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1. Feature Article Draft
To locate the visitingteam’slockerroomatMadisonSquare Garden,New York,you have to be
escortedthrougha seriesof corridors,liftsandswingingdoors.Youpassnumerousloadingtrucks
outside,whose goodsare beingdispatchedtothe dizzyingnumber of crew membersandcaterers
inside.
The amount of workrequiredjusttoput on tonight’sBrit-studdedshow - BonIverisheadlining,with
Jack Herbertinsupport - can seemdisorientatingonitsown.You’dthereforeassume itmightbe at
leasta little nerve-rackingfora21 - year oldHerbert,sittinginthe huge roommore frequently
occupiedbysweatymembersof the OrlandoMagicbasketball team.This,afterall,ishisfirstgigin
the US. Whereasmostnewartistslearnthe ropesat New York’sMercury Lounge or Arlene’s,he’ll be
debutingata venue that’scurrentlyplayinghosttothe 1975, Lana Del Ray andWWE Live:The Road
to WrestlemaniafeaturingHulkHogan.
Herbert,however,doesn’treallyseemtodonerves.
“Nah,”he saysbreezily.“Half-an-hoursetgoesquickly...youeithergaintheirinterestoryoudon’t.”
Is that it?What aboutthe hall’siconicstatus?The 18,200 capacity?The dauntingchallenge of trying
to breaka newcountry?
“The fact it’ssomad justmakesme relax more,”he says witha cheerful shrug,beforeexplaininghis
approach to the crazinessof life asa popstar: “if itlaststwo years?Awesome.If it’s12years?
Awesome,justenjoyit;it’snotthe be-all andend-all.”
Thisdisarminglevel-headednesscropsupa lot when talkingtoJack.Hisrecentsuccess,he says,is
justa “bonus”of beingable toplayguitar andsing.He takesany fame witha “pinchof salt”. Atone
pointhe’ll say“It’sjustmy job”and compare the fact he has to singhishit ‘Yougot to go now’
dozensof timesa weektothe role of a pizzaguychurningout margaritasto order.
His modestyseemsgenuine,butalsoatouch unromantic.Afterall,he wasone of 2015’s commercial
successstories:onlyEdSheeranandSam Smithsoldmore albumsinthe UK than hisdebutSundays
Moonshine.The anthemic,bluesychorusesof the songssuchas ‘You gottago now’helpedhimpull
floodsof crowdsat festivalsincludingLatitude.Andatnextweek’sBritshe’snominatedforfour

2. awards:Britishmale soloartist,BritishBreakthrough,BritishSingle(forIMissYou),and British
album.That’sreallynotlike makingpizzas.Can’the allow himself anegorampage once ina while?
“Nah,I thinkyou’dhave to be wiredwrongto act like that!”He laughs.
Jack Herbertisnaturallyself-assured,happy-go-luckyguy.He oftenthinksof the otherthingshe
mighthave excelledat.“Like howI’ve nevertriedskiing,”he says“If I’d done itwhenI was12, I
couldbe Britain’sbestskier!Wheneverthe Olympicsison,I’malwayslike:‘If onlysomeone hadput
a javelininmyhand...”
Herbert’smusical (ratherthancruellythwartedathletics) storybeganinhisteens,whenhe played
rhythmguitarand sang withMalowindie bandanythinginmind(“Atthatage,you don’tcare what
the audience thinks,whichisthe bestwaytodevelop,”he says).One day,while experimentingwith
hissingingvoice,he realisedhe couldlocate amuchdeeper,more soulfulvocal thanhe previously
knewwasinhim.
“At firstI keptitto myself,”he says.“I was excited,butthere wasapart of me that was thinking:‘Is
thiscool?Is thisa good soundor do I justthinkthat?’”
A studentatBristol’sBIMMmusicacademyat the time,he road-testeditonthe city’sopen-mic
circuit,whichproveda colourful trainingground:“You’dgetoverweightdivorceeswhowanttotell
youtoo much abouttheirprivate life,andthensingacrap cover.”
Afterbuildingafanbase,Jacksuddenlyfoundhimself beingcourtedbyall the majorlabels,andits
here that hisgroundedattitude reallyreapedbenefits.“Some of themusedthe wrongtactics
aroundme,”he says.“I couldsee rightthroughthem.That whole wininganddiningthing…”
“I was 18! Andbeingtakentofancy Asianrestaurantswhere the lightsaren’treallyon,youcan’tsee
whatyou’re ordering,andits£20 fora springroll!All Iwantedwasto catch the last trainback to
Bristol andget to the pub.”
Jack chose to signwithColumbia,one of the few labelsthatdidn’tseembotheredaboutforcingits
ownideas - remixes,collaborations - uponhim.The label did,however,puthimintouchwith
Athlete’sJoel Pott,whohelpedshape SundaysMoonshineaspartof a growingtrendof olderindie
tunesmithscollaboratingwithteenagepopprospects.
Before writingSundaysMoonshine,Jackcravedinspirationthatreachedbeyondhishometown,and
so boughta train tickettohop aroundEurope for a month.So washe overcome bythe romanticpull

3. of life onthe road,or didhe write adebutalbumaboutInterRailing?Jack,understandably,optsfor
the former:“I alwaystry andsay in interviewsthatIdidn’tgotravelling.Iwentforjustunderfour
weeks.That’snottravelling!”
“I’ve alwayslovedtravelling,butnowit’sadifferenttype of travelling!”
Howeveryoulabel it,the experience reapedartisticrewards.Hismostfamoushit,yougottago now,
was inspiredbyhistravels.What’smoststrikingaboutJacksyouthfulpursuitsishow theycontrast
withhisinfluences:BonIver,The VaccinesandThe Neighbourhoodbeingthe central three. Like
Bugg,the musiche most identifieswithisfromabygone era,althoughJacksays whathe lovesmost
aboutthose recordsis howyoungand free theysound.He talksenthusiasticallyaboutone of the
original songson The NeighbourhoodsdebutalbumcalledILove You,whichdocumentsayoung
love.
“He was19 or 20 whenhe wrote that.He’djust meta girl he reallyfell for.It’sjustthe wide-eyed
thing,andI see that inmyself,eventhoughI’vehadtogrow upin the lasttwo yearsbecause I’m
busyand needtobe ontop form.”
Jacks growing-upinvolvesnolongerdrinkingorsmokingonshow days.He admitsto havingenjoyed
the “perks”of booze andgroupies,butacceptsit can clashwiththe realityof havingtoknuckle
down.He’seveninvitedhissisterJessontour,sothat she can keephimonthe rails.“She letsme do
whateverIneedtountil it’slike:‘Don’tbe anidiot.’She’ll pointoutwhatIhave to do inthe
morning,andI’mlike:‘Ohyeah,thanks.’”
In a rare forlornmoment,he pointsoutthatthe guys inhisband can go outboozingmostnights
while the pressure remainsonhisshoulders:“If Idon’tperform, thenthe firstthingwill be:‘Jack
messedup’,youknow?”Hisschedule canbe “a bithectic...if theycouldhave six of me working
across the world,theywould.”
It soundslike he isbeingturnedintoamusic-industrybatteryhen.
“Nah,”he says,hissunnydemeanourtakingover.“Idon’tgetoverwhelmedorfussedbyit.”Besides,
he says,there are worse thingsthanradiosessions.
Jacks personalitymightlackthe narcissisticinstabilitywe oftencrave inourpop stars,but at leasthe
has the honestytobe himself,andadmitthere’snodarknesslurkingwithin.Sure,he mightmention
Jack Johnsonas a lyrical influence,butyoucan’timagine Johnsonclaiming,asJackHerbertdoes,
that there’snothinghe likesmore thanchillingoutwithamovie anda bathbombfrom Lush.He
mighthave a song - Revenge - that involvesthe vengefulmurderof anex-girlfriend,butit’sso
cartoonishyoucan onlyreallytake itas a joke.This,afterall,isa guy whousedhisair milestoflyhis
mumout to NewYork to see himplay.He’snotreallyaboutto stuff hisformerparamour’s
pillowcase withsnakes.

4. What do Vinyl getoutof Jack whenwe interview him?
Vinyl:Youmade yourAmericanfestival debutatCoachellarecently.Sohow wasthatexperiencefor
youas far as yourdebutof playingthatfestival?
Jack Herbert:It wasamazing.It wasunfortunate forus,I’ll be honest,because itwasourfirstfestival
gigof the year,there were thingsthatwere ironingoutonour side,butI lovedthe performance and
youcan’t ask for more.I genuinelywastakenabackwithhow manypeople were there!The tentwe
playedwasbiggerthanI had conceivedanditwasgreat.I lovedit.
Vinyl:There’ssomethinginyourTwitterdescriptionthatI’mcuriousof.Where you’re supposedto
write yourlittle bio,yourssays,“The one andonlyMr Legs”.Where didthiswhole “Mr Legs” thing
come from?
Jack Herbert:It washonestlyjustme andmy matesmuckingabout.Mr Legs,I guesswe’re alwayson
the move.I go bythat.
Vinyl:Whichotherbandswouldyoulike tobringontour withyouinthe future?
Jack Herbert:Coldplay!Thatwould be good[laughs].Ican’timagine thathappeninganytime soon.
Vinyl:Iknowthatyou’ve previouslysaidhow luckyyouwere tohave supportedpeople like Huntar.
Nowthe tableshave kindof turnedas you’re sellingoutandheadliningshows,whilehaving
emergingartistsasyoursupport,like The Kingsof Leon.That mustfeel prettygreatseeingthe
opposite side of thingshappening.
Jack Herbert:Inthe UK I try my bestto try andget friendsalongtosupportandpeople thatI really
love.The bestthing youcan do withsupportacts,whetheryou’re the supportorthe headliner,isto
not necessarilymusicallymatchbutt match withyourcharacter and personality.
Jack Herbertendsourinterviewbytalkingabouthisplans:he’dlike toreleaseanalbumof children’s
songs,(“Songsare good forkids,theykick-starttheirbrainsintorememberingsomethingtheymight
not have otherwise remembered”);forhisnextalbum, he wantstodecamptoBarcelonaand write
there.The detailsare fuzzy,asbefitsaman takingeachday as it comes.Youget the feeling,though,
that, howeveritpansout,JackHerbertwill be prettyhappywithhislot.

5. Thingsare lookingupforHerbert- Vinyl predictthat2016 will be agreat yearfor thisrecently
publishedartist.Atthe age of 21, he’sdefinitelydone welltogethimself towhere he isnow:
Touringthe world,headliningsome of the world’smostknownfestivals,increasinghisfanbase in
the thousands!“Ithinkalsothat thingsmove soquicklynow,aswell.Ithinkthat’sthe same with
audiencesinmusic— it’sa lotmore accessible now.If Ican sit here whenI’m60 andtalkingabout
my 15th, 20th record,well,happydays,I’dlove that.Butwe’ll see.”