His number one hit, Shotgun, was the sound of the summer; he recently read a children’s story on the CBeebies bedtime hour; he’s an ambassador for the mental-health charity, Mind. Could George Ezra, the twenty-five-year-old, multi-platinum-selling singer, be any more of a good egg?

The answer is: yes. His podcast, George Ezra & Friends, is yet another gift to us from the charming Hertfordshire lad. During each episode – the first of which was released in February – Ezra talks to other artists about all that they’ve done to get where they are today.

He has hooked excellent names so far, including Ed Sheeran, Craig David, Sam Smith, Lily Allen and Elton John.

Explaining his inspiration, he says: “The world of podcasts has been an extremely welcome and comforting distraction from reality. Listening to interesting people talk to other interesting people about interesting things. New ideas, old ideas, thinkers and dreamers.



“A lot of the shows I enjoy are comedians talking to other comedians, candid accounts of their experiences in the industry they work in. I find them inspiring and often relieving.

“I began looking for musical equivalents: honest, long-form conversations between two musicians... At the time of digging, nothing jumped out at me.”

There was nothing for it but to create the podcast he was searching for himself. He bought the equipment he needed, invited big musical names to take part and hit the road to meet them. In each episode, it is just Ezra and his guest in the room – and the stories flow.

In Lily Allen’s hotel room, she and Ezra discuss how much more simple life was before the explosion of social media. At Ed Sheeran’s home, he tells Ezra that his first guitar came from Cash Converters. Backstage at one of his gigs, Sam Smith recalls how different he felt to the other boys his age at his Catholic secondary school.

As The Guardian says, “Ezra’s chat is as engaging as his tunes” – so check out George Ezra & Friends today.

October 2018