Down the Boozer with Louis Dunford

During England vs Germany in the Euros last year, Louis Dunford was carried out of the Thornhill Arms on the Caledonian Road for having one too many tipples. He was mortified and utterly terrified to come back, but we convinced him to have a pint with us at this local and talk about his amazing journey into the crazy world of music.

What’s your go-to drink?

I love a Moretti.

Hangover cure?

Get up, attack the day. Except the crippling hangovers, they feel terminal and I hate to say – you’re done for.

You performed here at Christmas right?

It’s my favourite gig of the year. It’s becoming a bit of a tradition. Just me and a guitar, all the profits go to The Ben Kinsella Trust – my fans don’t even come. Friends and family right at Christmas time. It’s such a good community feel.

Talk me through your relationship with the Ben Kinsella Trust?

There’s people I’ve grown up with that have lost their lives to knife crime. As a borough, the Angel has been plagued by it, so many youths were killed. What’s great with the Ben Kinsella Trust is it’s people coming together, creating exhibitions, educating in schools and as mates we all really got behind it.

How did you move into music writing?

I’d always loved music but when we moved to a new gaff an old lady who lived there before left the piano that was battered to shit. I said to my old man, ‘I’m going to teach myself piano.’ He said, ‘you have six months or its fucking gone’. I used to play old Elton John songs. I’d written bits and bobs of random poetry and it took some time to combine that into music. Then I got into guitar because I wanted to make music at 4am, which you can’t do on the piano with neighbours. Noel Gallagher says he uses a guitar to get to a tune. That’s how I see it too.

What were you writing?

I used to write songs just taking the piss out of my mates. Slagging us all off. They suggested I put them on YouTube, and after a month of uploading, Jamal Edwards from SBTV got in touch – it was so crazy! People were taking my music seriously before I was. The more I was writing, the more serious I got and the better the songs became.

I felt embarrassed to talk about the more emotional side. All my friends and family do is take the piss out of each other, that’s all we do. When I wrote sincerely I thought they were going to rip the shit out of me, but bless them, the sweethearts were right behind me. It’s all their fault I have this life of anxiety and performing now.

Where does your writing come from?

I write these furious drunken ideas into my notes whenever I’m out. I wake up in the morning, nine times out of ten they’re total bollocks – ramblings of a madman. With My Generation, there’s a line in the chorus that goes, ‘God only knows what we’re trying for, God only knows what we’re dying for.’ People scream it back at gigs at the tops of their lungs. That literally came out of my best mate’s mouth, he was pissed and he forgot he even ever said it. My friends and family have such a brutal but beautiful turn of phrase. It’s like poetry from the notes of our pub talk. That’s what I do, it’s observational writing.

How does poetry link to music?

If you read The Smiths lyrics for example, that’s poetry. Whereas if you read Soul, no disrespect to Soul music, you would read it as a song. For me, the melodies always come second. I’ve always been led by the story, and for me nailing the narrative is so important. I’m always sure to make the narrative clear, almost like a film writer. 

How did you get the nerves to finally perform?

I was absolutely terrified of performing. My dad took me to so many open mic gigs, just to sit there and watch, hoping I’d muster the courage to get up. Finally, above a pub called The Library with about ten people, I got up and sang for the first time ever. I walked out of that pub with my dad, and directly opposite is The Union Chapel, and I said, ‘I’ll be there one day’. And last week I sold it out. Sorry to sound cheesy, but it’s crazy and it’s such a nice full circle.

Your mates seem so important to you.

It hasn’t sunk in at all for me. When I tell my mates, they’re the ones who start crying. They’re softies really. My mates are more fun than me, they go out and take all the fans out for afters when I’ve done a gig.

How do your fans react to your work?

Me talking about getting pissed doing drugs aged 14, I get why that connects with youths across England. But more introspectively when I talk about my mental health, I feel like I’m not alone and that I’m not actually fucking mental. You think these experiences are unique to you, they’re just not. I won’t get into specifics because fans send some traumatic things that are really personal. The messages I get about my more emotional writing really hit hard and I’m really blown away by the responses.

What’s next?

The new EP. It’s the best stuff I think I’ve ever written and definitely best stuff I’ve ever recorded production wise. It was insane working with a full band, strings on some tracks. Just exciting for everyone to hear it really.

Louis’s festive cover of Stay Another Day is out now. Louis will be touring the UK in 2022, you can buy tickets, here.