All go for Newbury singer songwriter Joe Hicks

At the end of an album tour, singer songwriter Joe Hicks plays a sell-out hometown gig at Arlington Arts tonight (Saturday). ‘The tour was mentally all encompassing, but massively rewarding and now I’m back and gearing up for Arlington,’ he tells arts editor TRISH LEE

TRISH: You certainly seem on a roll this year, particularly after the release of your debut album The Best I Could Do at the Time.

JOE: Thank you very much! It feels fantastic to finally have it out in the world and in people’s ears.

Were you pleased with the album? How long was the process and did you enjoy it? What’s your favourite track?

I couldn’t be happier with it. Part of the reason for the title is that my producer Sam Winfield and I never set a time limit on finishing, which gave us the freedom to put absolutely everything into it. I really feel like we left no stone unturned and that has enabled me to be incredibly proud of the result. I started writing for the album pretty much when the first lockdown hit at the beginning of 2020, with the first recording sessions in September of that year, and then the final tracking day in February 2022 – a two-year process from start to finish. While I found writing a whole cohesive album one of the most challenging things I’ve ever done, the pay-off in recording the songs with such talented people, and ultimately listening back to the fruits of that labour, was massively enjoyable.

We had a great time in the studio diving deeper into lunacy as the process went on, there’s evidence of that on my Instagram page... I think Sam and Tom Millar (engineer at Studio 91, Greenham) needed a break from me for a while once we had finished.

It’s definitely a cliché to say that I struggle to pick a favourite as they all mean a lot to me, it’s normally the song I’ve performed or listened to most recently that is my answer, so currently I’m drawn to the opening track Sail Away the most. That song and the recording of it is probably the furthest the album travels away from my normal comfort zone with all the strings recorded by Barney Morse-Brown and the way Sam mixed it. It’s massively rewarding to listen back to that now and be glad we leant into where the song needed to go.

How has it gone down – has it received airplay?

The reaction so far has been amazing. You never know how people are going to respond when you put music out and so I’ve loved hearing positive feedback from people and press that have heard it. Everyone seems to have a different favourite song, which is very exciting as I really didn’t want there to be any filler tracks. I’ve had some wonderful support on the radio from brilliant grassroots local stations, lots of plays and interviews on BBC regional radio across the UK and then the cherry on the top was Sail Away getting played by the Rev Kate Bottley on her BBC Radio 2 Good Morning Sunday programme.

How did lockdown affect your writing, process-wise and subject-wise?

Lockdown definitely had an effect. While being stuck at home for so long gave me a lot of time to write, it robbed me (and all of us) of the stimuli needed to have much to write about. I wasn’t ever trying to write a Covid album, but I think there is definitely some frustration born from that to be found in the songs. I really struggled to finish the lyrics for the last four or five tracks that were recorded as I felt like I had nothing to say.

It took taking a trip down to a secluded Airbnb lake house in Devon at the end of 2021 to get away from everything and reconnect with what the songs were meant to be about. It was just me, a lake full of ducks, a field of sheep and some creepy hornets banging on the windows in the middle of the night that got the album over the line.

So your promo tour is under way – who is supporting you?

It started back in October in London and we’ve played Glasgow, Bristol, Manchester and will finish with a hometown full band Newbury show at Arlington Arts on Saturday.

I’ve had some cracking supports so far, all relatively local to each city (Elkyn & Vic Allen – London, The Ladybugg – Glasgow, Danielle Sharp – Bristol, Kate Gambhir – Manchester) and then am thrilled to have just added the excellent Maddie Ashman who will open the show in Newbury.

What do you enjoy about touring?

It goes without saying, especially after all the lockdowns and being in the studio for so long, that getting on stage in a different city every night, playing the songs live and seeing them connect with real people is an incredible feeling. The added enjoyment comes from the camaraderie and quite addictive routine you settle into – wake up, drive to the next place, load in, set up, soundcheck, dinner, show, pack down, load out. After a few days you get into such a rhythm with it, especially working with great people, that it’s hard to let go of when the tour ends.

And the Arlington gig is sold out – have you a loyal local fanbase?

It is sold out yes! An achievement that means a lot to me having grown up here.

It feels extra special being just a couple of miles away from The Castle in Cold Ash where I played my first proper acoustic gig when I was about 14. A lot of the people who were there back then will be coming to Arlington, plus a lot more who’ve given me such incredible support over the years. It feels quite full circle and I’m excited to see where it can go from here.

What can we expect from the Arlington gig?

Well first off, I know Maddie Ashman is going to blow people away, and then the band and I are going to come out all guns blazing. Indoor fireworks, trapeze, singing goats, you name it we’ve got it in the show.

But in all seriousness, I’m very lucky to have an incredibly talent band of musicians with me. We’re going to be playing every song from The Best I Could Do at the Time and then some more from past releases.

I’m honestly quite jealous of the crowd as I’d quite like to put the guitar down and just watch the guys play. The team at Arlington are fantastic and we’ve got a few special touches planned to hopefully give everyone there a great show.

And you tour to Germany in January, how did that come about?

Before I released my first single back in 2017, I was doing some live guitar work for both Adam Barnes and Sarah Walk separately and went on a couple of tours with each of them over in Germany. At the start of this year Adam proposed getting the three of us out there as artists in our own right, which is another really cool full circle moment for me and should be a lot of fun.

We’re going to play our own individual sets and then guest on each other’s for a few songs. The crowds out there are always so warm and receptive to new music, and you get treated really well, so we’re all very excited.

What next?

Next year is all about getting the album out far and wide to as many people as possible, predominantly through playing live. The hope is to pick up a few support tours here and there, have a busy festival season next summer, and then look to headline some shows again at the end of 2023. By then hopefully I’ll have some songs ready to start recording album 2…