INTERVIEW W/ Tom A Smith: "It's the best song you've ever written"

Ask anyone in the North East who the next big Indie artist is and they’ll tell you one name... Tom A. Smith. He made his Glastonbury debut at just ten years old, and has since played there another three times, supported Sam Fender and Catfish and the Botttlemen, and been described by Elton John as “the next big star”.

Fresh off the release of his newest track and a gig supporting Soft Launch in Glasgow, Tom sat down with us to talk new music, social media, and Sunderland.

Photo Credit: Tyne Sight

You’ve recently released a new tune, ‘I Don’t Want You to Have to Remember Me for Longer Than You Ever Knew Me’. How are you finding the reaction so far?

“I think it's the best song I’ve ever written, to be honest. I love it. I’ve been playing it on tour for about six months now, and the crowd reactions have been amazing - it gets requested almost every gig. I worked with swimschool on it and they were so cool, they really brought something special to the track.”

It’s your first proper collaboration with this song. How did you find that process? 

“Yeah, it was class. I met them at Isle of Wight Festival and took the song to them and they loved it. I’d had the song written for years but I wanted to get someone to collaborate on it, and I asked them if they wanted to get involved and they were up for it. They were great to work with, their lead singer’s great. I definitely enjoy working with other artists, I worked with Miles Kane on ‘Like You Do’ but that never really went out as a proper collab, more just co-written. Miles is a genius and a really lovely guy.”

It’s been a good year for indie music. What tunes have you been enjoying so far and what’s on your playlist at the minute?

“I love that new Wunderhorse record, I think it’s unreal. The Fontaines DC album is so great as well, I reckon ‘Starburster’ is the best song of the decade so far. We’ve finally got some proper good guitar music again, we haven’t had much since before COVID and there was that weird period of pop music getting big on TikTok, but guitar music is definitely coming back which is great to see.”

You’re from Sunderland, and it can sometimes be harder for artists in the North to break into the music industry compared to artists in London. Did you find that was the case, and how did you overcome that barrier?

“Yeah, it can be tough, but you’ve just got to get out there and play as many places around the country as you can. Obviously, there are financial challenges, but the North has loads of great acts and everyone’s really close-knit and supportive. My shows in Sunderland are always my favourites, they love to get behind one of their own and I don’t think you really get that same sense of community in London. Social media helps as well to get your name out there without having to spend loads of money.”

What’s your take on social media? Do you enjoy using it, or do you find it a bit of a chore?

“Yeah it’s a bit of both, to be honest. I love chatting with fans and getting to engage with them, but sometimes when I’m told I have to make TikToks it’s a bit of a pain. That said though there’s no point sitting here moaning about it, it’s a great way to find new fans and if you can really make the most of social media then it’s definitely worth it.”

You’ve supported the likes of Elton John, Sam Fender, and Catfish and the Bottlemen – is that not daunting? Do you approach those gigs differently compared to your headline shows?

“It’s mad, but I’ve been doing it for a while. I was only 12 when I started doing shows with Sam Fender – he was about 18 back then and we did loads of gigs together at the Surf Cafe in Newcastle which it was class. I think I approach them all pretty similarly, though. I enjoy having to condense everything into a 30 minute set, and it’s a way to build new fans. I look at support shows as a way to build new fans and my headline shows as a way of maintaining them. I supported Catfish and the Bottlemen when I was 13, so I learned a lot from that age about what it takes to make it in the industry.”

If you had to pick one defining moment in your career so far, what would it be?

“There’s been loads, but one that sticks with me is playing a headline show in my hometown, we had 1500 people chanting “he’s one of our own” which was unreal, everyone was in Sunderland football shirts it felt like it was my merch. In nine months, we went from selling 140 tickets to 800, and then 1,500 a few months later. Playing Glastonbury this year was also massive though, we played on the Thursday at the Strummerville Stage which is at very back of the field so it was a massive hike and it was red hot, but seeing thousands of people coming down to see me packed into this tiny field was definitely a pinch-me moment.”

Finally, can you tell us about any plans for 2025? Any new music, gigs, or festivals? Will you be playing Glastonbury for a fifth time?

“Haha I’d love to get back there but I don’t think they’ve done the lineup just yet. I’m going to be in a film next year though, which is pretty exciting. There’s loads of other stuff I can’t talk about just yet, but I can’t wait to announce it all, there’s some really different and exciting things coming up, plenty of new music as well.”