George meets up with a friend for coffee and breakfast in Manchester to discuss his busy schedule as a musician. He talks about recently performing at Coachella and having gigs in London and Ireland. He reflects on how different his life is now compared to a year ago when he was unhappy and unsure of his path. He explains how writing music helped him cope with a breakup and how joining with friends to form a band has led to touring opportunities and an upcoming performance at Glastonbury. He also hints at an upcoming collaboration with Two Door Cinema Club. George is grateful for his success but hopes to still do normal things like hang out at the pub with friends while on tour.

1. I‘ts a dull spring morning as i sit with George over a coffee and sausage barm in his local bakery. He
looks exhausted but is full of life and completely enthusiastic as he tells me what he’s been up to
that week;
“Monday I was in LA playing Choachella and met some amazing, unforgettable people. Wednesday I
was back in London for a gig, now I’m here with you in Manchester and tomorrow I fly back out to
Ireland to write with Two Door Cinema Club!”
he takes a sip of his mocha and
continues,
“I’ts amazing cos this time last year I was sat in this chair being an absolute mope and not knowing
what I wanted to do with my life and now I’m living a whole different one”
After a slight pause as we dig in to our greasy butties I ask him, “so what inspired you to start
making music?”,
he laughs and mocks my generic
question before answering,
“well, I’ve always loved music and I’ve always kind of sang but I never had anything to sing about.
When me and my girlfriend broke up after 5 years I was broken and wasn’t myself anymore. It was
my Granddad that told me to write down what was going on in my head, when it was on paper it just
kind of fell into a rhythm and I could hear a tune in my head. That’s how it started really.”
I then asked a little two eagerly ”so what happened next?” he laughed again before continuing his
story
“well I knew some really cool and talented people from my old school, Jamie, Liam and Max and
showed them my stuff, they were really into it and had loads of ideas and we started making music
together after that.”
Again, I ask completely enamoured with his tale, “what’s it like touring with them?” His eyes
suddenly light up and his voice fills the quite room
“It’s fucking insane! I love those guys, they’re my blood. It’s like making music together has formed
this unbreakable bond between us that I haven’t had with anyone else on this planet, i love them.”
As we finished our breakfast we shared our excitement for the upcoming summer and talked about
our plans, “I’ve got a crazy summer coming up”, he began,
“I really hope I have time to see my brothers when they finish school, maybe take them out to see
the world or something cheesy like that.” he laughed, “but yeah I’ve got a lot of festivals lined up,
i’m playing Leeds, T in the Park, download, erm oh! Glastonbury which i am so fucking hyped for. If
you would of told me that this time last year I would be playing main stage at Glastonbury I would of
laughed, hysterically. It’s surreal to me.”

2. I then probed the question we’re all waiting to hear, what’s happening with Two Door Cinema
Club?!
“Well... I don’t want to say too much because it will take the mystery from it, but like I said before
we are writing together and it’s sounding really good at the moment, not to blow my own trumpet
but it sounds amazing. We are hoping to release a few songs in time for the summer and maybe play
a set together or something, we’re both at Glasto so who knows!”
I failed to hide my excitement and had to know, what goes on behind closed doors with TDCC?!
“The lads are a massive laugh and are genuine, which is nice cos not a lot of people are these days. I
love chilling out with them. When I was down in Ireland we just hung out, wrote some stuff down
and jammed for a bit and then went down to the pub for a pint. It’s nice to do something relatively
normal with new people like I used to, that’s why I suggested this place.”
So do you miss having a normal life? I asked “Well sometimes yeah, it can get really hectic, but it
keeps me busy and on my toes. I would never go back, I love what I’m doing and have so many
amazing opportunities that would never be possible if the scout wouldn’t of come to see us play. My
life was dull before, I enjoy every second of the day no matter what I’m doing now; I’m truly grateful
to be making good music with good people.”
We then talked about his plans for the future and what he hopes to be doing,
“I honestly can’t imagine what the future holds, with this big of a change that I could never of
predicted, but I hope to just keep doing what I’m doing, stay happy, keep playing, and I hope that my
music makes people happy like it makes me happy. Oh! And I hope to stay sane to, that important.”
he teased.
We finished our coffees and chatted for a while after, before parting ways out on the street. A very
enjoyable breakfast i must say.