There was a guitar that my uncle owned and never learnt to play. He sold it to my dad, and when I heard 'Layla', that was the tune that really grabbed me. I said to my dad, 'Wait, there's a guitar, right?' James Bay dadgrabguitar share on social
I spent two years playing open mic nights in Brighton, and I heard more and more people saying, 'You should give it a go in London.' James Bay brightongivehear Change image and share on social
It's silly to call me the new Ed Sheeran. He can fill stadiums as a solo artist, but I'm not like that. James Bay artistcallfill Change image and share on social
Growing up, when I was at live shows, I was always hoping someone would come out on stage and say, 'The guitarist is sick and couldn't make it... does anybody know how to play all the songs?' That was always my little dream. It was a massively inspiring thing to be in a space with live shows. James Bay dreamgrowguitarist share on social
I used to dress up like Michael Jackson. I didn't have the glove, but I had a red jacket like in 'Thriller.' James Bay dressglovejacket Change image and share on social
Being exhausted is all part of the fun. I'm cool with it. I'm not going to wish that it would slow down. James Bay coolexhaustfun Change image and share on social
I bought a guitar CD-ROM because we had a new computer, but I had no attention span for that. I spent about three hours on it desperate to be brilliant. Eventually, I got some proper lessons. James Bay attentionbrilliantbuy Change image and share on social
My songwriting process, and maybe loads of other people's, is just this sort of smashing together of emotions and stuff to make some music. It's kind of simple and really complex at the same time and, as you can see, incredibly hard to explain. James Bay complexemotionexplain share on social
The thing about 'Hold Back The River' that I like is that it's a good starting place, and it was the perfect first single. James Bay backgoodhold Change image and share on social
I like it when things crescendo to a huge moment like 'Hold Back the River.' James Bay backcrescendohold Change image and share on social