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Exclusive: I failed Fame Academy

Exclusive Talent show bosses told hit singer-songwriter James Morrison – ‘don’t call us, we’ll call you’ the BIG razz interview BRIT AWARDS 2007

He may be a triple Brits nominee but when James Morrison tried to take part in the BBC’s ill-fated Fame Academy, they rejected him because he wasn’t thought good enough. The husky voiced 22-year-old singer-songwriter enjoyed a No.1 with his debut album Undiscovered last July, yet when he sent his demo tape as an unknown it was returned. The team, led by headmaster Richard Park, failed to spot his budding talent and even wrote to tell him not to bother contacting them again. Which pretty much sums up just how pompous that show really was.

James laughs about it now. After all, he has since enjoyed hit singles such as The Pieces Don’t Fit Anymore and You Give Me Something. But it could so easily have led him to give up his dream of fame. Instead, James is up for three Brit awards – Best Male Solo Artist and Best Breakthrough Artist as well as Best Single for You Give Me Something.

He recalled: “I sent a tape in to Fame Academy about two years ago because I saw it being advertised. The main thing that made me go for it was that I felt I could sing better than a lot of what I was hearing on the TV. “I thought I could bring something to the show, that I could sing and play the guitar, that I might as well send in my tape and see what they said. “If they had liked the tape and got me on the show, I would have happily taken part. I just wanted to get someone to hear and see me and get a professional opinion to find out if I was wasting my time. “I felt, what else can I do? At the time, I was cleaning vans for a living and couldn’t get any gigs. I thought Fame Academy was my big opportunity. “They sent me a letter telling me I wasn’t what they were looking for. I’ve still got that letter and the thing that makes me laugh is that it says at the bottom, ‘Don’t contact us, we’ll contact you’. “Now I’m kind of glad.”

Surprisingly, most of his love songs were written about his mum’s former lodger, six years his senior. James was just 16 when he fell in love with Gill, a nurse, who had moved in to help his mum make ends meet. They are still together and share a place of their own near Hammersmith in London. But not before both sets of parents expressed their shock when they started going out. James explained: “Gill moved in as a lodger in my mum’s house with her boyfriend, but they split up soon after. “Then I got to know her purely through living with her. “We’d known each other about a year before we got together. We got on so well we fell in love.

“My mum was livid because Gill was six years older than me. I was turning 17 and she was 23. My mum was like, ‘Oh my little boy is leaving the nest’. It took about three years before she was all right about it.” Although he seemed to be acting out every schoolboy’s fantasy, James insists the relationship has stood the test of time, even though it led him to question his manhood. “I really liked Gill and the fact that she was older than me made me feel great,” he said. “As soon as I started going out with her, I had to look at myself. I was quite insecure about being too young for her and not manly enough because I was a singer rather than a surfer or mechanic. “But her dad was a singer so she found a lot in common between me and her dad which was a bit weird.

There was a lot of pressure on us, especially from both sets of parents. “My mum asked me a couple of times if I was sure it was the right thing and told me her body clock would be different and all that bollocks. “But I fell in love with her so I just had to be with her. “Gill’s family and friends thought it was weird she was going out with a 17-year-old. She got a bit of stick. But as soon as I met them, they realised I was all right and not some dumb kid.

“The Pieces Don’t Fit Anymore was about Gill and You Give Me Something is about her. “Gill is not bothered about me writing songs, even a break-up song, because I am still with her and I don’t think there’s any kind of insecurity there. At first, she was really flattered that I wrote songs about her but now she is used to it. “As far as marriage is concerned, I just want to see what happens with my career before I commit to something like that.”

James has also had to deal with the fact his alcoholic dad walked out when he was just four. But he insists he has not inherited hang-ups about alcohol. He refuses to condemn drugs and admits he has tried cocaine. “I can only remember little tiny snippets of my dad living with me,” he said. “He wasn’t always around but I knew that I loved him and he loved me. “But he was an alcoholic so there wasn’t a lot I could do to say, ‘Hey, dad, we want you around a lot more.’

“My mum wasn’t handling being a single parent well and had issues of her own. It was a difficult time. “I wouldn’t say I have an attitude about alcohol. I know people who do coke and who can make their own choices on whether to take coke or not. “I don’t tell people if they do drugs that I don’t want them in my life.

“There are quite a few alkies in my family, which really put me off drink when I was younger, but I’m a lightweight anyway. “I can take or leave drink. I’m not bothered about drinking and I’m not bothered about coke or any of that s***. I can take it or leave it.

“It’s up to the individual. If you do loads of one thing, it is going to be bad for you whatever it is. I’ve done drugs before. I’ve done coke before and stuff. “I know what it is about but I know I’m not bothered about it. “Most people who take it are probably in a job they don’t enjoy most weeks of the year. When they have a weekend off, they want to spend it with their mates and have a good time. “If drugs help them to do that, it’s up to them. I know teetotal people who go out and act like they are on drugs, so it is up to the individual.”

Meanwhile, James is looking forward to playing Glasgow’s Carling Academy on February 18 and Aberdeen Music Hall the following night as part of his UK tour. “Glasgow is always a great gig because they are always so up for it and Scottish people in general are quite straightforward,” he said. “If they don’t like it or if you are doing abadjob, they’ll tell you and I play to that honesty. It’s good to get a reaction.”

Written by John Dingwall

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