JAKE DAVEY'S INNER CITY (RED &) BLUES

Jake Davey – lover of obscure football and purveyor of potent indie anthems – discusses his new single, The Inner City Lonely Child Blues.

Jake Davey is feeling conflicted. On one hand, his beloved Liverpool are falling apart like a backyard burrito. On the other, he’s on cloud nine as he’s discovered his new single, due for release on March 5th, has already been selected for airplay on BBC Introducing. Football and fantastic songs – both are integral to Davey’s dynamics. The Inner City Lonely Child Blues sounds like something dug out of Leadbelly’s basement, but in actuality it’s a terrace anthem. Come March, it’ll be sung by every fervent football fan as they cheer on Zoom.

“I think this single is the best thing I’ve done,” he beams. “I've had the song written for over a year and recorded it multiple times, but was never happy with it until now. The song itself sounds bigger than anything I've done previously and has a proper singalong chorus. It's also got some backwards guitar solos and harmonicas, so what’s not to like?!”

It’s hard to disagree with Davey on this one. It boasts the dusky delights of Dylan, the autumnal warble of Weller and the gung-ho grit of the Gallaghers. It’s uplifting, menacing and magnificent. It’s Bobby Firminho, powerful and consistent. It’s Mo Salah, prolific and potent. It’s Xherdan Shaqiri – surprisingly muscly. You get the impression Davey would sacrifice an entire season of Liverpool victories for more tunes like this. Football is never far from Davey’s mind. After all, the Brum balladeer named his stunning EP - Whatever Happened To The Intertoto Cup.

Davey blushes. “I must admit, the title wasn't strictly my own! I was having a conversation about football with a good friend of mine called Ross, who's in a great band called Balaban and the Bald Illeagles.

“I asked him ‘whatever happened to the Intertoto Cup’ and he said it would make a great album title.”

He wasn’t wrong. And luckily, the five-track EP has the Intertoto triumphs of Villa and Villarreal. It’s got the heart and grace of Junichi Inamoto, the showmanship of Shola Ameobi and the driving power of Darius Vassell. But enough about football – Davey’s passion for music is just as infectious.

“I've been brought up around music. My parents have been very influential in that,” Davey says. “My earliest memories of music would be listening to tape cassettes of The Beatles, Oasis and Radiohead in my dad’s Mini Cooper. I'd cite those three bands as the most influential on myself, along with Bowie and Weller’s various incarnations, as they're my mum’s favourites.”

It has definitely rubbed off. In all of Davey’s songs, you can hear those artists’ adventurism, melody and ambition. For the future, Davey is excited. Alongside his solo endeavours, he’s also in a cracking band called Colossus Yeti, who are set to unleash new songs in the future.

“My aim for this year is to release a couple of singles, followed by either an EP or album which I'm aiming to have finished by the summer,” he beams. “Beyond that, I've got a few ideas for some new tunes that might surprise a few people, plus I want to get my band’s EP recorded - finally! Mainly though, I just want to get my music into the ears of as many people as possible.”

It seems he is doing the latter very well. A lot better than Liverpool are at getting in the back of the net…

The Inner City Lonely Child Blues is released on Friday 5 March.

Jake Davey is on Twitter - @jakedavey_

Colossus Yeti - @ColossusYeti - Twitter

Photography - Jess Moore ©