May 27, 201510 yr Author Thanks for the link munchkin. Here's the full article. Will Young: 'I'm basically a pervert' He’s been away fronting campaigns, meeting politicians and dating an American, but now he’s back in the pop zone with 85% Proof, a new album of songs about the beast inside him. It all started when his parents bought him Madonna’s Sex Will Young. http://i.guim.co.uk/static/w-620/h--/q-95/sys-images/Guardian/Pix/pictures/2015/5/27/1432728044952/8fb1b1b0-6762-4fc5-8c41-18fbda0842fc-620x372.jpeg Will Young: ‘I’m a better person, adult, boyfriend, son, everything.’ Photograph: Tom Van Schelven Caroline Sullivan Wednesday 27 May 2015 17.35 BST Hi Will, what’s going on? I remember you! Yes, I interviewed you in 2005. And, before we proceed, I have to apologise for saying you reminded me of a “younger, gay Jay Kay”. Jay Kay? [bemused laugh] I never read it – I never read anything about me. But I really appreciate you apologising. It’s funny, the characteristics people pick out to define me. You picked out “gay”, but if I go to my old public school (1) someone might say it’s nice to see a public schoolboy being a pop star, and if I go to the Sink the Pink club night they might say it’s great to see a mainstream artist who’s openly gay. We all have different facets to our character and who we are, and I don’t have a problem with people picking up one particular characteristic. I do appreciate you taking responsibility, though. Do you know you’re hard to Google, because your name is a noun and an adjective? I know. When you Google me you get things like “Will young voters…” I’ll have to call myself… Cedric? Cedric, OK. Your videos are getting more erotic – the one for the new album track Like a River reminds me of Madonna’s Sex book, in parts. I had Sex under my bed! I think my parents gave it to me. I love the video. It’s the legend of the minotaur – it was about letting go and killing something from the past, this journey to kill the beast. It’s the beast inside of me: do I accept it or do I kill it? I love the fact that I can do visual art that has so much pathos to it. It’s a Greek word, “pathos”, just like “minotaur”. Greek legends were full of drama, and to bring that into a video was amazing. Will Young: 85% Proof review – ballads of silvery regret and loss Augmented by R&B clappiness and Latin hedonism, this is a mature offering of ups and downs, showing why it’s good to have Young around Read more Where did you get the idea? It was about mindfulness. I’ve done a lot of work on myself. Between the last album [2011’s Echoes] and this one [85% Proof], I was studying somatics, which is about bodily energy. There are different forms of understanding oneself and understanding the body. It moves away from cognitive therapy, because the body fixes the body. I’ve learned a lot. We’re not great in Britain about dealing with anything emotional – having gone out with an American man, I’ve found they’re a lot more assured of what it means. Human psychology and behaviour is fascinating, because the more I learn about myself the more I learn about other people. You understand things when you understand them. It makes me a better person, adult, boyfriend, son, everything. What was it like for someone as English as you to go out with an American? He was a real Anglophile, so it was fine. But he’d also be so American, asking at the cinema if there was gluten-free popcorn, and I’d be, like, “Nooo!” What do Americans generally think of you? I was in LA for my 30th birthday, and Simon Fuller sent me some flowers, which I went to the florist to pick up. I said to the woman, “I’m here to pick up flowers from Simon Fuller,” and she said: “What’s your name?” I said: “Will Young.” They ushered everyone who worked there on to the shop floor, and they were staring at me: “You’re the English guy here to pick up the flowers!” Because they were amazing flowers – a tray of orchids with Cristal in the middle – and they wanted to know who they were for. The woman said: “Who are you?” I said: “Royalty.” And she said: “I knew it! I can tell by your face!” You’ve got a 2.2 in politics from Exeter University – what do you do with a politics degree? Advertisement You do use it by going on Question Time and writing pieces and meeting ministers (2). The thing about degrees is that if you do history, it doesn’t mean you’re going to be a historian, if you do politics you’re not necessarily going to be a politician. It’s more about expressing yourself the best way you can. I miss studying now. I’m doing more things to get my brain thinking about external things. I’m good at taking on information – I can remember stuff – so I’m looking forward to studying for a full degree. In what subject? I don’t know what in, but I want to study again. I’m interested in being intellectual. I met up with someone the other day and he’s writing about two 17th-century poets, and I love that. It doesn’t get me more money in the bank, but it makes me feel alive to discuss things that are theoretical. Do you think you might be too smart for the pop business? I’m not too smart for my business, I love my business. I love the creativity, and I’m grateful every day that I have an outlet for it. There are bad bits, but the good bits outweigh it. So what are the bad bits? I used to think I was super-important. You can get so engrossed in yourself. Someone asked me the other day about Madonna kissing Drake, and I said, “I really am more interested in Nepal at the moment than Madonna kissing another pop star” – but I [also] like watching the Kardashians, and I love pop culture. I do enjoy it! But there are times when I don’t give a shit. What did you think of the politicians you met while fronting Stonewall’s campaign to stop schoolkids using homophobic language? (3) I got to meet a couple of education secretaries, who were both useless. I preferred Gove to Nicky Morgan. She’s a piece of work. She didn’t reply to me when I wanted to meet her – I forwarded her statistics that 53% of gay kids will self-harm, but she didn’t reply, and she only finally replied when I threatened to stand outside the Department for Education with a sandwich board. I met the [former] sports and cultural minister the other day – I can’t remember her name (4) – and she was amazing. She was passionate, a human being, and she didn’t have that underlying sense of fear that things will be turned against them, whereas Nicky was dead in the eyes. There’s such a climate of fear among politicians. Look at Ed Miliband – I watched Question Time [before the election], and if ever there was a politician who was media-trained to within an inch of his life … I had to turn it off. Did winning Pop Idol have any long-term effects on your life, apart from starting your career? It was a huge change for my family. We’d started going our separate ways, and it brought us all back together again, and we started saying: “I love you.” People only say it when they’re dying or something, and we realised how important it is. I always tell my sister’s kids I love them, and they say it back. If they don’t I remind them and say: “I’m needy, remember?” I love hugs, I love touching people – I’m basically a pervert. But a pleasant one. I’m always quite inappropriate. My dad’s quite anarchic and will say things just to mix it up, but with me it comes out on live TV. [Chat-show hosts] are terrified because it’s live and they have to get through their show, but they’ve got [the programme producer] saying in their ear to get me say [controversial] things. I’m thinking that my new thing should be deliberately talking really slowly on live TV. They’ll love that. Who wants to see pop stars just turn up on a show with Valium eyes and talk about the dates for their record? It’s, like: “All I want is for people to buy my record.” Just because people sing well doesn’t mean that they’re interesting. My job is just one facet of me. I enjoy going to a garden centre in Oxfordshire, where I’m living the same life as my grandmother, who’s 92 – but I also like getting glammed up and playing the pop star and getting into posh cars. All my close friends have a sense of how slightly ridiculous life is. I was in a meeting yesterday and my friend turned up in the same place, so I sent a text saying “Help me”. It was hilarious. Do you ever laugh at the fact that you were saved from being a coach on the first series of The Voice by Danny O’Donoghue getting the job instead? I don’t laugh over it. I really enjoyed watching it this year. Most of my band play on the Voice, so I like watching it. I know Tom Jones a bit, too. But I was glad [during the first series] that I didn’t do it, because it wasn’t really up and running. You’ve called your new album, 85% Proof, “a good f***ing record”. So you’re confident… (2) He’s done all that, and currently blogs for the Huffington Post It’s the most unashamed writing I’ve done. I want it to have a big impact. I’m 36, and it’s my sixth or seventh album (5) – I want to win a Grammy! Here we go! I said to a marketing person: “I’m going to have a No 1 in France.” I’ve never sold a record in France, but I want this to be heard by everyone. I don’t want it not to be heard. The other approach – “Oh, it’s not going to do anything, I don’t really care” – isn’t beneficial to your work. It’s not about having a slightly psychotic, Stepford Wives approach to your work, but I firmly believe in the album. It’s a pop album, I’m a pop star – a mainstream pop star. Foot notes (1) Wellington College in Berkshire, where he excelled at sports (3) Specifically, ending the use of “gay” as a pejorative (4) Helen Grant, who was replaced by Tracey Crouch after last month’s election (5) Sixth
May 28, 201510 yr Author Video of Will Thai Boxing. :o https://www.facebook.com/willyoung/videos/10153334667248288/
May 29, 201510 yr Author JAMES INGHAM @TheJamesIngham @will_young31 Lovely chatting Will. Pls take a look at rucomingout.com & read why I got involved rucomingout.com/james-ingham.h… @rucomingout Wonder if we may get something in The Star. Am I the only one that didn't realise James was gay? http://www.rucomingout.com/james-ingham.html
May 31, 201510 yr Author Love this tweet. Rob Field @fieldy9999 Trying to find something I don't like about @will_young31 and he's making it sodding difficult. Damn him
June 4, 201510 yr BBC World Service 2015 12:05 GMT 5 JUN 2015 Will Young, The Vaccines, DJ Alesso Will Young on his new songs for his sixth album and The Vaccines on their new sound BBC WORLD SERVICE http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p02sftdv
June 6, 201510 yr Author Evening Standard Article The heat is on: Where Mollie King, Will Young and Alesha Dixon spend summer in London London's celebrities reveal their favourite hotspots http://www.standard.co.uk/incoming/article10294947.ece/alternates/w460/WILL-YOUNG.jpg Will wears T-shirt, POA, Issey Miyake (020 7851 4620). Portrait: David Yeo I gravitate to the South Bank in summer. When I first moved to London after uni, aged 22, I spent many a balmy evening sitting outside the BFI with friends getting drunk on shandy and never actually going to see any films. People associate summer with drinking but I’ve been teetotal for two years, so you will find me on the National Theatre balcony during an interval with an elderflower cordial. When it comes to ice cream I’m a Cornetto man. Right now my friends and I are scouring the capital for Mint Feasts, which are surprisingly hard to track down. When one of us finds one we send around a picture but never reveal where we’ve bought it. I have to hold the wooden stick with a tissue while I eat because I have a phobia about touching the wood. Just thinking about it me makes me shudder. Nothing says summer like a good burger with cheese and ketchup — no relish — from Honest Burgers in Brixton. Or I’ll invite friends round to my new place in Battersea for a barbecue. I don’t get that stereotypical man behind a BBQ image — you’ll never find me wielding a pair of tongs. My favourite summer festival is Lovebox in Victoria Park. I remember Grace Jones performed one year and she changed her outfit for every song. I also love the bumper cars; when I’m behind the wheel I get this urge to go wild; it doesn’t matter if it’s a four-year-old kid or an 80-year-old granny, everyone is fair game. When I lived near London Fields I’d go to the Lido to swim lengths. I always wear Speedos — they make me feel like an Olympian. I wouldn’t wear them to Hampstead Men’s Ponds, though — too risky. When I first went to the Ponds I couldn’t believe a place like that existed in London. I was a bit worried that everyone just had sex, but they don’t — I can clarify that now. Hannah Nathanson Will Young’s album 85% Proof is out now. Portait by David Yeo, styled by Susan Hildebrandt. Assisted by Naima Coleman. Grooming by Neil Woolley at Phamous using Percy & Reed. shot on location at Gabriel’s Wharf, with thanks to Coin Street
June 7, 201510 yr Author Article in the Express. Thanks to Elaine. Singer Will Young: It’s not good for my image but I like Antiques Roadshow SINGER Will, 36, is single and divides his time between London and Cornwall. By Simon Button PUBLISHED: 00:01, Sun, Jun 7, 2015 Not a lot of people know this but I’m very good at… kick boxing. I learned it when I did a three-week training camp in Thailand and it’s brilliant. I’m definitely going to keep it up. My best friend is… a guy called Chris Sweeney, who directed two of my videos. We laugh a lot, we have very similar outlooks and we always ring each other for advice. The bravest thing I’ve ever done is… look at myself to work out what I’m about through therapy, study and meditation. It’s brave because you might discover things about yourself you might not like. My favourite TV show is… Poldark – I have a house in Cornwall and it sums up how beautiful the place is. My favourite TV show of all time is Inspector Morse. I love the central character and I like crime programmes. My perfect evening is… having home-made spaghetti bolognaise, which is one of the only things I can make, and watching The Apprentice. I’d like to say sorry to… an ex because of some of the things I said and did. My first kiss was with… a girl called Jessica when I was five or six. I wanted to marry her, have a Range Rover and be a vet. Just after I won Pop Idol, she invited me to her wedding, but I didn’t go as I don’t really know her any more [laughs]. We drifted apart – it was so sad. The one thing I’d change about myself is… I’d stop smoking. I gave up for two and a half years, but I’ve started again. The best thing my parents taught me was… good manners. Saying “please” and “thank you” doesn’t cost anything. The last time I cried was… a couple of weeks ago when I had to go into rehearsals for a TV appearance. I’d just come off a radio tour, I hadn’t slept a wink and I had a little weep, going, “It’s so hard and no one understands.” The first record I ever bought was… the first Kylie Minogue album. It’s not good for my image but I like… Antiques Roadshow. I’m pretty good at guessing the value of things and my great-aunt popped up on it once. We were all watching and exclaiming, “That’s Great-Aunt Lizzie!” We had no idea she was going to it. My greatest weakness is… chocolate: Dairy Milk, Galaxy or Peanut M&Ms. I eat more than is probably good for me, but hopefully the kick boxing will now balance it out. If I could pass any law I would… ban the pedestrianisation of high streets. It pushes shoppers out to superstores and means high-street businesses fail. I drive… a G-Wagen and I’ve just bought a 1965 Mini Clubman Estate. The shop I can’t walk past is… Liberty in London, because I love the clothes department, and a lovely bric-a-brac shop in Weybridge. The most expensive thing I’ve ever splashed out on is… my G-Wagen. It was a lot of money but it was worth every penny. My favourite place in Britain is… London. You can find anything in London, there’s so much to do and it’s so multicultural. My last holiday was… in Thailand with my brother Rupert. He rented a motorbike and I rented a tiny scooter and we pootled around. It was wonderful and the people are so friendly. The best day of my life was… today or I should say it is today. I’m still alive, I’m happy and I’m still going. If I had half an hour left on Earth… I would eat spaghetti bolognaise with garlic bread and send a group text saying “goodbye” because it would be easier than calling everyone up. Will Young’s new album 85% Proof is out now. http://www.express.co.uk/life-style/life/5...Young-interview Edited June 7, 201510 yr by truly talented
June 8, 201510 yr Author Live Nation UK @LiveNationUK 1h1 hour ago With a #1 album & a huge tour on sale, we've counted down our fave @will_young31 vids: http://po.st/H7vMcn #LNnews Spotlight: Our favourite Will Young videos Will Young’s latest album ‘85% Proof’ debuted at Number One on the Official Album Chart, and now he’s heading out on massive nationwide tour. Since his appearance on Pop Idol to now being a soulful crooner, Will Young has had more re-inventions than Madonna. Whether it’s the soft pop of 'Evergreen', the funky bass of ‘Your Game’ or the synth dream that is ‘Jealousy’, we’ve been in love with Mr Young since he started. So, with his album riding atop the chart and a massive tour on sale now, we’ve counted down our fave Will Young tunes and videos… 'Leave Right Now' While it was ‘Evergreen’ that propelled Will to the top of the charts after his Pop Idol win, it was ‘Leave Right Now’ that made him part of the UK’s musical architecture. Taken from his sophomore album ‘Friday’s Child’, the track was awarded the prestigious Ivor Novello Award for Best Song Musically and Lyrically, and the song has since gone on to sell over half a million copies. Shot with no transitions, the accompanying video sees Will crash the opening of an art gallery to profess his love for someone, before it all descends into madness. 'Your Game' Follow up single ‘Your Game’ is a funky, slap bass driven song that sees Will performing in front of different backdrops, including a gospel choir, 1950s New York, a metro train, a circus and more. Why the floor is wet we’re not quite sure, but that doesn’t stop this being one of Will’s best tracks and videos, the video adding to the cinematic quality of the song. 'Changes' In ‘Changes’ Will excels himself once again. The sombre video doesn’t quite match the joyous nature of the chorus, as Will plays the arsonist, burning a whole bunch of furniture while wearing a rather dashing suit. 'All Time Love' Acting more as a short film than a music video, ‘All Time Love’ is the most emotionally arresting of Will’s videos. According to the man himself, the video tells the story of an art based activist group in an oppressive dictatorship, with Will standing trial for an unknown crime of passion. The mournful track is perfectly matched with the slo-mo effect in the video, making this one his best. 'Jealousy' The lead single from the sublime album ‘Echoes’, ‘Jealousy’ was a sonic change for Will. The track tells the story of unrequited love through sparkling synths, melancholic pianos and souring vocals. The video, somehow, manages to re-create this narrative through trapeze and dance, adding elements of anger to the track that might otherwise have gone unnoticed. It’s tender, sad and rather lovely. 'Like A River' Taken from Will’s current album ‘85% Proof’, ‘Like A River’ served as a promotional track that packed a real punch. The video, directed Daniel Landin (who also directed ‘All Time Love’), re-tells the story of the Minotaur, and sees Will traipsing through a dark labyrinth of abandoned shoes, scrawled iconography and disturbing creatures. Meanwhile, the song’s ominous guitars and building percussion add another sense of urgency. Overall, it’s spine-tinglingly dramatic. A lovely reminder of how brilliantly diverse and original Will's videos are.
June 8, 201510 yr Thanks TT, that's a great write up from Live Nation and some of my fave vids and songs there. :D
June 10, 201510 yr He's in today's Metro - 60 Seconds with - Page 16.... http://e-edition.metro.co.uk/2015/06/10/
June 10, 201510 yr I can't read it munchkin. Does it tell us anything new? Nothing that we don't already know TT. Talks about the reasons for changing labels, management etc. Would love to have kids. They ask him what's his type - he says "emotionally intelligent, that's a key thing. If someone doesn't have emotionally intelligence then it's a non-starter for me". The usual things :P
June 10, 201510 yr Author Thanks to Diz for typing the Metro interview up. 60 SECONDS with WILL YOUNG. With four No.1's, two Brits and an Olivier nomination under his belt, the singer, 36, has come a long way since his Pop Idol days. You've been rocking a country fashion look. Where do you live? Bodmin Moor, right in the middle of nowhere. I wanted to find somewhere out of London and, for some reason, went to Cornwall Who's on Grindr or Tinder in Bodmin Moor? I don't know! Probably some sheep. I hang out with my neighbours. But I also live in London and I've got a place in Oxford. For me, being brought up in the countryside, it's just in me. I remember going down with my last boyfriend, Jesse, who was from Chicago, and he was like, 'You certainly know how to chop wood!'. It's funny but I've just learnt these things. Your new album, is very diverse... It is. But not planned. The last record I did. I wanted to be quite cohesive. For this one, I went with no thoughts at all and started with my mates and we did it in five sessions. My record company were just loving it. I sent in the first songs to them and I got the message back: 'Wow! We've got our first two singles!'. You've had a lot of changes career-wise recently... With both my management and record company. I finished my deal with Sony. I had a great time there but it was time for a change and Island Records was calling. It has such an amazing heritage. And I wanted to move management because my agency, 19, wasn't doing much music. I was the only music person there, so I thought there was no point staying. Did the might Simon 'Spice Girls' Fuller try to keep you? No, Simon's a mate and I said to him, 'This is what I'm going to do' and he said 'Whatever makes you happy.' We had a good chat. He is cool. It feels like a new phase. It feels like I've been re-signed. In fact, I have. And the record company is so behind my creative zeal, they love it. They encouraged me to make a video for 'Like A River', a song that wasn't even going to be a single. Is that the video where you're topless and we can see a bit of your derrière? Yeah. My stylist wasn't very happy. But your body looks good. I'm beach body ready, yeah! There are always times when I think. 'I wish I looked more buff. Or less buff. Or whatever.' But generally I'm quite happy with it. Do you look back on like Evergreen and think 'What the hell was I doing?' No, the only thing I wince about is World Idol. It was s*** and I really didn't want to do it. I wish I hadn't but there you go. Did you have a choice? I didn't have a choice because if I hadn't done it I would have looked like a t** - like I'd snubbed where I came from. So to quote your single Love Revolution, happiness or loneliness? Happiness. If you're asking if I have a boyfriend, then no. I don't know why. You're not one of those who needs a boyfriend? No. I try not to need anything. It always happens at the most surprising time so I just potter along and see what happens. Then I'll meet someone and it lasts as long as it lasts. What's your type? Emotionally intelligent. That's a key thing. If someone doesn't have emotional intelligence then it's a non-starter for me. Do you want children? Definitely. Oh my God. I love kids. I won't be saying that after I've changed 50 nappies. I'll be, 'This is the worst decision I have ever made.' But at the moment, yeah. A couple of friends of mine wanted kids and now they've gone the other way. They got married and now don't want kids. The thing with a gay relationship is that you've got a lot of choice. In a straight relationship it just sort of happens and then you've got to get on with it. I think we have to overthink it. How do you feel about getting older? Love it. I'm 36 and love it. Are you going to have a crisis at 40 and loads of facial surgery? No. I'm not going to do that. If I could be assured that I was going to basically look the same, then I would. But most people don't do they? SIMON CAGE
June 10, 201510 yr Will email Hi everyone!! What a few weeks it's been... First, I have to say a huge thank you to everyone who bought the album and made it #1!! Your continued support has been incredible and it seems appropriate to announce that my next single from 85% Proof will be... Thank You - this one is a toast to you all. Stay tuned for the video, coming very soon
June 10, 201510 yr Author Arlene Phillips is definitely a fan. I am obsessed with the rhythms the sounds and your voice on the new album https://twitter.com/will_young31/status/608584521144000512 …
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