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13:11:14

his destructive ways

Example on being

happy and changing

26 | November 13, 2014 | cambridge-news.co.uk | Cambridge News

Elliot Gleavewent from beinga rapping,scrapping badboy to chartsuccess. Now onhis sixth albumthe soon-to-bedad is utterly andblissfully happy.ELLA WALKERfinds out exactlywhat love’s doneto him.

Editor:Ella Walkeremail:ella.walker@cambridge-news.co.uk

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THE HEADLINER: MUSIC

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EXAMPLE kinda threw everyonewith his new album, and it wasn’tjust the tongue twister of a name:

Live Life Living.It’s different to his previous records

in that it carries barely a smidgeon ofrap – the genre he made his namein, spitting ropes of witty lines whilebeing championed by The Streets’Mike Skinner – and it’s packed withdance tracks that swill with dayglo and90s rave.

It’s also wholeheartedly happy,and while Example – real name ElliotGleave – has always produced recordsthat are playful, sweatily energetic andsonically upbeat, they’ve never beenall that happy. Very few dare to writesongs that smack of contentedness; it

just doesn’t sell.“This new one is quite different in

that most of the songs are about beinghappy and in love,” Gleave admits.“And it feels like people haven’treacted as well to that as my sademotional thoughts.”

To a certain extent he’s right; therecord only charted at number 8and this tour he’s playing theatres –including, lucky for us, CambridgeCorn Exchange – rather than thearenas he got used to performing at inrecent years.

But the Fulham born 32-year-oldis a pragmatic guy. “I was at a realpeak in my career,” he says, recallingthat stretch between 2010 and 2012when he was collaborating with Calvin

‘This new one is quite different in that mostof the songs are about being happy andin love. And it feels like people haven’treacted as well to that as my sad emotionalthoughts.’

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Example, Cambridge Corn Exchange,Monday, November 17 at 8.15pm.Tickets £30 from (01223) 357851 /cornex.co.uk.

“I used to be quite destructive,but now I see that destructivepart of me was my brain justwanting to create”

Cambridge News | cambridge-news.co.uk | November 13, 2014 | 27

Harris and had singles like Kickstarts,Changed The Way You Kissed Me andStay Awake “on the radio non-stop”.

“This year, One More Day was a hit,but it wasn’t like I’ve had three or foursongs hammered on radio stationsthroughout the whole year, so it feelsa bit of a slight career downwardcurve, but I think that’s only natural.It’s impossible to stay at the top for10 years; you have to be prepared forcoming up and down.”

To be fair, the blazing, bassy OneMore Day still has more than twomillion hits on YouTube, so it’s notlike the singer is musically destitutejust yet. The singles have been widelyseen as quite safe options (they allsound essentially the same), comparedto Gleave’s previous stuff though,which for someone who in 2007released a love song written to MDMAcalled Me & Mandy (“I’ve found anew love we’re meeting later / Gettingdropped off by a mate of a mate and/ Her name’s Mandy, comes in handy/ She nicer than you cause she neverever spiteful / Utterly delightful”), isan undeniably strange progression,however happy his home life.

“I’m really proud of the album.I think musically and melodicallyit’s the best I’ve ever done,” hesays tepidly. “Arguably there’s notenough aggression or edge on theresometimes, and I think maybe there’snot enough emotion, not enoughrapping for other people. These arethings to consider when I’m makingmy next album, but I don’t really thinkabout these things. You just go in the

studio and make whatever feels rightat the time.”

Was it his decision, to play it safe?“Not really,” Gleave replies frankly,with a mischievous lilt. “I think a yearago what I wanted to release andwhat the label wanted to release werecompletely different. But as it’s turnedout, in the last month lots of peoplehave been sacked at my record label[Mercury, an imprint of Universal].

“I had a meeting recently and theyfelt there were ‘too many cooks’ onthe last album if you know what Imean . . .”

It’s surprising that he ever left thatsort of corporate meddling happenthough. This is a guy who graftedaway doing tiny gigs rapping for drunkkids in student unions (I should know,I was one of them; he was full of gritand fight and fun), making crowdslaugh as much as leap about to drollremixes of Britney Spears (ToxicBreath) and answerback tracks to LilyAllen (Vile).

“Before the fifth album I’d alwaysdone everything by myself,” he agrees.“And then on my fifth album, it wasmy first with a major label and I hadsix or seven people throwing in theirtwo pence.

“It’s right for some acts,” heconcedes. “But it’s not right for me.”

Can we expect a return to morerapping in the future then? “I’ll seewhat feels right on the day in thestudio. Whatever I want to talkabout, whatever I’ve been listeningto recently, where my head’s at, it’snever a preconceived well planned

‘I had a meeting recently and they [the recordcompany] felt there were too many cooks on the lastalbum if you know what I mean . . .’

WHAT ARE YOULISTENING TO AT THE

MOMENT?“I’ve mainly been

listening to the newJamie T album. He’samazing; he’s sucha good songwriter

and has an incrediblevoice.”

28 | November 13, 2014 | cambridge-news.co.uk | Cambridge News

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THE HEADLINER: MUSIC

out thing. It’s like if you’re paintinga picture, you throw a load ofpaint at the wall and see whatsticks.”

His music has changed – heonce famously said (after threealbums and 15 Top 40 songs,mind) that he’d had his first much-needed singing lesson, and nowsinging is almost all he does – butGleave the man has developedeven more.

Instead of the raging, cheating,scrappy, often drugged up, rapperhe emerged as back in 2004, he’snow husband to Australian modelErin McNaught and a soon-to-befirst-time dad. He’s blissed out,hence the chirpy buzz of Live LifeLiving, and why a day off, likewhen I call, means he’ll “maybehave some chicken, maybe go tothe cinema”, instead of stockingup on booze, girls and fights likehe used to.

“Our tour bus now is 10 guys ona tour bus, where it used to be 10guys and how many girls we couldget on the bus,” he laughs. “A lothas changed.”

“I was a lot more recklessback then, which can be goodsometimes making music, butI’m a lot more sensible now, a lotmore honest, with myself and alsomy family and my wife. And I keepmyself fit and healthy, more than Idid maybe five years ago.”

Healthwise, it’s good he’s livingcleaner, because in terms of gigsthis is his busiest year yet. Bythe end of December he’ll haveplayed 110 gigs, and, when wespeak, is gearing up for the thirdnight of this current 28-date stint.Does he ever get exhausted?“Yeah, like now, after two gigs!Ha.”

The tiredness of touring will nodoubt pale in comparison to thetiredness of parenthood. “No Idon’t think I’ll be strict,” he muses,considering how he’ll shrug intofatherhood. “I’ll be relaxed, a lotmore relaxed than my parents.I think a lot of things changedbetween my generation from theirgeneration. I think you have to beopen minded and let your kids justtake their own path.

“I know that I was completelymental as a kid! [Gleave wasdiagnosed with Asperger’s andOCD as a child] I was quite rudeat times, I was bad at school – Iwas clever, I took my maths examearly because I had a photographicmemory, I was a great problemsolver – but I don’t think at schoolI did well enough.

“I used to go off and be quitedestructive, which I worried aboutat the time, but now I see thatdestructive part of me was mybrain just wanting to create and Ididn’t have the tools available tome at school to do that.”

Post school he studied filmdirecting at the University ofLondon before working as aneditor at MTV Networks, alwaysgarage MCing on the side, andstill has hopes of directing horrorfilms one day. He also has plansto move to Australia at some pointin the not too distant future to becloser to his wife’s family.

So this tour, he says “might evenbe my last ever trip to Cambridge”.Better not miss it.

‘No I don’t thinkI’ll be a strict dad.I’ll be relaxed.I think a lot ofthings changedbetween mygeneration andmy parents’. Ithink you have tobe open mindedand let your kidsjust take their ownpath.’