Singer Jack Savoretti reveals all

A festival is a great place to discover new music, but for those on the line up it doesn’t offer the same opportunities to go and see singers and bands perform.

“I don’t always get to see many people when I play a festival,” admits singer Jack Savoretti. “You turn up, set up, play, and then head off again, but it is magical when you do stumble across that one act.

“Although I did go across a field at Glastonbury to see Lionel Richie, you can’t be in the same field as that guy and not experience All Night Long live.”

Playing a number of festival dates this year, most of the songs will be from Jack’s last album Written in Scars, which originally came out in February 2015 but was re-released in September 2015.

“I added new songs which I didn’t want to include on the next album as we were still getting quite a lot of buzz,” he explains. “I still wanted people to enjoy and experience it.

“I felt as if the new songs were acting as a bridge between this album and the next one.

“I also wanted to include some live songs from a gig in Rome so people could relive that experience.”

A new album is in the works, but Jack admits he is keeping the details ‘close to his chest’.

“All the ingredients are ready, the oven is heating up so I just have to put it all in and hope we don’t burn it,” he laughs. “The album is pretty much done. It will be out, hopefully, at the end of this year, but realistically I think it will be next year.”

However, fans hoping to hear some new material at the up and coming live events will be left disappointed.

“I used to play new songs at gigs to test them out, but if it didn’t go down well a song with potential would get shelved,” he adds. “I don’t want to massacre a song before it has time to be finished.

“I have a team around me that I trust so I don’t feel the need to test songs with an audience until it is ready.”

With four albums under his belt it also means that Jack has the pick of people to work with.

“I have a lot more control over what I do now and a number of people I can work with,” he reveals. “So I know who I want to call and sometimes writers and producers will get in touch with me and want to work together.

“There have been times in the past where I have done things to be polite, but I feel more confident doing what I want now and working with who I want.”

Being touted as the ‘next rising star’ when he was 20, Jack quit the music business at the age of 26.

“As soon as I said, ‘screw this’, I couldn’t stop writing,” he recalls. “I wrote out of anger, although the songs were more of a cry for help.

“It was the best, most personal music I’d ever made. I realised I had really learnt how to write, how to express exactly what was in my head.”

What followed was the critically-acclaimed album Before the Storm, which was followed up by Written in Scars.

Born to an Italian father and an English mother, Jack’s heart very much belongs to the home of his father.

“I see myself more as Genoese than Italian to be honest,” he smiles. “I see my hometown as Genoa and I support its football team.

“Italy is such a beautiful place and I love visiting and playing gigs there as often as I can.”

Having played a number of gigs both here and Europe, Jack says there are differences between the two when playing festivals.

“Culturally in the UK festivals are really interesting,” reveals Jack. “People just want to get involved and experience it all over here.

“Some festivals you will have people who come to see you or have heard you on the radio and others that have no idea who you are.”

Let’s just be thankful that four years ago Jack had that inspirational burst rather than doing plan B - getting a proper job.

Jack plays Victorious Festival in Southsea on Sunday, August 28. Victorious Festival takes place on Saturday, August 27 and Sunday, August 28. The line up includes Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds, Mark Ronson, Editors, Izzy Bizu, Manic Street Preachers, Annie Mac, Travis, Boomtown Rats, and Echo and the Bunnymen.

For tickets and more information, visit www.victoriousfestival.co.uk

The new edition of Written In Scars is out now. For more on Jack’s upcoming tour and his music, visit www.jacksavoretti.com

Picture: Rebecca Miller

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