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On The Table Read Magazine, “the best entertainment magazine in the UK“, soul/pop artist Billy Lockett has released a music video for Don’t Be So Hard On Yourself from his debut album, Abington Grove.
Of his new album, Abington Grove, Billy Lockett said that every song is a different piece of his life. Whether that’s involving love, addiction, self-doubt, or euphoria… Billy explained that building this body of work has been his therapy, and he can honestly say that he has never been more proud of anything.
Lockett delivers a heartfelt message of self-love and perseverance in the single Don’t Be So Hard On Yourself, with which he hopes to to silence the constant inner voice that tells you you aren’t good enough. Self-love and realizing that doing your best is sufficient and that you are enough are at the heart of this song, and it’s an expression he has used this as a mantra for his life ever since he wrote this song. He shared that this mantra has really helped him personally, and he hopes it also helps other people. Don’t Be So Hard On Yourself is an anthem for self-acceptance that features stunning falsetto singing cathartic melodies over soul-stirring piano.
Billy Lockett has performed on James Corden and supported Lewis Capaldi and Lana Del Rey, among others. He has more than 125 million collective streams. Billy’s journey continues in a positive new direction despite his struggle with alcohol and drug addiction.
Between the trembling chords and sweeping crescendos, you can hear Billy Lockett’s story unfold from behind the piano, practically bleeding into the microphone. The Northampton, UK-based troubadour, who has been called “The English Lewis Capaldi,” and translates everything he has seen, heard, experienced, and felt into songs that you can sing with friends or listen to alone at night to find solace.
On his full-length debut LP, Abington Grove [Photo Finish Records], he confronts everything from a childhood in a “party house” to a wild adulthood under the malicious spell of alcohol and drugs to finding the kind of “happiness” that most of us spend a lifetime seeking. Most importantly, he emerges from the experience with a wide, vibrant smile. He shared that he really needed this record, and felt fine and in good health by the end. He hadn’t felt happy in a while, but now he knows that all he wants to do is work hard and be who he is.
Billy described his father as an insane hard core partier, flower child, craftsman, and painter. Therefore, he grew up in a household where parties were commonplace. He started out doing well at snooker, and even played professionally until he started playing the piano. He admitted that he was never going to get laid playing Snooker.
KT Tunstall was drawn to an early recording, and she convinced him to go on tour with her in 2013. He released his Burn It Down EP two years later, gaining popularity with the title track, “Burn It Down,” and “Alone.”
In 2019, he released his debut single, “Hard Act To Follow,” after years of hard work. James Corden noticed it and invited him to appear on the Late Late Show With James Corden for the first time in North America. As he independently released the Reset EP in 2019 and the Reflections EP in 2021, the track eventually received over 20 million Spotify streams and continues to do so. En route, he upheld everybody from Lana Del Rey and Birdy to ELO and Lewis Capaldi on visit and showed up at celebrations like Glastonbury.
In the midst of this tornado, he lost his dad and moved once again into their old home on Abington Grove where he composed at a productive speed. He said that it felt right to go back and make the album there. That house was a dark place for him in a lot of ways. However, this album contains everything from that home.
He found the ultimate creative companion when he connected with producer Barney Cox around the same time. Over the course of close to two years, they collaborated to bring these twelve songs to life.
Billy said that he felt like he had been trying to find his sound. He doesn’t know if he actually wrote songs for himself in the past, but now he finally felt able to make the album he had always wanted to make when he met Barney. Now, he was writing for himself. It was the best two years of his life, and he started having fun with it. Barney was able to precisely create everything he’d had in mind. Previously, Billy found making music stressful, but this was a dream. When it was finished, it was a sad day. He asked myself, “Now what?”
Billy shared that he had also made some adjustments to his personal life as the songs developed. He first accepted sobriety after reflecting on the past and moving in a new direction for the future.
For eight years, he had struggled with alcohol and cocaine addiction. In his head, he had just begun the process of getting sober when he started recording. Part of the way through, he really got clearheaded. Making the record filled that opening. He went nine months without doing anything, and then about two weeks after he finished the album, he had a relapse that lasted about a month. Now, he said that he is more focused on being nice, caring for others, and paying more attention to what’s going on around him. Sobriety feels like a new drug to him.
He concluded that he spent most of his life trying to figure out who the hell he is, and now he’s just himself. He’s not trying to be someone or hoping this album will make a big difference in the world. He has never been happier and more satisfied than he is now.
Generally, he has looked forward at what he believes he should do and stressed that he wouldn’t arrive. He is actually calm for the first time in his life. For so long, my career felt like “work,” and it wasn’t working. Now he has made an album he is happy with and that is a lot of pressure is off of him. He’s not not attempting to imitate anyone else’s voice. He’s finally discovering who he is and he thinks he’s getting better at being a good person.
https://music.apple.com/us/album/abington-grove/1643208523
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