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Becoming a father is particularly poignant for singer James Morrison because of his own dramatic fight for life as a baby. James was kept on an incubator for months and his heart stopped four times after contracting whooping cough from his sister. Doctors told his mum he would be brain-damaged if he recovered but that his chances of survival were slim.
As he celebrated the birth of his baby daughter Elsie, James told me: “I was premature anyway, so I wasn’t very well when my sister came to visit me just after I was born. “She had whooping cough at the time and I caught that from her. I was in and out of intensive care for the next six months. “I died four times and the doctors told my mum I was going to be a vegetable if I survived and that the chance of me living was pretty slim. “So I just feel really grateful to be alive let alone have success with my music and have a little baby to look after.”
James had a No1 with his 2006 debut album Undiscovered and has enjoyed hit singles including The Pieces Don’t Fit Anymore. He is back in the Top 10 with his new single You Make It Real. And, as he releases his new album Songs For You, Truths For Me this week, he says he is determined to be a hands-on father.
Now 24, he said: “My own experiences growing up have given me more of an insight on how to bring my kid up. The experiences I had have taught me what not to do as a dad. I am not going to make the same mistakes my dad has made. “My mum and dad split up when I was still young. Dad had a drink problem and my mum had her own problems but we still loved each other. “Not having money and having to move around as well as my dad being a drinker were problems at the time but I still knew what was important in life. I learned right from wrong and knew how to be respectful and not to judge anybody. I learned all the important lessons.”
He added: “My daughter is the best thing that’s happened tome. I’ve been changing a lot of nappies. I’m still getting used to it. I’m getting three weeks off to enjoy it. “We called her Elsie because it got to the point where my girlfriend Gill had chosen the name and I couldn’t think of anything else that would suit her. The name will last her until she’s an old lady and we couldn’t go for a showbiz name like Trixiebell or Apple or Peach. “The birth was full on. I didn’t know what to expect but it happened quickly and it is all good. Most dads just get on with it. In the beginning, dads are surplus to requirements but I am chipping in as much as I can, changing lots of nappies. At first the poo was leaking out and then I stepped up a gear.”
Many of the songs on the album are inspired by his family, including girlfriend Gill and James’s sister Hayley, who has a track called Dream On Hayley dedicated to her. “I always try to write songs that are relevant in my life at the time,” James explained. “A lot of it was to do with being away a lot. Hayley had a lot of frustration in her life. She was having a difficult time going through relationships and I just wanted to cheer her up. The album ended up being about my girlfriend and various family members.”
As well as going to No1 in Britain, Undiscovered made the Top 20 in America and won him the 2007 Brit Award for Best Male as well as nominations for Best Single and Best Newcomer. He became the biggest-selling British male solo artist of 2006 at just 21. Not bad for someone who was knocked back as not good enough to take part in the BBC talent show Fame Academy.
He says the success of the debut album has helped set him up for life. He paid for his mum to have private dental treatment, fixed up her house and has bought a new pad in Hove, near Brighton, for himself, Gill and Elsie to live. He describes every day of his life as a “bonus” but morbidly confesses that he has had a premonition about his death.
James said: “I always get the feeling that I might die young. I don’t know why. May be it is because I have done so much early including having a kid. I had a right old time being born but it has made me stronger,” he said. “It made me appreciate everything that is good about life.
“It made me realise how beautiful it is going to be with Elsie, who won’t have half the problems I had when I was growing up. I have been through a lot of the bad times and come out of it. “Everything is a bonus. The success of the first album has changed all our lives. “I can’t believe how well it went. It changed my life in so many different ways. It just gave me more confidence in what I am doing and gave me freedom of choice. I have more money in the bank. I bought a house in Hove and helped my mum out.
“The only thing is, I’m always away so I don’t get to see her a lot. He added: “I’m doing my job and get to see so many places which is amazing and takes the edge off being away on my own. I miss my girlfriend and my family and get them to come out to shows as much as possible.
“One day Gill and I will get married. I’m not planning on going anywhere. When the time is right, I’ll do it but I am still young and want something to do with my life. I don’t want to have done it all before I am30 or I will be bored. “My number one priority is my baby so it means I can get on with it and not worry about it too much. “As long as I can get to see my kid often enough it is not going to be a problem.”
Written by John Dingwall
