Tom Odell's personal life is interesting. Tom Odell: I have fewer fans than Steve Jobs, but I'm still alive. Which book character would you write a song about?

Tom Odell will give a concert in Moscow on Saturday. We have collected ten of the most interesting facts from his biography.

1. Tom has been passionate about music since childhood, despite the fact that there were no musicians in his family. His mother worked as a teacher, and his father was a pilot. From the seventh grade of school, the boy studied classical piano. And he began writing his first songs at the age of 13. However, the musician himself was embarrassed by this and did not tell anyone about his writing attempts - he did not see anything cool in them.

2. Tom owes his career to Lily Allen: the singer happened to attend his performance and was so shocked that she offered the musician a contract with her In The Name Of label. According to Lily, his stage energy reminded her of David Bowie himself. In 2014, the In The Name Of label ceased to exist, having managed to introduce two artists to the world - Tom and the New York indie group Cults.

3. Tom initially planned to go to York University, but instead decided to try to enter a music college in Liverpool (alas, without success). He later went to study at the Brighton Institute of Contemporary Music. Notable alumni of the institute include Radiohead drummer Phil Selway, Marina Diamandis (Marina & The Diamonds), Luke Pritchard (The Kooks), Ben Thompson (Two Door Cinema Club), James Bay and George Ezra.

4. While studying in Brighton, Tom played in the band Tom and the Tides. The team even managed to record a song for the collection of student groups “What’s Inside Your Head Vol. 3". However, Odell later decided to start a solo career: according to him, he “didn’t want to count on people.”

5. When Tom moved to London, he regularly took part in open microphone concerts, where anyone can go on stage and perform something. This experience was not easy for him: “There was enough humiliation: they took away my microphone, they laughed at me. But I learned to perform and understood how it works.”

6. Kevin Spacey played the main role in the “Here I Am” video. Tom admires how videos can enhance the effect of songs and reverse their meaning. Collaborating with Kevin was his dream - according to Odell, the actor's performance gave his song special depth.

7. Tom is not only interested in the music business. Vogue magazine named the performer the fashion industry's favorite pianist. Odell has modeled for Burberry and Uniqlo, and his songs are often used as show soundtracks. Tom also performed at the Burberry show - before that, the musical guests of the show were Anna Calvi and Benjamin Clementine.

8. Tom is often compared to Elton John. After the release of his debut album Long Way Down, Sir Elton called the young singer and invited him to perform at the iTunes Festival. Another music legend, Billy Joel, also noticed him and also invited him to warm up.

9. Tom has a BRIT Award (Critics' Choice), but he's more proud of winning the Ivor Novello Award for Best Songwriter. The musician has dreamed about her since he was 15 years old.

10. Tom Odell's music can be heard in the TV series Elementary, Conan, The 100, Red Bracelets and The Blacklist, as well as in the films The Fault in Our Stars and If I Stay.

At 18, Odell abandoned plans to attend York University and tried to gain a place at the Liverpool College of Music. When these efforts failed, he moved to Brighton to gain experience performing live. A year later he returned to Chichester after being fired from his job as a bartender. Using his grandmother's car, Tom regularly traveled to London to play gigs and advertise at music schools. He then moved to London and began playing in a band Tom and the Tides. However, he later decided to become a solo artist because he did not want to rely on other people.

Video on the topic

Career

Tom Odell signed with the label In the Name Of. He was found by the chairman of this label, the famous singer Lily Allen, who noted that “his energy on stage reminded me of David Bowie.” Tom released his debut EP, Songs from Another Love, in October 2012. The debut on television took place in November 2012. Odell was announced as one of 15 nominees Sound of 2013 in January 2013. That same month, his single "Another Love" was used in an advert by the BBC. Odell's music has been used numerous times in Burberry fashion shows. At the Brit Awards - 2013, Tom Odell received the "Brits Critics" Choice Award 2013, which is awarded annually to a promising artist of the coming year. The 22-year-old guy was not only able to beat strong competitors, but also became the first male winner in the entire history of the award. Over the years, the Brits Critics' Choice Award has been received by Adele, Florence + The Machine, Ellie Goulding and Emeli Sande, who, as a previous winner, interviewed him during the Brit Awards televised ceremony in February 2013.

Odell's debut album, Long Way Down, was released on June 24, 2013. In support of the album, the singer went on a large concert tour to cities in Europe and the USA.

Tom Odell was supposed to open for the Rolling Stones' concert in London's Hyde Park on July 13, 2013, but the performance was canceled due to health problems.

"Long Way Down"

The album's plot unfolds in an epic vein, from solid and leisurely keyboard accents to euphoric atmospheric canvases with a nervous bass drum. Tom Odell makes no secret of the fact that he grew up listening to Elton John albums, but his vocal timbre was clearly shaped by a range of influences, from Jeff Buckley to R.E.M.'s Michael Stipe. to Arcade Fire and Anthony Hegarty. The centerpiece of the album is the already released “Another Love” - a conversation in a universal language that can reconcile young fans of jumpy dance indie with their parents who grew up on more sedate and melodic pop material. The collection includes both lyrical songs about the complexities of love (“Can’t Pretend” and “Long Way Down”) and dynamic pop compositions (“I Know” and “Grow Old With Me”). The composition “Can’t Pretend” became one of the soundtracks for the TV series “Hotel Eleon”, and “Heal” became one of the soundtracks for the film “If I Stay”.

Wrong Crowd

He released his second full-length album, “Wrong Crowd,” not only digitally and on CDs, but also on vinyl records and even compact cassettes. The most extensive is the signed edition, containing all variants including a download code, as well as an A2 poster and unisex t-shirt. The album was released on June 10. And of course, fans left comments like: "His poetry always hits me right in the heart" and "I've been waiting for this for so long and it definitely didn't disappoint."

The mentioned edition, like some others, is a deluxe edition: in addition to 11 standard tracks, it contains 4 bonus tracks that have not been released before.

About the video for the song Wrong Crowd

Having fun in a nightclub among the usual crowd of people for such an establishment, Tom Odell sings: “I can’t help it, I don’t know how. / I suppose I shall always walk round the misguided crowd.” Both the song and the video make you think. I would like to note that only in the middle of the clip the hero is surrounded by people, the rest of the time he is alone, at the beginning he remembers his beloved. At the same time, the song is not about love, there are no lines in it about the girl, but there are lines about mom and brother. All in all, Tom Odell has once again proven that pop music can be thoughtful.

Discography

• 2012 - Another Love
• 2013 - Long Way Down
• 2016 - Wrong Crowd
• 2018 - Jubilee Road

Notes

1. Tom Odell: "Women are the only rock stars now… I want to be like Adele": The Brit Award-winner is poised for superstardom | Mail Online
2. Tom Odell Interview Long Way Down Burberry - Celebrity & Music (Glamour.com UK) (undefined) (unavailable link). Retrieved June 2, 2014. Archived September 27, 2013.
3. Tom Odell on songwriting since age of 13 | The Sun |Showbiz|SFTW
4. http://cml.sad.ukrd.com/audio/214444.mp3
5. Tom Odell talks music, fame and the Brits - YouTube
6. Tom Odell interview by In:Demand Scotland on SoundCloud - Hear the world’s sounds

C You probably haven’t been to Moscow before. Do you have a first place in a new city that you are immediately drawn to?

I like to just wander around without a goal, discovering sights by chance. I also like going to museums. Of course, you can’t do without bars either. In general, it’s great to just get lost in an unfamiliar city.

You have been compared to Elton John and David Bowie, whom you always dreamed of being like. What emotions does this evoke in you?

I'm a big fan of these guys, they really had a huge influence on me. - an icon for many, for me he is, first of all, an example of how to write songs for centuries.

Is what you write and perform yourself relevant or timeless?

I try to make my music timeless. That is, it is very important for me that it remains as relevant as it is now, both in twenty and fifty years.

It is impossible to imagine David Bowie without his alter ego, Ziggy Stardust. Have you ever thought about something like this?

Frankly, no, never - I like to be myself and be honest with myself and with my listeners. It is important that the songs I write sound exactly from my lips, and not from the lips of some fictional character, even if it was my own. In such transformations, the truth that is important to me would be lost.

C There is an opinion that the new rock stars are no longer musicians, but programmers, people involved in media and technology. Can you agree with this?

Music is constantly changing, just like everything around it. You need to honestly admit this to yourself and move on. But the guys with the guitars didn’t go anywhere - Jake Bugg or the guys from Arctic Monkeys. So it still works. Yes, maybe I have fewer fans than Steve Jobs, but, firstly, I am still alive, and secondly, it’s not a matter of quantity, but of quality. It is possible that Mozart at one time experienced problems of a similar order.

You once said that the real rock stars in this sense are now only women. Adele was mentioned in this context.

Yes, I once stated this and do not go back on my words. But all I meant was that women musicians take much more risks in this musical direction than men. For which I have unlimited sympathy for them.

With Music you started writing in your early teens, but you didn’t tell anyone about it because you thought it wasn’t cool. At what point did you realize that this was still cool?

It’s just that at some point I focused only on the music, gave myself to it, and all the obstacles that had seemed serious for a long time disappeared. Music to this day remains quite a personal activity for me, it’s just that the number of people who appreciate what I do has increased.

C Once you were supposed to perform in front of the Rolling Stones, but were unable to due to illness. Do you regret it?

This was last year, it turned out to be very difficult. The tours went one after another, without stopping. At some point my health made itself felt. Dreams are dreams - to actually stand on the same stage with Jagger and company, I'm a big fan of them - but nothing can be done about the cold and runny nose, so I had to cancel this plan. Perhaps such an opportunity will arise again.

You are currently recording a new album. What inspires you?

The desire to do something. I also read something all the time. This is where I get inspired by reading.

Then I can’t help but ask: is the title of your debut album, Long Way Down, somehow related to the book of the same name by English writer Nick Hornby, “The Long Fall”?

No connection at all. Pure chance.

You said that you wrote this album under the influence of the most drinking writers of the last century - Kerouac, Fitzgerald, Hemingway, Bukowski. You don't look like an alcoholic yourself. Where does this passion come from?

I’m really not an alcoholic (laughs), I know how to control myself. I just really like these writers. They really moved me.

C These are still exclusively American authors.

Needless to say, American literature of the last century had a huge influence on me. You can't take that away. It's like that. At the same time, this interest is purely cultural; I really like living in London, but I would never dare to move to the States.

S What do you know about Russian literature?

“Lolita” by Vladimir Nabokov is not exactly a Russian novel, right? The topic of the book is quite controversial, but it is written very well. A wonderful novel.

You make short films and videos. Is this a hobby for you?

I only did this once. In the future I would like to try myself in this role again. I like being inside the cinema. I like a wide variety of other people's films, especially those that go beyond the usual boundaries. Terrence Malick is my hero. David Lynch too. There are many people and many things that resonate with me, but these two stand alone in my inner top.

C The English version of Wikipedia says that your lyrics are inspired by the inability to date someone for more than six months. Is this true for all musicians?

I don’t know about everyone, but I actually said that once. I was in that mood then. Now this is no longer relevant. In general, being a musician, relationships are extremely difficult to maintain. First, a lot of time is spent on creativity, then on recording and bringing the idea to fruition, then on tours and concerts. There is objectively no time left for personal life. But it seems that I am “on the mend.”

Tom Odell Net Worth, Salary, Cars & Houses

Houses

• Photo: house/residence of cool charming talented 1 million earning Chichester, West Sussex, England-resident

Cars

Currently no cars listed.

Tom Odell: Single, Dating, Family & Friends

One of the main favorites of the public at this year's Sziget festival is the romantic blond Tom Odell. At 23, he has been touring for a year in support of his debut album, Long Way Down. During this time, Odell acquired the titles of “critics' choice” (Brit Awards) and “songwriter of the year” (Ivor Novello), and recently almost opened for The Rolling Stones, but fell ill at the last moment. At the Sziget backstage we managed to catch Tom for a few words.

What was the most amazing piano with the most beautiful soul that you ever played?

I played Elton John's piano - that was cool. And once in Amsterdam I looked into a piano store where they make their own musical instruments, played a few, and they were some of the best pianos of my life. Yes, a secret piano shop in Amsterdam.

I grab a book every chance I get, it's especially fun while on tour.

You often talk about books—your passion for literature is probably reflected in your songs.

What books would you recommend to young songwriters who want to learn how to turn their songs into full-fledged stories?

I don’t know, I’ve read so much this year... The other day I finished reading a novel by Graham Greene, an English writer I’d never heard of before, but I’ve binge-read two books. And now I started “The Story of Mister Polly” by H.G. Wells. In general, I grab a book at every opportunity, it is especially entertaining during the tour.

One of my favorite books this year is The Little Prince. This is what I would recommend to those who are starting to write songs.

Which book character would you write a song about?

Good question, let me think about it... You know, I would make up something about this guy from Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas by Hunter Thompson. He's an interesting hero.

I know that you are thinking about a second record. Do you already have an idea what it will be like? Will anything change in your work?

I'm already busy with the second album. At the forefront is still the song in its purest form, but with a slightly different feeling. More groove. In the first album the main thing was the piano, in the second the main thing will be how I weave rhythms into the songs.

Thank you. I hope we will meet next time in Ukraine.

Oh, I often read in the newspapers about what's going on with you. I'm worried. I hope I can come and play for you someday.