The melancholic singer songwriter’s life so far could easily have been pulled out of a fairytale: the story of one man’s journey from forever indebted street musician, grateful for whatever loose change passers-by could spare, to recognition of worldwide proportions.
One song pieced together in under an hour about a break-up was all it took to top the British, European, American as well as Australian charts, not to mention make an appearance at the Super Bowl, pick up a Brit Award nomination and even win an Ivor Novello Independent Music Award.
It’s hard to explain. For years I funded my career through busking, selling CDs on the streets and doing concerts. And then completely out of the blue the song became a hit and my life changed quite literally over night,” the star reveals.