much my whole life, so I feel like we're going to click, I like it. First ever artist in global history to both announce and sell out an arena tour before the release of a debut album. It's a mouthful, but it's worth it.

Lewis: It is worth is, that's what I've always said to people. That's what I always say to people, "It's a mouthful, but it's worth it." No, it's pretty crazy. It's so weird that people would buy tickets off the back of, like, three songs. But, I'm glad they did. And maybe a faulty mover my parents house.

Is that something that I mean I wasn't gonna bring that up but I'm glad you did. Are you planning on doing that or is it just kind of good?

Lewis: It's quite nice... My mom washes my pants don't worry about it she does my boxers sand she's really having to put in some effort to get those stains over yeah... but I dunno I think for the time being it's quite nice when I go home to go home like when I grew up.

So, other than being the first person in global history to sell out these tours, before this happened, what do you think you may have been the first person in global history to ever do?

Lewis: Maybe one of the first people to pick up a bit of dog s**t on a stick and throw at people's houses.

That's what we used to do in my hometown.

That was just a Friday night?

Lewis: Well, it was just that we were bored, so we used to get sticks and put dog poo, pick up do poo and we used to sling 'em.

Give it a good fling?

Lewis: At each other, cars, houses.

At each other? Alright.

Lewis: Yeah, it was good fun.

And this was just before the tour started?

Lewis: Yeah. That was me in my twenties.

Lewis Capaldi's childhood memories & idols

Initiating the band to kind of welcome... This is what Lewis Capaldi is like. Perfect. Growing up in a house of six people, there must have been lots of music going around, your parents' music, your siblings' music. What did you love that was playing and what did you not like as much?

Lewis: My parents were not musical as such, but they loved music. They had Queen always on the go. My mom loved Queen, Genesis, Fleetwood Mac... My brother was into Slipknot, and bands like HIM. Remember HIM. And Avenged Sevenfold, which I've always loved. I was getting music from all angles, from such different genres. So, I didn't really not like anything. Do you know what I mean?

So, you've got like Queen on one side, and Slipknot on the other side, how did you fall into where you are at now?

Lewis: Bands like Green Day didn't seem that much of a jump from Slipknot, to me at the time. And then, My Chemical Romance and stuff. And then, it was quite a jump from there to indie music, like Oasis and bands like The Maccabees, The Kooks, and stuff like that, Arctic Monkeys. And then, that didn't seem like too far of a jump from people like Paolo Nutini, who's a Scottish singer, who's very similar. And then, I went back to that, and then I went, revisited The Beatles when I got older found people like Joe Cocker, and stuff. So, it just didn't seem too far of a jump each time. When I was listening to Slipknot it seemed like you would go, Slipknot... Green Day.

My Chemical Romance, Paolo Nutini... I get it, actually, now that you've guided me through that. It actually makes a hundred percent sense.

Lewis: Yeah, absolutely. And I think it was just connecting the dots, stuff like that.

And you kind of started writing music, really because you thought that was the only way to kind of be on stage and to be the singer. When was the first time that you wrote a song that you thought was good?

Lewis: When I was 11, I had six or seven songs that I thought were good. Obviously, looking back now, I realize they're f*****g terrible, and I was an idiot. But, I remember there was one called, The Show Must Go On, that was an 11 year old trying to comment on the financial crash. It was f*****g terrible.

Do you remember a line from that song?

Lewis: "The economy's going down the drain, and Robbie Williams is going insane."

Robbie Williams is the British singer who was really into UFOs. And I remember thinking, "Oh, he's losing his mind." And it was like..."There's greedy politicians..."

It was so embarrassing. But, the chorus in that song was...

♪ Oh no, got to get on with the show ♪

♪ So let's all keep our heads up high ♪

♪ And embrace it as we go ♪

♪ Oh no, got to get on with the show ♪

♪ ...The show must go on ♪

That's f*****g wank!

I feel like if you sold that to Mumford & Sons, they could just take it to the top.

Lewis: I did love... I still do love Mumford & Sons.

It kind of sounds like one of their jams.

Lewis: Hey, Marcus and the boys, get in touch!

I get ten percent, that's all I'm saying.

Lewis: Well, you came up with the idea.

Adventure Club's question

I mean, I'm just saying... We asked the last artist that we in to ask you a question, and the question is... I'm really glad that I get to ask you this question.

Adventure Club: What's up, guys! This is Adventure Club. We have a very important question for you. Your mother or father, depending on the sex of your partner, switches bodies with your partner, and you have to have sex with one of them to switch them back. Do you have sex with your significant other in your parent's body, or your parent's body with your significant other's mind in it? What do you choose?

Lewis: Oh my goodness! F**k me! I suppose, my girlfriend?

Your girlfriend's what? Body?

Lewis: Yeah.

So, your mom's mind?

Lewis: Yeah. Um... Probably just both agree to get really drunk, and... This is making me feel sad, thinking about it. Is that the right answer?

There is no right answer to this question. There's no right answer.

Lewis: I suppose, my girlfriend. I mean, again, I don't have one.

Theoretically, yeah. It makes it easier.

Lewis: Thankfully... phew! Something I don't have to worry about at this point. I'll leave that up to one of

my brothers or something.

Great answer, Lewis. There was no right answer there.

Divinely Uninspired to a Hellish Extent

The album is Divinely Uninspired to a Hellish Extent. But, what's it called?

Lewis: Ahh. It's both of those things.

Yeah, both of those things. Creating an album can be such a tedious, long task. What was your favorite part about creating it, and what's your least favorite part about creating the album?

Lewis: Writing it, I think. The studio is boring as f**k, I hate it. Recording, I hate it. It was something I really struggled with. Because I never got into music to sit in a studio for f*****g hours on end. I got into music to play live. I must have sung 'Someone You Loved' about forty times. Just that line, "someone you loved". And then, we go, "The first take was the best, wasn't it?" And you go, "F*****g hell." Every single time.

So, I just found being in the studio was s****y, but writing it was exciting because it was like, "This is going to be my first album. And it's going to be my first tours I'll be playing live." So, yeah.

We got to hang out with your friend Sam Fender this summer. And Sam told me that one time, when he was really, really drunk, he ran up to the old house he used to live in as a kid, stole the light sabe off of the front porch and took it home, and he still has it. What is the stupidest thing you've done drunk?

Lewis: Oh, god... I went through a phase of spitting on things. Which was gross and so out of order.

What kind of things?

Lewis: Anything. I'd be indoors and I'd be spitting on stuff, in people's houses. It came to like... I got kicked out of someone's house once, and it was like I was almost going to get battered. Which would have been totally fine. It would have been the right thing to do, to beat me up.

I went through a phase of just spitting on things, which is funny to think about now. But, at the time, I was genuinely worried. I was like, "I can't drink anymore if I'm going to spit on everything I see."

Yeah, I would say that would be it. I would say it would be very hard to top that.

Lewis: Imagine me every weekend having to text a different person to apologize. "Sorry I was spitting on things, and your couch."

That urn, that cat...

Lewis: Yeah, that was pretty gross.

Lewis Capaldi, Justin Bieber and Nicki Minaj

If you had to live the rest of your life in somebody else's music video, which video would it be?

Lewis: Beauty And A Beat, Justin Bieber.

Justin Bieber and Nicki Minaj?

Lewis: Yeah. It's great. Everyone's having a party...

Yeah but, Justin's there and Nicki's there...

Lewis: They're doing nothing. Let them do their thing. Let them hang out.

Okay. So, you're in the video and you just want nothing to do with the rest of the people in the video?

Lewis: Well, I'll just be there in the background. Everyone else is having a good... And Justin and Nicki are doing the main singing. And I'll just be in the back with a couple of cocktails.

The extras do look like they're having a good time.

Lewis: Yeah! Right! And I'd be there sipping on a strawberry daiquiri and watching Justin Bieber and Nicki Minaj perform. And I'm like, "This is great!"

I love it. I love it, man. It's such a treat to meet you, man. You're such an amazing writer and amazing performer. I'm gonna see the show tonight. I cannot wait. I'm glad that you stopped spitting on things and throwing poop on people and things.

Lewis: Me too.

Really, your life has gone from here to here, and I'm proud of you. I'm really, really proud of you.

Lewis: Thank you very much.

Listen to Lewis Capaldi on Stingray Music

You can hear Lewis Capaldi on Stingray Music's Hit List channel, Adult Alternative channel, and remixes on Dance Clubbin', Eclectic Electronic and more!

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