James Bay: British singer-songwriter, breakout star of debut album Chaos and the Calm, known for hits like Hold Back the River and Let It Go.
What this episode covers
James Bay traces his path from a Hertfordshire commuter town and noisy open-mic pubs to a record deal signed 98 days after a 25-view pub clip was found by a label. He reflects on how the chaotic frenzy of his number-one debut became a kind of trauma he is still processing, and how second album Electric Light was partly a reaction to that pressure. Much of the conversation centers on the persistent self-critical voices in his head, imposter syndrome even while opening for Ed Sheeran in stadiums, and what therapy has taught him about managing rather than eliminating those voices. He discusses his long relationship with Lucy, his new daughter, and how new album Leap reflects a deeper, more direct vulnerability and willingness to say 'I love you' and 'thank you.'
The guest's own work
Hold Back the River
James Bay
“i remember writing hold back the river and everybody at the label jumping for joy and thinking that they had a hit on their hands”— James Bay
Let It Go
James Bay
“let it go um had come out towards the end of the summer before and and then and then the album in 2015”— James Bay
Chaos and the Calm
James Bay
“chaos in the calm comes out davey's number one that's crazy yeah wow the things that that sort of does to you emotionally”— James Bay
Electric Light
James Bay
“i love electric light and um it came when it came i i what's interesting is electric light i'm so proud of and i adore it every song”— James Bay
The Dark of the Morning
James Bay
“soon after that your first ep comes yeah to the world the dark of the morning yeah five tracks i listened to it earlier on”— James Bay
Leap
James Bay
“these songs that they mean a lot to me i just i write about things that mean a lot in my life... in the writing of these songs for this new album leap”— James Bay
Also referenced (named, not recommended)
The Greatest Showman
“when the one above it is this it's a soundtrack to a movie it was the greatest showman that that just reigned supreme for so long in 2018”— James Bay
Saturday Night Fever
“someone offered us the opportunity to write a soundtrack for a movie the movie was saturday night fever”— James Bay
Big reveals from this episode
- The pub clip that launched his career had only about 25 views over six weeks before a record label found it and flew him to New York.
- He signed his record deal exactly 98 days and four hours after that clip went online.
- Sam Smith warned him at a Maggie Rogers show that fame is 'trauma' and nothing could prepare an artist for it.
- Even while opening for Ed Sheeran to 80,000 people a night, a voice in his head asked why it wasn't his own stadium show.
- He admits the inner voices are 'holding his happiness hostage' and his managers urge him to rein it in.
- He kept Lucy out of public view for nearly a decade until it felt like she 'didn't exist' and like he was living a lie.
- The album Leap is built around the message that, in the face of difficulty, 'I have you', referring directly to Lucy.
Worth remembering
- He cites an Einstein anecdote about staring out a window as 'working' to defend idle time as essential to creativity.
- At Outside Lands festival a promoter told him 20,000 people sang every word to Let It Go.
- He once flew San Francisco to LA to Sydney for a single show and back, spending about 30 of 36 hours on planes.
- He didn't listen to his debut album from January 2014 until September 2020 due to perfectionism and pressure.
- Electric Light peaked at number two, kept off the top only by The Greatest Showman soundtrack.
- A label colleague relayed that Barry Gibb thought his career was over at 33 before Saturday Night Fever revived the Bee Gees.
- He has been with his partner Lucy since age 17, having known her since 15.
- He quotes Leonard Cohen: 'everything has cracks in it that's how the light gets in.'