The Story of…Tom Grennan

22 year-old Tom Grennan had a pretty typical upbringing: he played football, completed school, got a moped at 16 and did all the other milestones of being a suburban adolescent in Bedford. Fast forward to the present day and the boy from the ‘burbs is now a raucous N4 Stage headliner.

It’s hard to believe Tom Grennan grew up never particularly wanting to be a singer; it was only after singing an impromptu version of The Kooks’ 2006 album track ‘Seaside’ at a party during his A-Levels that his destiny as a singer took hold.

His mates at the party, totally unaware Tom could even hold a tune and blown away by his raspy vocals and mesmerising performance, quickly roped him into joining their band.

Tom’s fate however at age 18 took a dark turn when he was assaulted by a group of strangers in the street; it was an attack that would leave a mark on him as deep as the metal plates and screws pinned in his jaw. Now in London and playing solo, he immersed himself in songwriting to deal with the trauma of being in the “wrong place at the wrong time” and surfaced with his stunning 2016 EP, ‘Something In The Water’.

The EP shot to number one on Hype Machine with Tom’s gritty soul attracting the attention of Chase & Status who pulled him in for a writing session: the result was ‘All Goes Wrong’ a track that Tom predicted with his usual cheeky confidence would be “a banger”.

Shortly after Tom earned a coveted spot on the BBC’s Sound of 2017 longlist and hit the road for a sold out UK headline tour. His rocketing success saw him quickly making new mates: Sir Elton John invited him for a drink and Charli XCX got him to do the dishes in her now iconic video, ‘Boys’.

The release of ‘Royal Highness’ had Tom continuing to conquer the radio waves; a track buzzing with energy it has Tom, not one to play it safe, chasing a girl with little sting to her tail. 2018 shows no sign of slowing down for Grennan as he kicked off the year with ‘Sober’ – a massive anthem that could easily be on the top of 007’s playlist. 

With his upcoming debut album ‘Lighting Matches’ set for release on 18th May Tom Grennan is already on track to make 2018 his year.

Don’t miss out on seeing Tom Grennan in an intimate setting on the N4 Stage, grab your tickets for Community festival now.