Bubbles of Fizzy Pop: Ed Drewett ~ Life (& other meaningful/less chit chat)...

I openly admit that I will devour every bit of new Ed Drewett music I can get my hands on. While I (im)patiently await the release of his life-affirming new single Undefeated (more on that in a bit) as well as his latest co-write (this time for the One Direction boys), I'm wearing out the repeat button on his acoustic performance of Life. Co-written with writers/producers, Red Triangle & sung for OnePopz, it's a song that definitely showcases the vocal versatility & emotional resonance of the young fella who has penned some of this decades most enduring pop songs. In it's charming and engaging acoustic format, Life is by far the best song that Taylor Swift never wrote (plus I'm assuming that unlike Taylor, Ed hasn't f***ed his way around young Hollywood for inspiration). Set to a beautifully mellifluous guitar melody that gives it a gentle country music vibe, this is perfectly matched to the lyrics which tell a whole story of love, loss and heartache. Many country singers are narrators of their own (or others) stories and this is Ed's own spin on that whole genre. The raspy quality of his voice here gives the song a passionate organic feel that accentuates the rawness that an all consuming love & the subsequent devastation that the end of that relationship can bring. I've noted before that when performing in these intimate settings, Ed doesn't just sing the song - the song becomes him, he lives the song and it's etched into his every movement & facial nuance. Like all Ed Drewett songs, the structure is enriched by memorable melody & classic, relatable lyrics. If Taylor Swift or Ed Sheeran (or both) were singing this, it would be all over the radio & be a massive worldwide smash. It certainly deserves to be and has me pondering why Ed hasn't reached that pinnacle himself yet with his own singing career...

At the very back end of 2012, I wrote this piece (here) about how Ed Drewett was indeed one of the most vital elements of pop in that year - both through his songwriting for other people as well as his own songs. Clearly, I still think this - and so far this year he's charted hits for Olly Murs, Stooshe & Parachute (as well as the upcoming One Direction tune). However, his own single Drunk Dial - despite getting a shedload of print and online media coverage - failed to get any significant radio play (though this is where Larry Flick of Out Q comes into his own!) and sold less than 1000 copies. Travesty! When I caught up with Ed for a little chinwag yesterday, he was philosophical about the balance between his songwriting career and his singing career... "Yeah, it (DRUNK DIAL) flopped and without sounding like a pessimistic cock, we didn't get any radio play so it was difficult to break through to a bigger audience. I didn't feel too bad about it because it was my first independent release and it fell at radio. What it taught me at that time was that people don't give a fuck. A lot of my fans consist of other people's fans (such as The Wanted and Olly Murs) and in essence, they aren't die-hard Ed Drewett fans. I almost didn't release Undefeated after this as it's a lot of work to put together photo shoots and a video". Luckily for us, Undefeated is almost here (out July 15th) and rather than wallow in misery at the ineffective way radio often approaches music, he's looking upon his independent releases as learning opportunities... "What Drunk Dial and Undefeated have shown me is that it confirms my diagnosis of I need more radio play and despite me knocking on their door for 3-4 years, radio honestly don't give a fuck. I need to MAKE them give a fuck". Bloody radio! However, Ed's not alone in this quest. Take Mark Owen for example - one quarter of Britain's premiere man-band yet his latest album got minimal radio support and despite coming from a huge fanbase, barely scraped the top twenty album charts. Years ago, his finest single Believe In The Boogie barely nudged the charts (yet the similar sounding Shine by Take That rocketed to number one some time later). Similarly, my previous male pop dude obsession prior to Ed was Simon Curtis who eventually managed to forge an element of success with his music through online innovation (and now has his latest upcoming single Meteor in tv shows and the trailer for a future movie). The basic message here is radio sucks, but you can't let them beat you down... Ed does confirm that he will take a break to regroup after Undefeated, but that he will remain undefeated and come back (maybe as a band) with something that radio will just NOT be able to ignore.

Regardless of all these career blips, there is sunshine and positivity in Camp Drewett and when I first catch up with him, he's in jolly fine fettle (good word, fettle. Should totally make a comeback). Some would say ebullient. We talk about his advice for my first week as taking over as CEO of a charity ("Be the fucking man") and when I mention my triangle fingers, interested head tilt pose, he warns me not to rest my fingers on the chin as it can be a little bit too creepy and I don't want people backing their chairs away from me like some sort of leary uncle at a Christmas party. Somehow we talk about my obsession with Kit Kats and he suggests that I perhaps invent my own sort of Kit Kat cereal (which I have done - I added some Kit Kat Chunks to my cornflakes this morning and it was delish. I call it Kit Kat Korn Flakes). This reminds me that he once informed the world that he added beer to his cheerios on holiday - Beerios. "It tasted like shit" he says - "all these little cereal bits floating around". Frankly I'm not surprised at this revelation - beer is revolting at the best of times so to have Satan's nectar dribbling lukewarm over your sweet round holes (ey up, that sounds a bit rude) first thing in the morning is as off putting as those gunky floaters in a nice winter warming mug of Horlicks (other malt beverages are available)! When I casually mention this to Ed, I am treated to more of his infinite wisdom. "As well as some vigorous stirring, try crushing the bits that won't dissolve against the side of the mug with the spoon then scooping them out". Top tip - and I have also tested this and can confirm it works, though lobbing them at the dog isn't necessarily recommended. Ed does point out that he doesn't actually like hot drinks and this should be emphatically noted. ED DREWETT DOES NOT LIKE HOT DRINKS! (So at least you know when he drunk dials you that he is off his head on Diamond Whites, not slurring from too much coffee intake. Phew)!

All this lovely inane chatter is fair perking up my day, but I did need to get down to business so I ask Ed whether he thought writing the new One Direction song (the cockily titled Best Song Ever, though the lyrics explain that presumptive title :D) would piss off The Wanted boys.. "Yeah, I'll admit that I was worried about it because there is a conflict between them, but the Wanted lads have been cool about it and realise it is a good opportunity for me". I'm oddly disappointed myself that there hasn't been more online warfare between the two groups of fans (though I did find a "Burn in hell Ed Drewett" tweet from one disgruntled Wanter!) as there is nothing quite as amusing as fan warfare on twitter, but it does delineate the line between being a singer and then a songwriter for hire. General fans perhaps aren't quite as aware that Ed is turning into a modern day Cathy Dennis (a comparison he seems quite complimented by). He is in fact the new whore of pop song writing (!) and it's presumably paying for his solo career... "It certainly affords me the luxury to chase my dream and it's something I've wanted since I was younger. Confession - this led to a much longer discussion about following your passion and I was so engrossed that I forgot to take notes! Sheesh! Basically, somehow, the interview suddenly became about me and my blog! I talked about how I feel about myfizzypop; that it's a passion but my day job does pay the bills and I've never quite had the balls to just quit & see whether I could do something more with it. Plus living outside of London doesn't help as most of the promo stuff that bloggers take advantage of is based there. Bringing things back on track, I talk about how I only write about something if I really love it - even (though, I clarify, obviously not in the case of Ed Drewett) if I know the song is shit. It brings us back to radio and certain music press. Ed chips in (obviously needing to gag me to stop from talking!) "I can't stand music snobbery. I'm not a pretentious - insert a really bad word here..." (C**t, I suggest?) "I don't care what people think about my music tastes. And that is how radio and certain music outlets can be; some DJ or writer thinking, oh this will make me look cool so I'll play it whether I like it or not." Although he can't see me because I'm on the phone, I'm nodding so emphatically at this point that I spill Mueller's Corner all over my trousers. Having odd, white smeared stains near your crotch in your first week at work cannot be a good look. Whilst dabbing near my fly, I remind Ed that he was my first awareness of US singer Miguel, thanks to his diamond cover of Do You (review here) - so by the time he had tea-bagged that poor girl at the music awards, I was able to speak with some knowledge about him. Thanks Ed :)

Inbetween this perambulating flow of conversation, I do remember to ask some of my questions - including whether he gets a choice over who his songs get given to... "When I write with a producer, I do have complete say over who the song goes to, but also I can and have been drafted to write a song for someone. I've sent songs to people before who listen to them and then turn them down, and I do sometimes think 'you absolute dick' because the song was amazing. With One Direction, I was drafted for a song and then spent a nail biting couple of months before they accepted it and I was able to tell anyone". That song (Best Song Ever) is out to buy on July 22nd and unless it stiffs at 74 (so bloody unlikely) will keep Ed in Beerios for a fair while yet. While we are talking about the song, his grandad is busy retweeting lots of nice tweets about Ed and I talk about his family who are all on twitter. His grandad, John, has even mentioned to me a couple of times that there are a few Ed songs he is not so keen on! "Yeah, we are a straight up family and we believe in music, there's a no bullshit element. Grandad will say when he thinks something is shit, but ultimately they are my biggest supporters." It's a sweet, softer side of Ed note to finish on, so I thank him for his candid chat and go on my merry way - confident that I'll get my Ed Drewett album at some point. It might just not be this year. So go buy Undefeated on July 15th (here) - cos frankly, if you don't, you're a bit of a dick :)