Table Manners with Jessie and Lennie Ware - S10 Ep 2: James Bay

Episode Date: September 23, 2020

He didn't wear the hat, but Lennie still loved having James Bay round for dinner. The 'Hold Back The River' heart-throb joined us at mum's for Some Coq Au Riesling (thanks for the recommendation Mr McIntyre), a Passionate Eton mess and plenty of the most delicious red wine courtesy of James. We spoke about busking, his legendary Grammys performance, jumping up and down on a trampoline with Rosie Huntingdon Whiteley, writing his 3rd album and eating cold Heinz Five Beanz. Whadda guy, what a gent. Go and have a listen to James’ wonderful new single Chew On My Heart now. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Hello and welcome to Table Manners. I'm here and we're drinking a bit of rosé. Rosé? Rosé? Rosé, because of the weather. Because of Michael McIntyre, who apparently, what did he say to our wonderful Alice producer on the phone? Darling, I think he thinks I've got a career ahead of me in stand-up. Oh yeah, go on. Says I've got great comedic timing.

Oh, marvellous Mrs... Maisel. Where? Yep. Well, yeah, go on. Says we've got great comedic timing. Oh, marvellous Mrs... Maisel. Where? Yeah, Perth. Well, we're kind to that. Yeah. Yeah, you know, you are very funny. Well, I'd like to think so.

So tonight we have... Let's just say he wears a hat. Well, he doesn't anymore. I want my money back. If he doesn't wear a hat, I'm asking for my money back. Mum, that went after the first album, I think. He got the Burberry gig because of the hat. I don asking for my money back. Mum, that went after the first album, I think. He got the Burberry gig because of the hat.

I don't know if he got it because of the hat. He wore his hat right through the Burberry campaign. It's the lucky hat. Lucky hat. I wonder if he will come with a hat. No, he cut his hair off for the second album, which I have to say was my absolute favourite of James Bate. Bloody love that record.

Wild love. Sexy song. Very, very sexy. Thought the hair was very sexy on the second album. His very hands. He's grown it back now. So I'm wondering. Why? What this means.

Very good looking. Very good looking. Played in Soccer Aid for UNICEF. Did he? For England, yeah. Got an assist and a penalty at the end, I think. So yeah, we've got James Bate. Massive artist like first album blew up everywhere I remember him doing a a Grammys performance with um Tori Kelly and they were singing together and it was really amazing he's got a nice voice beautiful voice has a few uh things he doesn't eat though doesn't he well it's one of them he's I wouldn't say it was a Mediterranean palette so I've done an Austrian palette tonight.

We've done chicken riseling. Because Michael McIntyre mentioned it. Our favourite person in the world. My very new favourite person, yeah. And I've eaten it at Bellinger, which I love. And Great Restaurant, which has reopened again. Yes, they closed down. They closed down.

They're back. They're back. They're back. I'm so happy. Imagine if like, so did the community get together and say, we want you back? First of all, it was gorgeous inside. It's all wood panel. They've got that lovely little private thing. They let dogs in, which my manager liked.

Oh, yeah. And the food is great. It's a lovely little spot. Anyway, so the Bellinger did Riesling chicken, which I loved. So I thought, I'll have a go at that. And I hope I've managed to. It's a Nigella recipe I've used and adapted. An old friend.

Our old friend Nigella. Nig. Would you call her Nige? But it actually was so quick and easy. And then we're going to have passionate eating mess. I love a passionate eating mess. Good. Love it.

The trick is you put a bit of Greek yogurt in. No, I don't, darling. I put passion fruit in, darling Love it. The trick is you put a bit of Greek yogurt in. No, I don't, darling. I put passion fruit in, darling. I thought you were going to put a bit of Greek yogurt in. I might do, but I'm going to put passion fruit in. I've got lovely Greek yogurt. Everything's good. We've got James Bay coming up on Table Manners.

James Bay, the handsome, gorgeous James Bay, but without the hat. No hat. I want my money back, but welcome to Table Manners. Thank you so much for having me. What a joy. Absolute pleasure. What a pleasure. You've come in in your cord, your autumnal cord.

Why, is it too early? No, it's lovely. And then you've come in with a fancy looking, it's got so much wax down it. That's sort of why I like it. Yeah, what is it? I like it for many reasons. I discovered this, there'll be more to talk about this later.

I didn't discover it myself, it's called a Bella Gloss from, it's from, I guess California, so no, we can't say California. But I know, Pinot Noir, you know, I'm not like, I think I've got that, I think Ben Palmer But I was, I know, Pinot Noir. You know, I'm not like, my... I think I've got that. I think Ben Palmer got me that.

It must be a music industry thing. I went to Nashville in February, right before it all kicked off. And I managed to spend the full sort of five weeks that I intended to spend there. And I worked with this great producer called Dave Cobb. And he took me to this lovely steakhouse. And he said, you've got to try it.

What do you like? I said, I love red wine. I said, but I don't go wine I said but I don't go like heavy stuff I don't go like Barolo or anything like that I also

before I start to sound like I know what I'm talking about you know nothing about it I just say I know nothing about it I love you you know what you like I know what I like

what makes it even worse is my dad who's retired now but for 45 years was a wine merchant and would like he knows everything about wine and I have very small interest he was a wine merchant and would like he knows everything about wine and i have very small interest you've never listened to him not really i confess were you drinking

from an early age was it kind of like you were having a little drink i don't know i'm i'm there was there was lots of wine in the house growing up but i don't there's me and my brother and my mum and my dad my brother was sort of adopted the party animal kind of abilities from early on me I was like in my room guitar door shut keep it quiet keep it chill where were you brought up Brighton in no I was no I lived in Brighton for a couple of years when I was about sort of 19 but I was Bim I did a bit of Bim I did some time I mean they're famous for the kooks the kooks came out BIM and so did James Banks

I was actually I was there at the same time as Tom O'Dell Tom was there as well he left before me but he I did about 18 months at BIM but I

BIM is a music college and I met it was originally the Brighton Institute of Modern Music I think now it's the British Institute because they've sort of

spread out all over the place but I was there doing my thing. And managers, manager types, A&R types, record label people are constantly kind of keeping an eye on what's going on down at these music colleges. Because you never know who might, there might be some youngster who's sort of worth taking, showing some sort of interest in. And that's kind of what happened in that the college were like, my guys got in touch just to say, anybody worth coming to check out? And the college said, James is great. You know, if people are enjoying.

When you say my guys, your managers now. My managers now. Sorry. Yes. My managers, those who are the guys who are my managers still. And this is 10 years ago now. How old are you? You're about 12.

I turned 30 the other day. James. God almighty. Jesus. September 4th, me and Beyonce. That's why we're such good mates. We're not we're not good mates anyway so i was there they came down and they saw me play it they do every sort of term or so or kind of halfway through the year and at the end of the year they do these concerts that you sort of had to audition for and you got to do one song

and they were told that the college sort of said you know people like are liking james he's new here but they're sort of liking what he's up to. And I was, you know, bouncing around Brighton playing open mic nights, playing covers, playing songs I'd written that weren't very good. But I was sort of learning something. What were your covers? Oh, my covers were old stuff. I remember busking like Wilson Pickett songs. Of course.

I was like busking songs like Stephen steven stills songs and like old stuff like trying to do covers of reetha franklin on a on acoustic guitar and sort of failing anyway lots of fun so soul music soul music not folk music not so much folk but because i was stood there with an acoustic guitar kind of to the naked eye it's folk someone sort of goes it's and then the combo of the two people didn't mind it you know down there at the college and they so they said come and give james a you know check him out and they came down uh paul and ryan and they said you know we'd sort of heard your song that you'd i'd put my own song on a myspace page and they said like you know we we'd love to

they said you can carry on doing this but we'd like to be your managers kind of gradually i basically in that moment said like yeah i'm done here if you want to sort of help me take me into the real music industry in some gradual way then i'm following you it's pretty fun so you left bim to kind of be developed not well yeah essentially yeah kind of help you develop as an artist yeah because i was writing all on my own and i was kind of i was like doing like open mic nights and stuff in in brighton i'd play my own song and people would be listening during the verse and i'd be like oh they like the verse then i'd start the chorus they start talking and i go well i go away from a night like that and i go okay i need better

choruses and it just helped me work on like songwriting and stuff like that. How interesting. I kind of enjoyed all of that. I need better. You didn't think fuck them. No. You just thought I need better choruses. Yeah, that was genuinely my sort of mindset. You're someone alert from your experience unlike most people. What's your trick for a good chorus?

Because you know a good chorus. I don't know what my trick is for a good chorus. I'm still sort of chasing that down. And as I carry on writing. James, hold back the river. Well, I don't know. Where did you write that? I wrote that

in the bell tower of a church with a friend of mine called Ian Archer who was in Snow Patrol for a bit he's a really great songwriter

in his own right as well and we got together and it's in like Caledonian Road it's like round there and yeah he has a studio in this church bell tower

which just sounds really good when you sort of stand in there and like stomp on the floor and sing and all that stuff so yeah we wrote it in there i'm still trying to try i think that chorus is pretty good don't take that no you you i feel like your course is okay the bay formula and it's oh well thanks i'll take it and then i'll go home and i'll think what do they mean by that

and i'll study my music you're not full of anxiety no only that it's very easy to overthink oh my god in the writing tell me about it ask Jessie about overthinking

it's the story of my life I'm not a perfectionist so I kind of I overthink and I go fuck it

I'll be asked to do another version so fuck it that's what you get fair play but it's kind of sometimes served me well

but yeah I mean the industry is a funny old thing isn't it it's a funny old thing, isn't it? It's a funny old thing. How is it being, what, third album now? Third album's coming, yeah. I've nearly finished it and it's on the way. It's good.

I don't know. First album, you know, complete kind of shot in the dark. You make a first album and if it goes quite well. And you're a millionaire. Well, that's exciting, but it's just a sort of a, really a sort of big bonus because you tried and tried and then enough people like it that they sort of let you make a second album.

James, you were everywhere. I remember watching you. I was in America. I think I was doing writing sessions for Grammys. Very scary. You were Tori Kelly, wasn't it? Yeah, yeah, incredible pipes. And you did amazingly.

It was just you two. In that moment, to know, like, we'd rehearsed that week, and we were, like, full of excitement and sort of bouncing off the walls, and they'd asked us to do a song, sort of weave our songs together and do a performance together. And it was all wonderful. But, like, the silent, between the two of us, like, as we started to sort of approach the stage,

we sort of forgot how to speak and just spoke to each other with, like, facial expressions, just, like, making eyes, like, can you believe this? and trying not to think about the fact that as we stepped onto that stage there's two there was two stages there's the main stage that one side of the room that faces la it was at the staple center which is an arena it's a basketball arena and then there's a little stage in the middle kind of a satellite stage in the middle and knowing but doing everything in my power not to say it out loud but knowing that we're in this stage in the middle, kind of a satellite stage in the middle. And knowing, but doing everything in my power not to say it out loud, but knowing that we're in this stage

in the middle of an audience full of Dave Grohl, Beyonce, Adele, Ed Sheeran, Justin Bieber, they're all in the room. And just having to, trying to like zone that out, very intense for like, we were just a couple of sort of newbies. And then they all did like a standing ovation at the end and that was really good bonkers thank you they love a good voice for the americans don't yeah they do they love

i did my best to sort i just sort of hid behind tory kelly's phenomenal voice and just tried to look i want to ask something that might be a bit odd but because you're so handsome do you think you get objectified because you did all those fashion shoots and everything i did the fashion shoot offers they come and i don't know do i get objectified do you like being objectified james oh there's a question that's a real deep we're not we're not no no at all um but i just wonder because you are very handsome thank you and you have done modeling as well since but part of your I mean I think mum's on her fourth time of telling James that he's handsome this is good okay I mean actually finished a glass yet go on go on okay just trying to sort of

look at the cheekbones they're really good cheekbones razor cheekbones do you think I mean probably you did the modeling because it was great money and because it raises your profile and more people see you. Profile was a big one. Yeah. Yeah. I mean, you had your hat on with the Burberry.

Yeah. I can sort of be like, I could be hat on leather jacket. I'm not a model, but thanks for having me on board. Yeah. And like, and you don't mind.

I don't, I don't mind. No, I, I don't know. It fucking pays for his house. There you go. I start, I started out like any, don't mind i don't i don't mind no i i know it fucking pays for his house there you go i start

i started out like any any connection to all the fashion world was because somebody uh christopher bailey at the time who was you know mr burberry brilliant brilliant bloke like i like christopher a lot and he heard he has a little music team they had a little music team at burberry they have like burberry music or whatever they called it and he likes sort of live music to soundtrack the shows so they found me to come and do I stood at the end of the catwalk like the the back end of the catwalk not the bit that they all walk to playing your guitar I played me like in like Hyde Park or whatever it was some kind of massive show it was Victoria's Secrets though didn't you I mean old Ed Sheeran weekend get to do that you know yeah Ed Sheeran and Weekend get to do that. You know. It's scantily clad. Yeah. I saw Ed Sheeran and Hosea with that gig.

I was like, hang on. Can I just ask you, but who was your female counterpart in the campaign for Burberry? Oh, well, it wasn't. Was it Cara Delevingne? It wasn't really. It was bigger than that.

The main Burberry thing was loads of us. There was a Beckham kid. He was, it's amazing because he's like 17 feet tall now, but at the time he was like. Is he? Romeo, yeah. Beautiful. Beautiful, very good like... Romeo, yeah. Beautiful.

Beautiful, very good looking, lovely little lad. George Ezra was in there. Lovely. But then it was like Naomi Campbell, Rosie... I'm going to go Huntington White there. Have I got it? Yes. With those lips.

The best lips I've ever seen in my whole life. Absolutely winning. And I feel like Elton John was in it as well sir yeah little wild card there what with it it was like

at the main Burberry thing that I did Elton got in on the Burberry oh bless him he really needs some fucking cash

he's a bit strapped at the moment isn't he and he needs a new rake he needs a new rake there was a really intense moment

where they wanted all of us they wanted everyone to we all were on a trampoline oh Jesus I mean it was really...

It was intense degrees of fashion. I'm like, I've got Zoolander in my head. I like fully pulled a few muscles. Can you imagine me on my knee? Mum, you're not getting Burberry just yet. We've just about got Sainsbury's. So just... Whoa, Nellie.

On a trampoline. I remember Rosie whatever Rosie was wearing she was being asked to jump up and down on this trampoline

and it was all coming off all the clothes were coming off how can you do that with your extensions and everything

I love that mum's trying to think about how Lenny is going to work the Burberry trampoline the pelvic floor

forget about it the pelvic floor yeah had anybody had a baby she would have known because they would have pissed themselves on the trampoline The Burberry Trampoline. The Burberry Trampoline. I don't know about it. The Burberry Trampoline, yeah. Had anybody had a baby, you would have known because they would have pissed themselves on the trampoline. Is the hat coming back for the next time? Is the hat coming back?

What would you like? I love the hat, but maybe it's a bit old hat. There you go. There you go. I feel like we were queued up just for that line. I feel like that was... You gave it to me James

thank you darling in that case no it's not no but I do want to talk about hit me no I want to talk about the second record

because I have to say I fucking loved it thank you very much and I feel like not enough people paid attention and it fucks me off no but you get it though

because you're musical and you understand wanting to... Dude, Wild Love is the sexiest song ever! I had a moment. I did this thing recently called Soccer Aid. I'm a UNICEF ambassador, so thank you for doing that. There you go, you know all about it. No trouble.

Thank you for having me. It was insane. Did you score? I didn't score, but I set a goal up. Amazing. An assist! I did an assist, assist you know and i scored a penalty as well who did you assist i assisted a lad called young philly don't really know who he is but he's a brilliant lad i think he's a youtuber i hadn't heard of him before but he's a lovely lovely

i've ever met and he scores goals but i met the nation's new best mate joe wicks oh you've had a lot what a fantastic lad one of my new sort of favorite people and he has been messaging me kind of constantly through through the last sort of couple of months of lockdown about my second album just just just text that kind of make me laugh because i imagine his voice when he was he's good he's kind of going oh for fuck's sake mate I've just discovered your second album fucking hell it's so good and I'm like

he's got it he didn't put it on his desert island destiny he put Moana on instead so here's your new bestie

he's my new bestie I like Joe a lot you'll be in his videos doing peeing I'll have a go maybe Wild Love

could be a cool down there you go finally the campaign starts here mate all I'm saying is that

that album was sick. Your hair looked banging in that album. And also, Wild Love just is an absolute banger. I appreciate that. And I feel like... Jessie, are you trying to get a duet here? Maybe, actually. We'll talk about that later.

But, you know, you... And tell me if I'm wrong wrong but you go from being grammy were you nominated like you're doing that and freaking hell so like you know it's you don't know anything else apart from that as your debut and then you put in this like slightly more alternative record yeah yeah and you could have easily done yeah you know oh yeah i could have gone for the same no you you get it carry on and you and i feel like you did really amazingly and i feel like it's an incredibly frustrating uh you get it world that we live in that people don't maybe accept the kind of credibility and

brilliance of that record and it's frustrating and i can only imagine that it's kind of i don't know how you felt but everything that that second album was from, and literally, you know, we talk about the music, but even the haircut was fully intentional. It was everything that I wanted to do that I, because nobody ever told me, can you please make the first album again? No one said that. I appreciate maybe lots of people on the team

would have sort of liked that. And I understand that. And I don't have any grudges towards that either. But I was allowed, despite, and I'm very proud of the success of the first album but I was very welcome to kind of go and make whatever and in the process of making my second record credit to my entire gang they were so fucking excited about the music from Wild Love to the rest of the songs they were we were bouncing off the walls in our own bubble, excited to put this music out. But what's interesting that I really learned about is you reach...

When music does as... I can only speak from my experience. When music does as well as what my successfully or commercially as some of the songs off my first record, and really the first record, you reach a bunch of people who aren't as deeply into music as you and me or even the majority of people working in the music industry they're just sort of um fair weather music listeners music lovers and they'll buy all the tickets and they'll buy all

the records and your music will do really well and actually i understand that they wouldn't mind just a bit of the same on album on album two they wouldn't mind just a bit of the same on album two. They wouldn't mind just a bit of the same. Let's just have the, I love Don't Back the River. Give me another one of them. But as an artist, as a sort of anxiety ridden, deep thinking, you know, introspective songwriter, I kind of go, no, I can't. I mustn't. I have to reach further, do something different, evolve, blah, blah, blah.

You get it. And I will just say, slightly emotional, but from another artist who I fully respect and I'm a fan of, to hear you understand it is like, it means a lot. It's very cool. It's because it's sort of bonkers. To experience the success of the first record was a crazy dream and to have the opportunity to just follow my gut and my heart on the second record was a wonderful experience and yet yes like you say people didn't um take to it in the same way and

that's all right i'm all right with all that it is all right if you are proud of the record i'm so proud it doesn't matter that's it who said to you If you are proud of the record, then it still lives with it. I'm so proud of the record. It doesn't matter. That's it. Who said to you... David Kumu, when I worked on my first record, I remember we made this record, no one gave a shit about me and that was absolutely perfect. But he was like, look, you have to live with this record. If nobody else listens to it, you have to be proud of it. So if you have that from your second

record, which is a banger and everyone should listen to, then you can always live in the confidence that you basically did what you needed to do. But there's a huge pressure on you when you've had a big success to get another big hit they're really and that's really record sorry i hate to say this but record labels around making money massively they don't really care about whether you're glad or proud or yeah or what they want a big hit to make money. It's entirely right. It's entirely true. It's business. It's, you know, it's

sales. James, I'm not going to lie. There's a few things you don't eat. Sorry. No aubergine, no courgette, no goat's cheese. What were the other fucking things you added? You haven't got arthritis, have you? Because I'm on that kind of diet. What is this what was it all right okay so had a bad encounter with an aubergine throughout my childhood i was i was pressed to try again and again on aubergine stuff

and on on courgette stuff and on like marrow and it all you didn't like it forgive me but it came under the sort of bracket of this like it's the wetness sort of there you go yeah and I was kind of going it's kind of retching sorry and I'm sort of a bit scarred and look I just needed to know look

the fact is you asked me you shouldn't have asked me no it's fine you know this is your imagine if I'd done like a bloody bream which would have been

ratatouille oh nightmare help me you've never done a bream because you don't fucking cook oh yes we are doing actually because of Michael McIntyre,

because he mentioned it, and we thought, oh, that would work. Doesn't have any of the ingredients that you don't like. Chicken and rye sling. Chicken and wine. Incredible. Done. And you know what they serve it with? What?

Papa Deli. And that's incredible. Wow. So you're having it pasta and chicken, which I've always heard is a big no-no. Is this red just a terrible pairing? I mean, Riesling is like, isn't that like white wine? It is. That's a nightmare, sorry.

No, it's not a nightmare, but I'm just wondering whether we can stick the old Pinot Noir. Because Pinot Noir is quite light, isn't it? I'm looking at Alice because she's a bit French. So there we go. I think that would be nice. And I kind of want to try this Pinot Noir. If we're going to do it, just open it. This is like my dad talking.

Just open it for two seconds beforehand. Let it breathe. You know, all of that. Have you brought a decanter in your pocket? In my hat, in my deep hat. In your hat. No, I have not. But I know it's great out of the bottle, but just give it a minute.

So, James, is it true you support Newcastle? I do support Newcastle. I'm not, like, anywhere near from Newcastle. When I was a kid, so when I was, I don't know, five or six years old, and this is also, I'll say that my dad is like a rugby guy. He's not a football guy. So I said to my, Alan Shearer was like the best player in England at the time. I was a little kid.

He had the hots for Alan Shearer. There you go. So did I. And I said to my dad, who does he play for? He said, well, he's actually just signed for Newcastle. And I just said, that's my team then. And it has been ever since. So where did you grow up?

I grew up in a very small town in Hertfordshire called Hitchin. That is nowhere near Newcastle. I should have really supported Watford, I guess. But they weren't an exciting Premier League team. Elton's got that covered. Yeah, he's got that covered. I actually played a gig in Hitchin when I was in a band called Man Like Me.

They were really big in Hitchin. Really? Yeah. Where'd you play? I can't remember. Club 85? Sounds about right, maybe. That's literally the only venue in town.

Everything else is a pub or a bar. Okay, that would be it then. That would be it. Fair play to you for playing there. Yeah, you didn't play venues. You played pubs, darling. I mean, there's loads of great pubs. We saw that at Metric Ballroom. What are you talking about? Oh, yeah, we did. There you go. Yeah. There play venues You played pubs darling I mean there's loads Of great pubs

We saw that electric ballroom What are you talking about There you go Yeah There's loads of great pubs We did really well But I grew up there And I

Always tried my Absolute hardest To like rugby I was absolutely Never built to play it And really I just Liked football And I tried

And tried rugby And then I got out of it And I In getting out of rugby I sort of got out Of all sport And I was able to Just dive into music got out of it. And I, in getting out of rugby, I sort of got out of all sport and I was able to just dive into music and do music like crazy from the age of sort of, I started playing guitar when I was 11, started playing gigs when I was 13 or 14.

Me and my brother, who, my brother is a bit old, only a little bit older than me. How many brothers and sisters do you have? Just the one brother. Alex is about 18 months older than me. We grew up really tight and always just sort of fell in love with the same thing skateboarding music football whatever so where's he now he's in london as well he's around the corner from me in islington he's still musical he's still he plays in my band now and again but he does his own songs as well uh and sort of writes and does all of that but he we would go he was kind of the little leader of the pack because he was a little bit older than the rest

of us and he would we would like roll up to pubs in hitching little hitching when we were 13 and you weren't even really allowed to be in a pub but it wasn't like crazy strict times and he'd just go we'd all sort of go do you want a gig at like two in the afternoon no one was inviting us to play we figured at that time at that age because no one knows who you are when you're sort of 13 so they're not going to and you're not old enough so they're not going to ask you to come and play on a Friday Saturday night

so we just went in ourselves said will you and they said yeah will you have us and a couple of places said yes and they paid us and we did alright

and people were pissed enough that they thought we were really good and you were cute and they were like oh I'll give them a bit of money so we were just doing

like Rolling Stones covers and like that's amazing and like a couple of like you know a couple of our sort of terrible own songs. And just sort of blagging it and blagging it. And really climbed through the ranks of Little Hitchin.

To the point that like if we were doing a gig but in the final year or so, it was about five years that we were teenagers playing in town. In the final year or so that we were the band that we'd been for that time, it was a bit of a thing. People would really come out and sort of watch us. Whether it was in like the back room of a pub and it was way too full or whether it was at famous Club 85

of Hitchin we would people would come and see us it was fun and then I just sort of did the terrible thing where I sort of went left the band

I kind of went thanks there's more out there than Hitchin no there couldn't be James there couldn't be I did it and I went to James there couldn't be I did it

and I went to Brighton and all the rest happened but my brother hung out in my brother hung out in Hitchin he stayed in Hitchin for a little bit longer

a little bit longer he eventually got out himself parents were probably heartbroken well you say that they were like they kind of loved us being around certainly Alex being around but

so what was dinner like around the table okay I sort of wanted this to come up because it's so relevant to this whole podcast, this whole chat. My mum, as every guest you've ever had has said, is a phenomenal cook.

She's an unreal cook. Now I've got pressure. I mean, you know, a little friendly pressure. It's not too bad. Embrace it. All right. She's very, very good at cooking. All she'll really do is...

I mean, she loves food. Both my parents love food. My dad's a big bloke. And he just sort of eats everything. And as a wine merchant, I will say, he kind of like spent... I'll probably get this slightly wrong if he hears this, but he spent parts of his...

I mean, his big claim to fame in the sort of late 60s, early 70s. He was in London working in a wine shop. And there was two people in the space of a couple of years that came in for like, it was like return business. And they would say, hey, I'd like to speak to Nick Bay. One of them was Mick Jagger. Oh.

Just for a moment. And the other was Michael Caine. Shit. My dad's like early 70s. He was there back then. But yeah, so that was very cool. That's fucking cool. So like food and wine.

What did they like drinking you need to find out what you've done yeah I actually need to find out I bet you can't remember my mum very good cook both my parents

just love food and drink and seems right that we've done coco cocco riesling riesling

riesling for you then where is the word riesling is it German German I think or Austrian German I think so Austrian German I think

so well there was the Third Reich wasn't there so it should be Riesling there you go right cool

so my mum my parents love food my mum is always one of two things in the kitchen she's kind of loving the food

and like excited about the process or she's kind of complaining that she's still the one cooking. Yeah. Okay. There you go.

And really there's some, there's a great deal of sort of love and affection in that. And we've never, I'm a bad cook and I've never really done anything to help her out in truth. And I confess, but she's very good at cooking. She, she was responsible back in the day for a very good cocker van, which is sort you know relates to our evening lovely um and it's like this is your life tonight it really is isn't it yeah and all other and all other stuff like she's great at roasts and she's great at all the stuff i mean there was a time when she was making pizzas from scratch like dough and everything she went in on it but she'll even do a great tuna baked potato tuna baked potato is one of the most underrated dishes yeah i mean it's just you know tuna potato bit of cheese maybe maybe not you don't need a lot

going on or you can have a load going on it's always i like to have it almost like a tali plate so i have a little bit of my husband got me into cold baked beans it works it really works you have cold baked beans i like to do a bit of grated carrot and grated cheese in another area then i'll have the um i'll have the tuna mayo with vinegar like make it yeah can i just now here today in 2020 yeah how is your fella on the because he's big on the cold baked beans yeah have you advanced to Heinz 5 bean what's that what's that oh guys

what's the Heinz 5 thing 5 bean what is it it's a can of beans but they're doing what like a mixed bean five different I mean it's good stuff

no believe me in the tomato sauce in the Heinz today for lunch because I'm such a phenomenal chef I had beans on toast yeah a bit of cheese

but it was Heinz Five Bean so I was like even better as a chef it was nothing to do with me was it nice I have not heard about this maybe the kids would like it just go whatever you're doing

like whether it's Sainsbury's or Ocado or whatever Five Bean go looking for the Five Bean get in your five bean I'm googling this now I'm very

Heinz Five Bean big fan I mean it's look it's a small step up but it's relevant and Heinz Five Bean that's what you had for lunch yeah for lunch yeah I'm very big fan. I mean, it's look, it's a small step up, but it's relevant. And Heinz Five Bean, that's what you had for lunch, yeah? For lunch, yeah.

I just smashed it down. So, okay, so. So yes, my mum, big cook, loves making food. I mean, look, I grew up with, my parents were, like every, all parents, they are like, this isn't a hotel. This isn't a this, this isn't a that. And that's the, that's, I get it. But they secretly, and they celebrate it even more these days. They loved the fact that half of the people, the lads in the band that we were in were just,

they get up the next morning, my parents, and there's an extra pair of shoes by the front door. And the lads are just sort of staying around. Everybody's around. And my mum loves doing a massive breakfast. She loves it. So my bass player, Tom, is my oldest mate i've known him since i was he in your band now yeah he's my band now i've known since i was three and um in his

nearly 30 years he's probably spent half of his time at my at my mum's house like eating eating absolutely eating she would make she'd go down the market on the weekend and get massive ciabatta rolls and send me in to school with like ciabatta packed lunches and all this stuff and like i've got tom sort of going i'll give you 20p for a bite good memory oh 20p i was making big money in year nine that's amazing so yeah what was in a ciabatta i mean she she to be honest like back then she's even the bread was so incredible she just put like a bunch of like ham and cheese in it and i'm sort of good i'm like i'm in school the bread absolutely saves you i mean it was good ham and cheese you know but it was like butcher's ham what else was in your pat lunch and what was your pat lunch bit of fruit i i was one of those teenage boys who like i was

this tall i'm sort of i was six foot when I was sort of 13. Oh wow. So like, uh, you had a lot of, I did a lot of growing. Yourself to feed. Yeah. Yeah.

Yeah. It was all of that. I remember year six, primary school, last year of primary school going into year seven, I went from a size seven to a size 11 shoe in like a year. So my son has hope. Okay.

It was like a, he's a short ass at the moment. It was like a moment. but, um, bloody hell. So my mum, hope. Okay, fine. It was like a... He's a short house at the moment. It was like a moment. But... Bloody hell. So my mum... Because my brother is older than me, but he's actually a little shorter than me.

He's like five foot... I'm going to get this wrong. And if he hears this, he's going to hate it. I'm going to say he's five foot eight. Let's say he's five ten. Come on. Five ten. Probably is.

Sorry. But he... That didn't stop me. It didn't matter that he wasn't having a growth spurt like I was. He was eating everything in the same way. And my mum is a great, she's a real,

she's a mum who loves feeding, feeding, feeding. She loved people coming round. She loved like all the band being round. She loved sort of being at the gig now and again and like the whole thing and like being,

just sort of supplying teenagers who were trying to do a thing, which for us was music, with all the fuel in between. Like she'd do like a big band dinner now and again. thing and like being just sort of supplying teenagers who were trying to do a thing which for us was music with with all the fuel in between like she'd do like a big band dinner now has she has she had any say on your rider as you've got more success no way what is on your my rider has varied over the lately it's very kind of i'm trying to be very clean i'm trying to be very sort of recyclable which isn't so much about the food there's more packaging but i'm trying to do all that sort of stuff but early days it was like

I can eat cereal at every hour of the day I'm big into that love which one's your favourite sort of all of them it's very true actually it's true

Alex I love it I love it and I will go I will take the time to make myself a bowl of porridge which is not like

immediate cereal like we know it Sam thinks porridge is like rice pudding my husband is Sam porridge is dreamy he has it for dessert and I'll like smash down like three bowls of alpen i'll have like eight weeks of it love alpen love alpen uh i mean all of them fruit and fiber i'll do it i'm down corn flakes yeah i'm in so okay what is okay so is there anything interesting on your

rider um sorry no offense but you know i just need to know if i can it's all just like an idea Okay, so is there anything interesting on your rider? Sorry, no offence. But, you know, I just need to know if I can nick an idea. It's all just like fuel. It's just sensible. Mine's really sensible. Oh, go on. Prompt me.

Take me through yours a bit. Jessie's got the most boring rider. So you go backstage. Mum wants like naked men and kittens. No, I don't want ice sculptures, but... Ed Sheeran. I talked with Ed Sheeran last year, just speaking of ice sculptures, I talked with Ed last year, and he ended the tour in Iceland

with an ice sculpture of himself. Oh my God! Good story was that, I missed this bit, but on the last night... Did it come out of his willy? I'm disappointed. Ed, I feel like, would have done that. To be honest, yes but but what I liked

was that and the last night I missed this bit I wasn't there I can't remember why I wasn't there but second to last night sorry

he had a because when it was like two nights in the same venue on the first night he would have like a party sort of in the venue for the crew and everybody

and he was saying he told me the next night that at random I can't to me it was random, Damien Rice was there. Well, cool. Like, Damien Rice is awesome.

So Damien Rice live in Iceland? I don't think so. Well, maybe he does. Were you in Iceland? We were in Iceland, yeah. Okay, fine. We were in Reykjavik. And Damien comes in, and Ed is like,

Ed's saying something about, he's like, I haven't really sort of talked to Damien Rice ever, really, but he's absolutely, like, the reason that I picked up a guitar he's my superhero and he said like I'd never really met him and when he arrived the first sort of things that Ed was saying as he was walking Damien like into his after show party was like look man I've just got to say you're the reason I do this and I just I'm so inspired by your like humble like organic sort of quality this and they like walked him in saying this and i just i'm so inspired by your like humble like organic sort of quality this and they

like walked him in saying this and turned around and the first thing they looked at was this ice sculpture of ed that his crew were like drinking vodka off like you had to pour it like from his head and it went down like a thing the thing is if you know ed there was irony within that but damien may not have known that. Damien may not have known that. Even when Ed told me about it, I got this sense that Damien didn't have a clue and kind of looked at this sculpture like, mate, what the fuck?

Oh my God, I love that. We all love that. Oh, I love it. It's kind of fun. But anyway, I can't remember how we got on that. Rider, hit me with your rider. What have you got? No, it's really not good.

The only thing that I've tried to do is do a postcard. Jesse has promised Same! Yeah, I mean, I fail. Misery. Jesse has promised some crudity.

I send them all to my agent in America, Kirk. That'd be Kirk. I send him all. I send pretty much all of them to him. Why does Kirk get them

and not your girlfriend? She's half time. She's there. She's with me. Oh, does she? We do as much of that as we can. Do you talk about your girlfriend at all? Yeah, yeah, yeah.

She does ceramics and pottery and she builds. Oh, like Patrick Swayze and Demi. Yeah, sure. And you're singing behind her, is it like that in real life? No, we're near it. She's in a communal studio. Ah, shame. She's in a communal studio with like 15 other people

who she knows who she's like making like ceramics and stuff if I turned up it'd be very funny um she oh bit of broccoli

long stem do you mind broccoli love it okay thank god oh I don't want to seem like one vegetable that you'll eat Jesus no

gums cheese isn't a vegetable um I so she does that uh what were we saying how did you meet we met okay

so in little hitching there is don't say she's a hitch and I there's the boys school hitching boys school right in the centre of town

and you've got a couple like high streets off that and then you've got the uh the hill windmill hill goes from the boys school high street

up the hill at the top of the hill probably a sort of five minute walk up the hill from the boys school is the girls school she went to the hill at the top of the hill probably a sort of five minute walk up the hill from the boy's school is the girl's school she went to the girl's school

I went to the boy's school in year 11 you're allowed to go meet in town at lunchtime yeah kids are allowed like out in town

James how are you with Dil? I'm down with Dil are you sure? I'm good with food guys just so you know okay oh I've set a terrible precedent never give him a recipe

this is so exciting I'm so hungry why not baby? look at this I want to know about this lunchtime thank you I want to know about the lunchtime meet up Oh, I've set a terrible precedent. Never give him a recipe. This is so exciting. I'm so hungry. Why not, mate? Look at this. I want to know about this lunchtime. I want to know about the lunchtime meetup with your future wife. So we've been together, I must tell you this. We've been together for 13 years.

What's going on? We've been together for 13 long years. I really rate that. I've been with my husband for 18 years. Wicked. We are best mates. So we met in town, but even more specific, Lucy's parents owned the record shop in Hitchin.

I can imagine the film. I'm thinking about the film of your life. There was me working in fucking Sainsbury's. Don't we love Sainsbury's in this, on this podcast? Don't get me wrong. We love Sainsbury's. It smells incredible, by the way. It does smell good, Mum. It smells a bit kind of Polish. don't we love Sainsbury's in this on this podcast don't get me wrong we love Sainsbury's it smells incredible by the way um it does smell good mum it smells a bit kind of a Polish it's the dill

in Poland it smells a bit kind of a no but they always in Poland they always have dill and I love that about them I'm gonna remove a layer for the dill so carry on so you were working at Sainsbury's what counts who you are to be honest right be honest I was doing I was on the till so funny I was on the till I mainly did trolleys you're lucky my husband was fishing meat

Lucy was fishing meat once upon a time back at Waitrose back in the day she did not enjoy it but she knows how to gut a fish main gig was trolleys the car park

was on a hill where do all the trolleys roll to the bottom of the hill what am I spending my Saturday doing getting loads of trolleys roll to the bottom of the hill what am I spending my Saturday doing getting loads of trolleys up the hill

and then eating loads of ciabatta sandwiches from your mum oh yeah absolutely so would you meet me at the bottom of the hill of the car park of Sainsbury's

kind of she wasn't really she was working in a record shop it was called CD Heaven which lots of people thought was a bakery

because they thought it was CD Heaven shame but it was CD Heaven anyway or a it was seedy heaven shame um but it was seedy heaven anyway i was a set shop i mean sure yeah absolutely yeah anyway i from moment one so i got my job at sainsbury's because i wanted a fender strap and i earned my fender strap three months into my nearly year-long job at sainsbury's my mum was like you're not leaving sainsbury's we've got uh what's it called discount card staff members get a discount card she's like my discount card you're not leaving Sainsbury's

I was like hang on whose job is it but I I sulked so hard on the till that like even when Lucy's parents would like come in like halfway through a shift in the record shop and sort of see me and go you look a bit sad and I'd be like yeah I fucking hate this job and um i'd have like old ladies would go up to the front desk and go um the young lady on till seven i had long hair at the time long lady on till seven she's really she's too moody for me you're so charming fucking i wasn't oh my god so go on you're talking about cd heaven. Lucy worked in there. Yeah. She was like 15 working in there. And like every teenager in town, 10 times a Saturday, took their CV in to Lucy's mum in the shop.

You know, in case you need anybody. They couldn't afford, they were never running a record shop in like 2005. They couldn't afford to employ anybody. It was literally a family business. I've moped and sulked so hard in Sainsbury's that I was the teenager and this is after me and Lucy got together. I was the teenager who got given the job in CD Heaven. Big moment. You got it.

So you were working together, going out together. Big moment. I want to know about... What do you need? Well, I need your three dishes. Okay. And drink. Remind me. Is this, like, because I'm about to die?

Well, it's a very contentious issue, so... I can't bear that thought of people dying. We don't call it about... Michael seems stressed. Yeah. We don't talk about it being the last supper. We talk about it as kind of the last supper before you're going away to a desert island.

My three. Is that three main courses? Or is that dessert? Whatever you want. You can have three puds if you want. The first thing, so I can get it out of my mouth and off my mind, because it is the first thing that comes into my mind.

It is the best margarita pizza you've ever had in your life. Where? Well, the statement was like, whatever the best margarita is in the world. But where is your favourite one? Well, there's a few. Well, come on then. Yeah.

Round the corner from my house, there's an amazing place called Oivita that I adore. Okay. And you always order the margarita? Yeah, and I'll eat other stuff on a pizza. I eat all sorts of stuff on a pizza, but I do do the whole fold in the fingers New York thing. I want to hold it in my hand.

I'm not a knife and fork pizza guy. Me neither. So I don't want a billion things on top of my pizza, so I'm juggling loads of stuff. So that's one. Please take some more broccoli. It's good for you. Okay, so that's going to be maybe a starter or a main. We're not sure, but definitely a margarita.

I mean, you know what? I'll have it as a starter. Yeah, I like that. It's very American to have it. Go to Jelena, have a little starter of a pizza. Very good. I'm gonna go three mains actually. I'm not gonna even want it.

Oh, you're not a sweet person. I am, but like, you've asked me for three. I've got too many answers. They could be tasting plates. You know, it could be a mini pizza. So many things. I want, and I had this the other day for the first time in a long time.

I went to see my mum because it was my birthday and I went to see, and she hadn't seen me. So I went to see my parents and she did just like a beef roast. It was a blinder. Absolute blinder. Love beef roast. Game changer. Yorkshire, she makes them herself.

Is she a good Yorkshire maker? She absolutely is. And you know what? Let me tell you this. They don't always stand up. And sometimes they very much do. But even when they don't, I just cover them in gravy and I'm game. He doesn't mind. I don't mind. up And sometimes they very much do But even when they don't I just cover them in gravy And I'm game

He doesn't mind I don't mind Man, fucking hell A roast potato Goose fat Yeah Goose fat I've got goose fat in there

I've not used it So, okay So you're going Your mum's roast And then for dessert A steak I mean I'm not far off that actually

So my mum's roast I'm quite sort of Classic in my choices here and my tastes. Number three. I'll give you a sweet thing. Sticky toffee pudding and custard. Whoa. Do you know, most people say that.

Okay. Travelling around the world, touring, where's your favourite destination to go and eat? Or is there a particular place? You're big in America. When you go to America, there's somewhere you're like, I've got to go and eat here before anything gets started don't give me in and out burger i don't want to fucking hear it no chance no fucking chance no way come on his father was a wine merchant jesse you couldn't go to in and out with that fabulous pinot noir

holds up the pinot noir i love this okay it's gone mean, one of them is a newer place. It's in the Lower East Side of New York. It's called Rosie's. And for me, it's a Mexican place. And we all love a bit of Mexican food now and again. And it's, again, like with the margarita, I sort of start at the simplest. If they do the simplest thing well, and even in Rosie's, it's the chips and salsa. They do it so incredibly well.

And I don't go to sort of hot and spicy stuff for like wanting it to blow my head off that so they're hot and spicy like salsa and stuff is just so full of flavor as well as being having enough of a kick so that place is a good one for me i really i mainly also i just miss that place right now i'm sort of in that point as we all are we're like i'd love to be going to new york next week to do we all are, where I'd love to be going to New York next week to do a bit of promo. God, I'd love to be going to New York too. Me too. So, Soccer Aid, what happened?

We lost, alright. Did you lose? Don't make a big deal out of it. England lost, but I Was Robbie Murs playing? Yeah. He talks a big game and he's a brilliant lad and he's actually a very good footballer. He played a shit match. No, no, no. He's a very good footballer. But the other team are just a bit better.

Well, it was all the rest of the world. Yeah. Who was that like? They had loads of ex-pro incredible players. Not least a bloke called Patrice Evra who stopped playing professionally like last week. So he's like... There's a few of those. Also, can I just say, I don't know if you've met many, but footballers are massive.

In the flesh. They're desperate for football. They won't do the... Oh, you want some footballers are massive. In the flesh. They're desperate for football. They won't do the podcast. Oh, you want some footballers? All right, hang on. I do. Give me a minute. Give me some time.

What, Marcus Rush? Let me talk to my mate Rooney. Let's see what's going on. How was Wayne? He's a brilliant bloke. He was like 5 a.m. Yeah. 5 a.m.?

What are you doing with Wayne Rooney at 5 a.m.? James, could you get him on the podcast? I'll do my best. I'll talk to him. Wayne, I'll give you a call. He can bring Colleen with. Sure. could you get him on the podcast I'll do my best I'll talk to him Wayne I'll give you a call he can bring Colleen with sure he we were singing

Mustang Sally at about 5am no you weren't it was Wayne Rooney very good times stop he smashed it he smashed it

he likes music he knows about the commitments maybe you need to have a movie night he looks like one of the commitments oh my

Jesse he's a Rooney they're Irish no they come from Dublin oh I love him all of that was going on

you have so I I was there and they all they asked us all to bring a guitar Danny from McFly lovely

you've made all your new best friends at Unisad was it like Bandcamp Dermot Kennedy so me and Danny and Dermot

have all been asked who's Dermot Kennedy he's a new lad on the block and he's fucking brilliant new lad on the block that got Paul Mescal yeah sick in his old like

fucking performance he got pulled the Irish favour at the Natural History Museum Natural History there you go but

very good singer me yeah very good I really love Dermot particularly as of Soccer Aid because I hadn't dived deep on his stuff at this point

but me Dermot and Danny had all been asked to bring our guitars because it was going to go late and we were going to have a sing song. And you knew Wayne wanted to get going on the old Mustang Sally. Right, right. What was he drinking while he was singing Mustang Sally? Everything and anything. He likes a bevy.

He loves it. He's great. He's old school. So they asked me to do Hold Back the River. I did Hold Back the River. They asked Danny to do a McFly song. I think he did It's All About You. It's a banger.

It's all about you. There you go, Hatsy. It's a fucking tune. Massive tune. It's all about you, baby. Big tune. Really good tune. Dermot, bless him, new to it all.

And he's so wonderfully kind of like he really just sort of went with this whole atmosphere of like no no you won't know my song so I'll I'll do this

I'll do that and he did these like Irish traditional and the they're amazing like a Danny Boy and everyone was crying almost

the whole room went silent of course it did no no Wayne was at the bar getting a drink Wayne was like in the moment getting a drink Wayne was like in the moment was he crying

he was like people weren't necessarily crying I mean probably some of them were the Irish are very emotional when they sing those songs it was gorgeous and his voice

this stunning like baritone it sounds like maudlin yeah but it was fucking awesome I'm all anxiety and sad

so I'm like I loved it I was listening to it I was all anxiety and sad songs. You were like, I love you, man. I loved it. I was listening to it. I was like, oh my God. We were exchanging numbers at this point. Fully, like entirely. Promising each other that you were going to go on holiday and write to each other.

We'll all write songs together and the whole bit. Sorry, everyone come here. Do you want a bit more juice or chicken or anything? No, I'm loving it. I'm good. I'm good as I am. He's a very good boy. He's eating it all.

Where's the bowls, Jess? Sorry, I forgot. This looks really exciting. James, do you like eating this? Yep. Do you like passionate eating this? For a long time, I confess, I thought it was E-A-T-E-N. I'm like so far away from like...

I like that. No, that's good. I thought, you know,A-T-E-N. I'm like so far away from like... I like that. I didn't know. No, that's good. I thought, you know, it sort of looks like someone... So you have a lot of fun and you're not having a shooting party this weekend. I'm nowhere near it. I'm literally... Thank you very much.

That is yum. Darling, do you like karaoke? You know, I only did karaoke for the first time about three years ago when I first went to Japan. It was about four years ago. But the first time I ever did karaoke, I hadn't actually done it before I went to Japan. And I did, I don't know, I before I went to Japan and I did I don't know I did like an ACDC song

something like that and then they found Hold Back the River and all my like band and crew was singing Hold Back the River and that was a shame but my manager Ryan who lives down the street

massive shout out to Ryan you should have invited Ryan but hang on massive shout out to Ryan for like the first time we ever went and did karaoke together in Japan we were up all

night and he put wannabe by Spice Girls on and a rap in the middle Mel B's moment right when it's how he's singing away he's doing it like screens on and it's happening and as soon as the rap moment began he turned his back to the screen and he just did the whole rap to all of us without ever looking at he knew every single all of his at the looking at it. He knew every single, all of his, at the time, sort of 34 or whatever years old, he smashed that rap.

Arguably better than Mel B. I have to say, that isn't as impressive as saying that he did like a Twister or Busta Rhymes rap. However, props to you, Ryan. Have you heard of Gospel Okie?

What's that? Well, Michael McIntyre told us about it they're gospel singers that sit you can I think your song is on their repertoire

look it up come on and they join in and they sing with you so you can have so you have like your sister act

two moments yeah like backing singers let's go wonderful I'm having it for next year

for what for your bat mitzvah I hate karaoke is this what you're saying in the Michael episode that you're doing a I'm going to do a

bat mitzvah there you go yeah I don't know if gospel and bat mitzvah go together but maybe it would be like a bat mitzvah

multicultural that's us there you go 21st century James Bay thank you so much for being such a fantastic guest thank you for having for being such a fantastic guest.

Thank you for having me. Such fun. You are such fun. Oh, la reine. There you go. Thank you for bringing the wine. Come on, let's just finish this off. Best wine.

Yeah. Yeah, come on. Best wine I've ever had. It's really bloody good. Sorry, I see. I changed my opinion on Pinot Noir. You know what? I've looked at that in my bloody cellar.

I've never ever thought Pinot Noir could taste as good as this What's your dad's best tip? Drink it I don't know James Bay. What a fabulous... Funny. Funny.

Charming. Talented. Sincere. Just brilliant. Delightful. Oh, I'm in love. And I love playing on the water. Thank you, James Bay.

You are fantastic. You are brilliant. You sing excellently. But more importantly, you can come over for dinner anytime and bring that Lucy with you loved him

loved him too so much to say Jessie the cheekbones it's got great bone structure great face smelt great

smelt gorgeous definitely don't wear the hat again thank you so much for listening to our podcast and we'll be back next week. Thank you, James, for being just a charming guest.

The music you've heard on Table Manners is by Peter Duffy and Pete Fraser. Table Manners is produced by Alice Williams.