SUCCESSFUL: Christopher is currently enjoying a UK top three hit as the featured vocalist on Sigala’s track.

By Geoffrey Rowlands


Isn’t it great when someone has the last laugh on people who have bullied them. Step forward English singer/songwriter Bryn Christopher. He is currently enjoying a UK top three hit as the featured vocalist on Sigala’s track, Sweet Lovin’. But life was anything but sweet when Birmingham-born Bryn was bullied at school.
“I was different from the other kids, the classic candidate for a bullying victim. I was stick-thin and had long eyelashes which made me look a bit like a girl. I was also much more interested in theatre than football.”
Ironically, it was Bryn’s enjoyment of theatre which turned his life around. At 12, he joined a youth theatre company and gained confidence from being with like-minded peers who respected his talent. He also discovered the kind of music he wanted to perform and wrote his first songs as part of his GCSE music course.
“It’s amazing to think what the youth theatre did for me. I couldn’t have got up and spoken in class because I knew how the bullies would react. But being on stage was different. For most people, it would probably be completely the opposite. But I found it really easy to get up on stage and actually sing in front of the kids who bullied me.
“It felt like being in another world when I was singing. All the stupid negativity disappeared. I suppose it was all about confidence. I knew I could sing and the bullies couldn’t so this was something they couldn’t tease me about.”
Changing schools following his GCSEs saw Bryn enter a far better environment. His new school had a soul band whose members were delighted to be joined by this newcomer with the superb voice. It was while watching a theatrical production with his schoolmates that Bryn found his musical hero.
“I’d sung The Commitments’ version of Try a Little Tenderness with the band at school but heard this other amazing version as part of the play. I discovered the singer was Otis Redding. This started me off on trying to hear every song Otis had recorded.
“Listening to his music also led me to other artists such as Al Green, Sam Cooke and Nina Simone. I was on a voyage of discovery finding wonderful songs from the 1950s, ‘60s and ‘70s. I admired these artists so much and wanted to try to become as good as them.”
A friend at stage school in London encouraged Bryn to follow in her footsteps.
“I already had a management deal but nothing was happening so going to London seemed like a good idea. As it turned out, I hated stage school and left after my second year. But my management had been pushing my interests and I got a meeting with Colin Barlow at Polydor Records. He put me in the studio to work with some great songwriters and then gave me a record deal about six months later.”
Despite having released no material, Bryn secured the supporting act slot on Amy Winehouse’s 2007 UK concert tour. A similar spot on Mary J. Blige’s 2008 European tour exposed his music to another audience. Aided by this promotion, Bryn’s 2008 debut album, “My World,” reached number 18 on the UK chart. His singles, The Quest and Smilin’, also became hits.
It seemed like a second album would truly establish him on the UK soul scene. But instead of building upon a good start to his recording career, Bryn effectively disappeared. His second album has still to be released.
“I got into other aspects of the business. I’ve written some songs for other artists and joined the Pegasus production duo to create drum and bass dance music as Monsta, or I See Monstas as we now call ourselves. As well as our own stuff, we also produce and remix songs for other performers.”
2015 has finally seen Bryn recording again under his own name. There was just a taste last year when he was the uncredited vocalist on Knife Party’s Superstar. This year has seen Bryn record with Kill The Noise and Culture Shock in addition to his work with I See Monstas. But it is his track with Sigala which has given him by far his biggest hit to date.
“I’ve really enjoyed collaborating with other artists and it’s terrific that Sweet Lovin’ has become such a big hit. I’m signed to Geffen Records now so maybe it’s time I made a solo album for them. A lot more people know about me now so perhaps it won’t be too long before I finally release my second album.”

IN BRIEF
Brian Fallon

The Gaslight Anthem frontman Brian Fallon has used the opportunity offered by his band taking a break from the music scene to create his own solo album. “Painkillers” is scheduled for release on March 11.
Available now though is the lead single, A Wonderful Life. The song can be heard at www.youtube.com/watch?v=W9f5PrL7uvA
The single, and forthcoming album, will be 35-year-old Brian’s first material released under his own name. Aged just 17, he issued a cassette entitled “The Coffeehouse Sessions.” But it was credited to No Release.
All of his subsequent work has been under a band name. Only his 2004 release, “The American Music EP,” featured his name in the credits as Brian Fallon — Cincinnati Rail Tie.
The various band names have been entirely appropriate as Brian always had other musicians performing on his songs. But the same is true again now for his solo album. He is joined by bassist Catherine Popper, drummer Mark Stepro and guitarist Butch Walker, who also produced “Painkillers,” so it is a little surprising that no band name has been chosen.

City and Colour

Canadian singer/songwriter Dallas Green is another artist who prefers to release his material under a band name. He chose City and Colour from his own name, the city of Dallas and the colour green.
His fifth studio album, “If I Should Go Before You,” was released in October and became City and Colour’s third Canadian chart-topper. Three tracks have so far been released as singles with the last two, Wasted Love and Lover Come Back, covering both sides of the same break-up story.
Wasted Love features lyrics from the perspective of the person whose heart has been broken. Lover Come Back is sung from the viewpoint of the heartbreaker who didn’t realise how good things had been until it was too late and now wants to rekindle the relationship.
The video for Wasted Love is at www.youtube.com/watch?v=8kKx8PneuR8 while the Lover Come Back video can be seen at www.youtube.com/watch?v=DwYaFkHe-5U.
If I Should Go Before You is available to hear in full at www.youtube.com/watch?v=4E7gOluzpo0

Justin Bieber

If Adele isn’t setting some new chart record then it has to be Justin Bieber.
The Canadian heart-throb singer has set a new mark on the UK singles chart. He recently achieved the rare feat of replacing himself in pole position when Love Yourself ousted Sorry from top spot. The former chart-topper slipped to number two with both songs remaining in the same positions on the chart for the following week.
Replacing yourself at number one has been achieved on several previous occasions. But Justin became the first artist to knock himself down to number two and then have both songs hold the first and second spots for two consecutive weeks.

Jean Deaux

Jean Deaux has gradually been making a name for herself on the music scene. The Chicago-based rapper/singer has collaborated on critically acclaimed tracks by a number of other artists but is ready to find fame in her own right.
She recently released the three-song “Outer Body EP.” This, along with more of her work, can be heard at (no www.) soundcloud.com/thatsjeandeaux