Grace
Coming Around Again
Coming Around Again (CD 2)

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Simon on The A List

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Coming Around Again

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Grace

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Fresh from the massive success of his debut solo album “Sanctuary”, Simon Webbe triumphantly returns this winter with his second album, “Grace”, released through Innocent Records on 13th November 2006.

“Grace” is a collection of twelve perfectly crafted pop songs moulded in the sound Simon himself calls “urban folk”. The album was informed by Simon’s experiences of growing up in Manchester’s Moss Side and reflects both his upbringing and his appreciation of rootsy harmonicas and banjos.

"Grace" is very much an urban folk record - warm, uplifting and real. "It's not a huge departure from 'Sanctuary'," Simon says, meaning that the arrangements are still lushly soulful, and the lyrics poignant and heartfelt.

Stand out tracks include the gospel-scented, semi-acoustic title track “Grace” about Simon’s mother and the way she raised him. Simon says, “I was a bit wild at one point, and she sent me to Nevis [the island where she grew up] when I was 14 to experience life as she was raised. It was like a boot camp. I went a boy, and came back a man.” The song’s chorus - “You give me grace to say when I got it wrong” – is his way of thanking her.

The poignant “Go To Sleep” tells the story of a girl raised by a single parent father, after her mother is tragically killed. “It's about coping with life as a child with a single parent”. "Don't Wanna Be That Man," was inspired by a teenage relationship with a neighbourhood girl. Over laid-back guitar and strings, Simon recounts the pain of loving someone who can't love back. "A Love Like That" captures the typically-bloke feeling of not being able to show all the affection he feels, while the delicate ballad "My Soul Pleads for You" is about love from a different perspective. "It's an emotional song about a girl who's the love of your life, and you put her on a pedestal”..

The album's solid-gold anthem, and first single, is "Coming Around Again," an utterly infectious folk-tinged number that promises to be as big a hit as last year's "No Worries." Simon adds, "Coming Around Again" is about good times, and the strength of the human spirit.”

The last year has been huge for Simon as a solo artist, selling over 700,000 copies of “Sanctuary”. The album spawned three hit singles including two Top 5 hits: “Lay Your Hands” and the massive radio hit “No Worries” (the track spent an amazing five weeks in the Top 10, hitting No.2 on the airplay chart).

2006 saw Simon achieve international solo success with sales across Europe and Asia, culminating in Simon picking up the “Best Breakthrough Act” award at the MTV Asia Awards.

“Grace” is an undeniably strong second solo album that will without doubt cement Simon’s position as one of the UK’s leading singer/songwriters and a solo music force to be reckoned with.

Coming Around Again

buy now from amazon.co.uk [ CD | CD 2 ]

Fresh from the massive success of his debut solo album “Sanctuary”, Simon Webbe triumphantly returns to the airwaves this winter with “Coming Around Again”, released through Innocent Records on 30th October 2006.

“Coming Around Again” is an uplifting slice of soulful pop. The track features bright acoustic guitars, beautiful gospel harmonies and a driving groove, alongside Simon’s now trademark smooth vocals.

Simon says of the track, “’Coming Around Again’ is a reminder of the highlights in your life, basically ‘the good old days’. It was the football season when I wrote the song, so I had the World Cup in mind. The feeling and atmosphere at the time sparked the idea for the song. It’s an uplifting track that generates positive feeling”.

“Coming Around Again” is the first track to be taken from Simon’s second solo album, due for release on 13th November. The track was written and produced by Simon, Matt Prime and Tim Woodcock, the team behind all three of Simon’s previous solo hit singles.

The last year has been huge for Simon, selling over 700,000 copies of his debut album “Sanctuary”. The album spawned three hit singles including the two Top 5 hits, “Lay Your Hands” and the massive radio hit “No Worries” (the track spent an amazing five weeks in the Top 10, hitting No.2 on the airplay chart).

2006 saw Simon achieve international solo success with sales across Europe and Asia, culminating in Simon picking up the “Best Breakthrough Act” award at the MTV Asia Awards.

Now with the release of “Coming Around Again” and an undeniably strong second solo album, Simon has without doubt cemented his position as a one of the UK’s leading singer/songwriters and a solo music force to be reckoned with.

About Simon

It’s easy to rattle off facts about Simon Webbe (his first solo album, “Sanctuary,” sold 700,000 copies, yielded three hit singles, and established him as one of the breakthrough artists of 2005) but they don’t convey how much he’s actually achieved. Put it this way: Simon used to be one-quarter of cheeky R&B/pop outfit Blue – otherwise known as the boy-band’s boy-band – and, as everyone knows, former boy-banders don’t have successful solo careers. Unless, that is, their names are Robbie Williams, George Michael or, well, Simon Webbe.

Naturally, various pundits are claiming that they knew all along he’d be successful. (that 20/20 hindsight is great, isn’t it?). That was more than Simon knew when the 13-million-selling Blue split in 2004. Back then, if you’d told him that, two years on, he’d be about to release his second solo album (which is called “Grace,” and it’s rather lovely) and that he would have massive international solo success (big sales across Europe and Asia, plus picking up the “Best Breakthrough Act” gong at the 2006 MTV Asia Awards) he wouldn’t have believed it.

Around the release of "Sanctuary" Simon readily admits he had “Oh my God” moments when he’d be onstage somewhere and suddenly remember that he was the only one up there. “I’d instinctively put the mic down and wait for the others to come in on the next verse, and then realise that it was just me. It took me a long time to find my solo feet.” And now? “Now, as I do each live show or TV or record, my confidence grows.”

It helps that he’s found a sound that feels right. He calls it “urban folk,” because the music reflects both his upbringing in Moss Side, Manchester and his appreciation of rootsy harmonicas and banjos. “Grace” is very much an urban folk record – warm, uplifting and real. “It’s not a huge departure from ‘Sanctuary’,” Simon says, meaning that the arrangements are still lushly soulful, and the lyrics poignant and heartfelt. Of the latter, he says: “I’m an old soul. I’ve seen a lot, and could understand a lot at an early age.”

Funnily enough, he had toyed with the idea of being a rapper or a straightforward R&B sexpot. “I saw myself doing R&B,” he chortles, illustrating with a few medically-improbable dance moves. “Then I realised I wasn’t the UK’s answer to Usher.” Usher will probably be relieved to not have to worry about competition from Manchester.

Manchester, or more specifically Moss Side, where Simon’s mum and siblings still live, features on “Grace.” If he hadn’t left, he reckons, “I would’ve fallen into the same situation as my friends. If you try to get a job, employers see the M16 postcode and they don’t want to know. And the attitude is [belligerently]:‘Yeah, I’m from Moss Side, respect me’.” And so, despite the fact that it was recorded in the south of France, much of “Grace” was informed by his experiences in M16.

For instance, the gospel-scented, semi-acoustic title track is about “my mum, and the way she raised me. I was a bit wild at one point, and she sent me to Nevis [the island where she grew up] when I was 14 to experience life as she was raised. It was like a boot camp. I went a boy, and came back a man.” The song’s chorus - “You give me grace to say when I got it wrong” – is his way of thanking her.

Then there’s “Don’t Wanna Be That Man,” which was inspired by a teenage relationship with a neighbourhood girl. Over laid-back guitar and strings, Simon recounts the pain of loving someone who can’t love back. He says of the lyric: “My girlfriend used sex as a tool, and everyone around me was telling me she was messing with me. I lost two stone over it. The song is about saying to myself, ‘You’re messed up, mate, you’re being self-destructive.” (By the way, he got over it. “I threw myself into the gym, and a year later, I won a competition to be the face of Pride magazine, and a year after that, I was in Blue.”)

The album’s solid-gold anthem, and first single, is “Coming Around Again,” an utterly infectious folk-tinged number that promises to be as big a hit as last year’s “No Worries.” And that’s big – “’No Worries’ seemed to mean a lot to people. It was a massive hit in Asia, and I had people come up to me and say, ‘My husband died in the tsunami, and ‘No Worries’ gave me hope.” Similarly, “Coming Around Again” is about good times, and the strength of the human spirit.

“A Love Like That” captures the typically-bloke feeling of not being able to show all the affection he feels, while the delicate ballad “My Soul Pleads For You” is about love from a different perspective. “It’s an emotional song about a girl who’s the love of your life, and you put her on a pedestal,” he says, adding that, technically, it was one of the hardest tracks to nail down, because he was singing at the top of his register. “I had to get into the zone to do that one,” he recalls.

“The zone,” wherever that is, suits Simon. Now confident of his own considerable abilities, he and “Grace” are here to make you listen.