‘It was the most emotional thing I’ve ever done on stage’: Rag’n’Bone Man on returning to live music
When Rory Graham, the artist better known as Rag’n’Bone Man, performed on stage at the Brit Awards earlier this year, he was wearing the same sunglasses as he is for our interview.
He needed them, he tells Sky News. Singing Anywhere Away From Here, his duet with Pink, in front of an audience filled with excitement and expectation for the first major live music event for more than a year in the UK – and alongside an NHS choir to mark the period in which health workers have saved thousands of lives and been pushed to their absolute limits – it was an emotional moment.
“I had these glasses on when I was doing that,” says Graham. “And by the end of the performance I was really fighting away tears. It was an amalgamation of stuff: being at the Brits performing, having Pink – not there, on screen, but it was amazing – and then also having this NHS choir. It was probably the most emotional thing I’ve ever done on stage. It was amazing but kind of difficult at the same time. I’ll never, ever forget it, it was a beautiful moment.”
Rag’n’Bone Man on stage at the Brit Awards in May 2021. He performed alongside the Lewisham and Greenwich NHS Choir, while Pink (below) appeared virtually
Graham, who worked as a carer himself before his music career took off, working with people with autism and Down’s syndrome, can perhaps understand better than many what health and care workers have been through since the COVID-19 pandemic took hold. “That’s why I have such a profound respect for them,” he says, “and why it was so much more emotional having them on stage with us that night at the Brits.”
It has been a difficult time for the music industry, but slowly live shows are returning. Some festivals are going ahead – many, like the Brits, as part of government test events – and Graham recently played three back-to-back intimate shows at London’s Jazz Cafe in Camden, performing songs from his second album, the chart-topping Life By Misadventure, for the first time since its release at the beginning of May.
“It was really, really nice to be on stage,” he says. “It was really nice to be back with the band again. I mean, slightly strange having people sitting down the whole time and I got in trouble once for asking people to dance because you’re not allowed to do that, apparently.” You can’t stop people singing, though. “If I’m on stage singing and they’re not allowed, that would seem quite weird.”
Like millions of England fans around the country, Graham has been cheering Gareth Southgate‘s side on throughout Euro 2020. While it’s been “amazing”, he says seeing fans cheering from the stands only highlights the disparities in how different industries are being opened up once again.
“I guess everyone’s a little bit frustrated because they see on TV that everybody’s jumping up and going crazy at the football, but still live gigs, we’re not allowed to dance. So that part’s quite frustrating.” Is it unfair? “I think it’s undoubtedly unfair, because, you know, what’s more important? You can’t say one’s more important than the other. So, yeah, I think it’s time.”
Rag’n’Bone Man released second album Life By Misadventure earlier this year. Pic: Fiona Garden
To musicians, it feels like the government has neglected the arts, he says. “It feels like that to us because it feels like the arts are like last chance saloon. Everywhere else seems to be opening apart from the music industry, the live industry. So they need to hurry up.”
Graham has gigs in the diary and is keeping his fingers crossed, looking forward to performing to “a proper crowd” following the small shows. He is itching to showcase Life By Misadventure, the follow-up to the platinum-selling 2017 debut, Human, and lead single of the same name, which propelled him to fame. His life has changed quite a bit since then.
“Nobody knew that it was going to be the kind of phenomenon that it was,” he says. “I mean, one week we were just slowly releasing stuff and then the next I had friends calling me up from different countries all over the world saying, you’re playing on the radio and… it hit so fast, you know, that it really, totally changed my life in a very short space of time. I had a career before Human, it was a living, but it changed so much. It went from like, ‘oh cool, I’m playing to a thousand people in Brighton’, to ‘I’m playing to 12,000 people in Paris’. It really did change stuff forever.”
The singer says it feels like the music industry has been left behind when it comes to reopening following lockdown. Pic: Fiona Garden
Now in his mid-30s, Graham is glad fame and the success didn’t happen earlier in life. “I don’t know if I would have been mentally capable of dealing with that. In fact, I know I wouldn’t have been. So I’m glad I was a bit older…
“I probably just would have partied myself to death, I reckon. I feel like I’d already done quite a lot of that stuff so I had my feet kind of firmly pressed on the ground and I wasn’t in a position to believe my own hype or anything. I think going through that stuff, travelling the length of the country with a guitar on your back or doing shows for beer, those things make you appreciate the bigger things.”
Since Human made him a household name, Graham has been through a lot in his personal life. He married his long-term girlfriend and mum to his three-year-old son, Rouben, in 2019, but the couple split up not long afterwards.
The title of his second record, Life By Misadventure, sums it up, he says. “All the songs seem like a kind of timeline. I’ll talk about a lot of stuff from my childhood and adolescence and how my teenage years were quite wild. But also, around the time that Human happened, it was a crazy few years and then I became a dad… so I kind of went through a lot of emotions and went through trying to grow up a bit quite quickly and be more responsible. So… the title, it makes sense to me.”
Graham was determined not to make a break-up record, he says; just one song on the album, Talking To Myself, addresses the split. Instead, many of these songs were inspired by other people’s struggles.
“Must be a thousand times she told you, that your body’s getting oldеr, don’t you know?” he sings on new single, Alone, which came about following a conversation with a female friend about the pressure of the biological clock. It is perhaps an unusual subject for a male singer to tackle, but Graham says he felt compelled to address the different ways men and women are treated when it comes to having children.
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“It just seems like a problem that men don’t have, I’ve never had that pressure put on me,” he says. “It seems that a lot of women go through those kind of pressures from family or friends or whoever it is, who say, like, ‘isn’t it about time to settle down?’ ‘When are we going to get grandchildren?’ Those kinds of things. It just seemed a bit archaic. I’d never really written a song like that, it was kind of hard to put into words at first, but I think it came out well. I think hopefully people will understand it.”
Graham is enjoying being a dad and the time lockdown has given him with his son. He has spent the day in the garden with Rouben and is getting ready to take him swimming, he says, after the interview. But lockdown has also taught him that he needs to keep busy. “I learnt that I’m not necessarily great with a lot of free time. I like to work.”
He has discovered a new found love of baking, however, so cakes have kept him occupied. “My son enjoys cakes, like a lot of three-year-olds do. So we got into making all sorts of different kinds of cakes, I’ve kind of become quite good at baking, which is not necessarily a bad thing.”
It sounds like Celebrity Bake Off could be on the cards.
“If they want me, I’ll be there,” he says. “I don’t really like the idea of reality shows, but I reckon I’d give Bake Off a go. If Big Narstie can do, I can do it.”
But before Paul Hollywood and co come knocking, Graham is hoping more than anything to get back on stage properly. When those big gigs, to big crowds of people able to sing and dance and hug once again, just like the Brits, it’s going to be “incredibly emotional again”, says Graham.
“I feel like the Road Runner at the moment, just on the spot. But we’re all just so ready to do it. We’re ready to go.”
Rag’n’Bone Man’s new single, Alone, and album, Life By Misadventure, are out now
Entertainment
Phillip Schofield: Ex-This Morning star Dr Ranj Singh criticises ‘toxic culture’ at ITV show and claims he was ‘managed out’
Former This Morning star Dr Ranj Singh has spoken out in the wake of the Phillip Schofield controversy and hit out at the “toxic culture” at the ITV daytime show.
He claimed he was “managed out” after taking his concerns to Emma Gormley, the head of ITV Daytime.
“I was on the show for 10 years and I genuinely loved and valued working there,” he said in a post on Twitter.
“However, over time I grew increasingly worried about things were behind the scenes and how people including myself, were being treated.
“I didn’t know the truth about what was going on with Philip [sic], but I do know the issues with TM [This Morning] go far beyond him. It takes more than one person to create a culture.”
Dr Ranj said he “did what I thought was right” and made a complaint about This Morning editor Martin Frizell’s behaviour, adding “especially given that my job is to look after people’s wellbeing and I had been heavily involved in diversity, anti-bullying and mental health projects across the channel”.
“I then found myself being used less and less,” he said.
“I even took my concerns directly to the top of ITV: the culture at This Morning had become toxic, no longer aligned with ITV values, and I felt like because I whistle-blew I was managed out.
“But as history and experience have taught us, things like bullying and discrimination are very hard to prove, particularly in hindsight and when the ‘people in power’ control the narrative. As we’ve seen, no review or investigation is foolproof.
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‘No mistakes’ were made says ITV boss
“I haven’t worked on the show since… and I’m not the only one who has spoken up or experienced similar,” he added.
“That was two years ago and, frankly, it still hurts. The whole process was pretty heart-breaking and even affected my mental health. But I’m happy to say I’ve found my feet again, know my worth and have found my tribe.
He continued: “There are some good people in TV, but we need to be brave and stand up to those who aren’t. Even if it’s scary as hell, we have to do the right thing otherwise nothing will change. I sincerely hope something good comes from all this.”
He also added in the post’s caption that “there is so much more” he could say.
An ITV spokesperson earlier confirmed to Sky News they carried out an external review following a complaint made by Dr Ranj, and it “found no evidence to support the complaint of bullying”.
It comes as ITV confirmed that Alison Hammond and Dermot O’Leary will present the show tomorrow after days of significant revelations about ex-presenter Phillip Schofield’s behaviour and the culture on set.
Last Saturday, Phillip Schofield announced he would be leaving This Morning after 20 years at the helm following reports his relationship with co-host Holly Willoughby had become strained.
Less than a week later, Schofield released a statement admitting an “unwise, but not illegal” affair with a “much younger man” and announced he was stepping down from ITV completely.
He also admitted he lied about the affair to ITV bosses, his agents and the media, resulting in the channel saying the were “deeply disappointed by the admissions of deceit” and the management company YMU Group dropping him.
ITV confirmed on Saturday they had investigated “rumours of a relationship” but the pair repeatedly denied the affair.
Ms Willoughby said the admission was “very hurtful” while other TV personalities including Eamonn Holmes and Andrea Catherwood hit out at ITV executives.
Entertainment
Phillip Schofield: ITV responds to reports This Morning could be axed – as boss denies mistakes in broadcaster’s investigation
An ITV boss has denied mistakes were made in the broadcaster’s investigation into rumours of a relationship between Phillip Schofield and a younger male employee.
Kevin Lygo, director of television at ITV, was approached by Sky News following questions over what bosses knew about Schofield’s conduct.
ITV said it investigated “rumours of a relationship” in 2020 but both Schofield and the employee “repeatedly denied” the affair.
Speaking on Sunday, Lygo declined to comment further, telling Sky News: “Honestly, we’ve made a statement today, yesterday. I think it’s all clear.”
Asked if mistakes were made in the 2020 investigation, he replied: “No.”
ITV has said there are no plans to axe its flagship This Morning show following reports it could be taken off air in the wake of the Schofield controversy.
The veteran TV presenter, 61, quit the broadcaster on Friday and was dropped by his talent agency after admitting he lied about an “unwise, but not illegal” affair with a young male colleague who worked on the programme.
Rumours of the relationship had first begun to circulate in 2020.
Denying reports in Sunday’s newspapers about the future of This Morning, an ITV spokesperson said: “As we said on the record yesterday, This Morning is not under review and there’s no plans for the show to be axed.
“This Morning will return as normal tomorrow.”
Read more:
Holly Willoughby accuses Schofield of lying to her
Schofield leaves This Morning after more than 20 years
Timeline of departure and rumours of rift with co-host Holly
Statements from presenter and his agents in full
TV presenter Phillip Schofield with his then co-host Holly Willoughby on This Morning
It comes after presenter Holly Willoughby spoke of her hurt after finding out that her former co-host had lied to her about his affair.
Writing on Instagram, she said: “When reports of this relationship first surfaced, I asked Phil directly if this was true and was told it was not.
“It’s been very hurtful to now find out that this was a lie.”
Analysis:
Admission should kill off career – but will star pals stand by him?
Schofield ‘deeply sorry’
In a statement on Friday, Schofield said he was “deeply sorry” for lying about the relationship.
It is understood the younger colleague, who is not a public figure, did not want the relationship to be made public.
The affair took place before Schofield came out as gay in 2020, and while he was still married to his wife, Stephanie Lowe.
In a damning statement, his former agents YMU Group said “honesty and integrity” were core values of their business and that their relationships are “based entirely on trust”.
Schofield, 61, left This Morning last week, amid reports his long-term friendship with Willoughby had come under strain.
Rumours of behind-the-scenes problems between the pair surfaced after his brother Tim Schofield was convicted of child sex offences.
Willoughby is expected to return to This Morning on 5 June.
Entertainment
Holly Willoughby says Phillip Schofield ‘directly’ lied to her over affair with younger colleague
Holly Willoughby has said Phillip Schofield lied to her about his affair with a much younger male colleague.
Speaking for the first time since Schofield admitted having an “unwise, but not illegal” affair, his former This Morning co-presenter wrote on Instagram: “It has taken time to process yesterday’s news.
“When reports of this relationship first surfaced, I asked Phil directly if this was true and was told it was not.
“It’s been very hurtful to now find out that this was a lie.”
On Friday, the veteran broadcaster quit ITV and admitted to having an affair with a colleague who worked on This Morning. Rumours of the relationship had first begun to circulate in 2020.
ITV said it had investigated – but both Schofield and the employee “repeatedly denied” the affair.
The broadcaster was forced to issue the statement after questions were raised over what network bosses knew about Schofield’s conduct.
Fellow former This Morning presenter Eamonn Holmes had said Schofield was “not the only guilty party” and claimed top management “knew what sort of man he was”.
Questions had also been raised about what his co-host, Ms Willoughby knew, something she has now hit back at with her statement.
Schofield, 61, left This Morning last week, amid reports his long-term friendship with Willoughby had come under strain.
The two have been open about their close friendship over the years, including sharing pictures on social media of them while on joint holidays with their families.
Holly made a statement via Instagram Stories. (Pic: Instagram)
What ITV said
In response to mounting pressure on the broadcaster, an ITV spokesperson said: “Further to our statement last night, ITV can confirm that when rumours of a relationship between Phillip Schofield and an employee of ITV first began to circulate in early 2020 ITV investigated.
“Both parties were questioned and both categorically and repeatedly denied the rumours as did Phillip’s then agency YMU.
Analysis:
Admission should kill off his career – but will his star pals stand by him?
“In addition, ITV spoke to a number of people who worked on This Morning and were not provided with, and did not find, any evidence of a relationship beyond hearsay and rumour.
“Phillip’s statement yesterday reveals that he lied to people at ITV, from senior management to fellow presenters, to YMU, to the media and to others over this relationship.”
Phillip Schofield in 2021
Schofield ‘deeply sorry’ for lying
In a statement on Friday, Schofield said he was “deeply sorry” for lying about the relationship.
It is understood the younger colleague, who is not a public figure, did not want the relationship to be made public.
The affair took place before Mr Schofield publicly came out as gay in 2020, and while he was still married to his wife Stephanie Lowe.
Read more:
Schofield leaves This Morning after more than 20 years
Timeline of departure and rumours of rift with co-host Holly
Statements from presenter and his agents in full
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Dermot O’Leary asked about Phillip Schofield
In a damning statement, his former agents YMU Group said “honesty and integrity” were core values of their business and that their relationships are “based entirely on trust”.
They have since parted ways with Schofield.
Willoughby is set to return to This Morning on 5 June.
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