Lucy May Walker is steadily building a reputation that looks poised for bigger things ahead. Her debut EP ‘Heartbreak Songs’ hit #3 on iTunes’ singer/songwriter chart, while early tracks including ‘Safety Net’ have also helped to earn airplay at BBC Introducing and Radio 2. Now the young folk-pop artist takes another substantial leap forward by sharing her new single ‘Bad Day’.
Full of the wit and personality that permeates Lucy May’s spirited songwriting, ‘Bad Day’ wishes a catalogue of minor misfortunes on an irritating adversary. It’s an uplifting, country-tinged pop anthem that hopes for a little natural justice.
Lucy May Says:
"‘Bad Day’ is a song about someone who you really don’t like. You don’t wish anything REALLY bad on that person, but some mild inconveniences like stubbing their toe wouldn’t go amiss. A little bit of bad karma”.
Lucy May co-wrote ‘Bad Day’ with fellow rising talent Melanie Baker. It was produced by her friends and previous touring partners The Dunwells. The song represents the first taste of her next project, citing influences including Nina Nesbitt, Maisie Peters and Lucy Rose.
Originally from Worcestershire and now based in London, Lucy May’s passion for music started when she was a child. She cultivated her talents in a DIY style, studying performing arts and playing open mic nights. That modest beginning resulted in a huge moment of exposure after Jeremy Vine saw her busking. Describing Lucy May as “simply brilliant”, he invited her to perform live on his Radio 2 show and subsequently on his Channel 5 discussion show too. Lucy May Walker is also an accomplished live performer. She’s sold out headline shows all over the UK, and also played to larger audiences as guest to artists as varied as Tom Speight, Lucy Spraggan, The Dunwells, Wet Wet Wet and Hue And Cry. She’s continued to share performances from her home during the current lockdown, notably with her take on Maisie Peters’ ‘Favourite Ex’.
Get to Know her better:
Please introduce yourself and tell us something about you!
"Hey! My name’s Lucy may Walker, I’m a Singer/Songwriter originally from Worcestershire, now based in North London."
Where are you from?
"I’m from a town called Redditch, in Worcestershire (near Birmingham)"
When did you start making music?
"I’ve always performed since I was little, I remember being obsessed with BBC Live Lounge and did a lot of cover songs. It wasn’t until after finishing University that I started actually writing my own music. I was a bit of a late bloomer in the the creating department, but once I taught myself enough chords on the guitar and went through a couple of heartbreaks, the songs eventually started to come."
Who’s your biggest inspiration?
"I am really inspired by people doing the same thing as me, people who have big dreams and work hard to get there. I remember watching Nina Nesbitt play at T in the Park festival years ago with her guitar and her all male band, and just thinking, I want to be her. I love artists who go against the grain a little bit, Lucy Rose is a huge inspiration, mainly because she doesn’t seem to let the industry change her music at all. I personally love sad songs, the one that make you FEEL something - she does them so perfectly, without making them sound ‘commercial’."
Who are you listening to at the minute?
"Maisie Peters gives me all the feels. Last year I friend took me to a gig to see Lily Moore and I knew she was destined for bigger things - I listen to ‘Over You’ on a daily basis."
Who’s your biggest guilty pleasure?
"Oh I love 90’s pop and I’m not even sorry about it. S’Club 7, Steps, B*Witched. I went through a phase when I was younger trying to be a little emo child, pretending to like screamo music because I thought it was cool, but now I just listen to whatever I like - regardless if it’s not considered cool to other people."
What’s been your biggest achievement?
"There’s been so many ups and downs in my career, but honestly being able to quit my job last year to do music full time felt like big achievement. It took a long time to get to that point, and it wasn’t an overnight thing - but being determined I would make it and working hard to get there eventually paid off."
What’s been the greatest memory in your career so far?
"It has to be meeting Jeremy Vine and playing live on his Radio 2 show. I don’t shut up about it so if you’ve heard my name you’ve probably already heard the story, but the short version is that Jeremy saw me busking, tweeted about it, I contacted him and then I played on his Radio show and later his Channel 5 TV show. It was mad."
What’s your dream venue to play?
"Oh, so many to list, but one in particular that sticks out is the Barbican. I watched Lucy Rose play there last year and it was very special. I like seated venues because I find the audience behave themselves and really listen to what you have to say. I hate playing to people chatting…"
Your debut EP hit #3 on the iTunes singer / songwriter charts! How did that feel?
"So good! I never really thought getting in the charts was something I could do but to keep watching it go up and up was so exciting. That first EP was back in the day where people downloaded music on iTunes, it seems to be more about Spotify streams & playlists now - so I’ll be focusing more on that for my upcoming EP."
You’ve recently released your new track ‘Bad Day’. Tell us a bit about the track!
"'Bad Day' is a song I wrote for anyone who deserves a little bit of bad karma sent their way. You know when someone’s really done you the dirty and you want to make them pay? I’m not talking about serious revenge or anything here but if they stubbed their toe, you wouldn’t be mad about it… Well yeah, that’s what Bad Day is about.
The feedback has been really overwhelming - my fans helped make a music video with all of them acting out the lyrics from home, it got on ‘Very Nearly Nashville’ Spotify playlist and received 20,000 streams in its first week. Not sure I’ll ever be able to beat those stats!"
You’ve played a lot of live shows including sold out headlines and support slots for established artists. What can fans expect from one of your live shows? "Okay, firstly - I am a BIG chatter on stage. If you don’t like to hear the backstories behind songs then my gigs aren’t really for you - I love to go into what the songs are about, because I know as a fan myself that’s what I want to hear. My songs can often be quite deep so I like to lighten it up in-between songs and have banter with the audience, because at the end of the day it’s their reaction that can make or break a show.
And then music wise, the most recent shows I’ve been doing is just with me and my pianist, Joe Watt. I don’t stress about getting the live set to sound exactly like the produced versions of the songs, I like to strip them back so you can maybe hear or feel something you hadn’t before. Hopefully when the lockdown is over and you can come to one of my gigs, you’ll leave it having had a good time, a sing along and maybe even a couple of tears."
What are your 5 touring essentials?
"TEA, lots of tea, water that hasn’t been in a fridge all day, a mirror, plug, and not being funny - a backstage toilet? No really, you’d be surprised how many don’t."
What is coming for you next?
"My EP, Bad Day, is coming out on the 5th June which I am SO excited about. We had planned some live gigs around the release which are going to be postponed so it’s hard to plan for that at the moment, but we’ll be doing some live streams and a load of content afterwards like live versions and music videos. In 2021 I hope to be touring like mad, play some festivals (Barn On The Farm is my dream one) and I already have a bunch of songs ready I’m itching to get recorded."
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