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Phil Wilson Chats With Bright Light Bright Light AKA Rod Thomas
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Bright Light, Bright Light, the New York-based Welsh electronic artist, is releasing a new single called "You Want My" from his upcoming fifth album, "Enjoy Youth." Rod Thomas, the artist behind Bright Light, Bright Light, talks about his musical journey, starting with his first single in 2006 and transitioning to making pop music. He also discusses his love for movies like "Gremlins" and "Home Alone" and shares his experiences growing up in the valleys of South Wales and working at a record label before pursuing music full-time. Rod reflects on his time busking in the London underground and how it helped build his confidence as a performer. He expresses gratitude for his music career and the opportunity to release albums and tour the world. Rod also mentions the success story of two buskers who went on to win a music competition. Finally, the interviewer mentions Rod's previous albums, including "Choreography," which won an award. Bright Light, Bright Light, the New York-based Welsh electronic artist's new single You Want My is set for release across all platforms. You Want My is taken from Bright Light, Bright Light's upcoming fifth LP, Enjoy Youth, set for release on May the 17th, 2024. Both the single and LP are released via YSKWN with Megaforce Records and Rod Thomas of Bright Light, Bright Light is joining us now. Hello Rod, how are you doing? I'm well, thank you, how are you? I'm very good, thank you. I believe that I'm speaking to you there, you're live there over in New York, New York. I am indeed in New York, New York, a city that never sleeps, apparently. I try to get a few hours, but yeah, nice to be talking to someone back in the UK though. Yes, it's nice to catch up with you there. Now for our listeners who are new to your music, please could you tell us when your musical journey began? Oh my god, um, it's saving all of the childhood trauma. Let's just say 2006, I put out my first single in 2006, which was a little bit different, and it was under my own name, Rod Thomas. I was just doing kind of like acoustic-y, folk-y kind of stuff, predictable. And then I kind of got better at producing songs, and then 2009, 2010, I took on the name Bright Light, Bright Light and started making pop music, which I'd always wanted to do, I just wasn't good enough at doing it until that point. And I learned a lot, and I worked with a lot of people that made electronic pop music, and then it's just gone from there, really. And the name Bright Light, Bright Light, as soon as I saw that, I was thinking of, you know, Bright Light, Bright Light from the Gremlins, and then I found out that that is one of your favourite films. Yes, well done, well done, good spot. So yes, Bright Light, Bright Light, because obviously the Gremlins, if nobody's seen the Gremlins before, they don't like the Bright Lights. Yeah, if you haven't seen Gremlins, watch it immediately, it's such a fantastic film, it's so fun. Maybe not if you have kids under like, sort of, seven or eight years old, it's a bit scary, but. Yeah, definitely love Gremlins too, because is that the one where they're in the, when they're in the television studio? Yeah, yeah, yeah. Somebody dressed up as Dracula. Yeah, amazing. Hilarious, but yes, that's that one, and also you like, I believe you like Home Alone as well. I do, I mean, it was very interesting moving to New York, actually, and realising how many of the films that I loved as a kid were set in New York, because, you know, when you're young, you don't really realise what a place is, you just sort of see it on the screens, and then you, I was walking around being like, oh, okay, I recognise a lot of these buildings from, you know, delusional childhood fantasy worlds of like Gremlins and people escaping thieves on the run and, you know, flying things all around and Ghostbusters and everything. Ghostbusters, yes, that's another one as well, they're in Manhattan, they're absolutely fantastic films there. Now, you were born in South Wales, what was it like being brought up in the valleys, and were you part of any choirs when you were growing up, or did you take part in any maybe school musical productions that you could tell us about? Yes, all of the above, really. It was, you know, it was very peaceful growing up where I did, I'm from the coal mining valleys, which obviously were no longer coal mining valleys by the time I was born. So it was very quiet, not really much going on down there. And that's why I got so into music, I think I used to listen to the radio all the time, as a way to learn about the world, you know, and I would put on like, I listened to like Joe Wiley, and all the kind of indie shows, Steve Lamacque, things like that. But I love my pop music as well. So I don't know if you remember Longway Radio Atlantic 252. I certainly do. I certainly do because that was my jam. Yeah, I went over there and did a couple of voiceovers there in a little, it's a little place called County Meath. And the village is called Trim in Southern Ireland. Yes, went across there. And it's very unusual where this radio station was based. It was in an old doctor's surgery, would you believe? Yeah, it's the whole legacy of that radio station was wild. So I was sort of growing up between the kind of cool indie bands on the Steve Lamacque show, like Capitonia and Kinnicky, and like, The Real McCoy and Ace of Base and the pop music on Longway Radio Atlantic 252. So I've always had this sort of like odd musical match. And then bringing into play the Welsh tradition of being in choirs and singing. I was in a choir in school, obviously everyone was. And I just, I've just always really liked singing. And I just didn't think that everyone didn't, you know, I didn't think it was anything special or anything particularly like, career driven for me. I just thought everyone sang a lot and realised that they don't. And I just kept doing it. And here I am somehow. Yes. And you're doing very well as well. Now, have you always been a singer or have you had any other professions before turning professional as it were? I used to work at a record label back in the day. I moved to London to work at a record label. So my dream was to do PR for bands. That was what I wanted to do when I moved to London. And I ended up working for a record label called PS, who at the time were doing soul wax around their Radio Soul Wax album. And they did Tim Burgess's debut album that I was working on as like an intern. And then I got like a full time job after doing my internship as a receptionist, very glamorous, lovely. And then a PA and then a marketing assistant. And then out of nowhere, I realised that I'd kind of gone as far as I could in that company. And so I quit, which I do not recommend anyone does in this day and age. Do not quit your jobs. But I did in 2004. Yeah. 2006, sorry. Not that early. 2006. And I started singing on the subway in London on the underground. I started busking. And I did that for two years, three years, actually, alongside bar work and temp work. And I saved up enough to start recording demos and started putting them out and started getting some radio play, which it sounds so fantastical now when I think about it. And there was a very high risk factor. And I had absolutely zero plan. All of these things are ways that they do not take any business advice from me. But it worked. And, you know, and I'm still making music, which is amazing. I'm really happy that I've got to tour the world and I get to release albums. Like you said, I'm on my fifth album now, which is much more than I ever thought I do really. Like where I'm from and probably where you're from as well. People have jobs that you can sort of explain clearly to people like a teacher or they they're an accountant or they are a doctor or something like where I'm from, my grandparents were farmers and my parents were teachers. So to sort of try and say like, well, I'm a musician and everyone's like, hmm, I never thought that it would be a job. I thought it would just be a hobby that I had alongside a more traditional job. So I feel very grateful that I got to do this. And what was it like when you were performing there in the tube stations? Because I reckon that that would have been quite scary, but at the same time, it would build up your confidence as well, because you're actually every moment you're performing to a different kind of audience that's coming down the escalators. Yeah, it was definitely scary. I think it was OK once I started, but the preamble was very scary because I was just sort of guessing that like, oh, people would be rude or people would tell you to shut up or that it was hard to be heard over everything. But I will say everyone that interacted with me for three years was nice, apart from one woman. And the same one woman was rude to me five or six times. Everyone else was quite nice or they minded their business, you know. And I made lots of friends doing that. I'm still friends now with people that saw me busking. One incredible guy, Chris Sweeney, who's done like TV shows. He works on Fleabag. Back in the day, he saw me busking and I had my Myspace address on my guitar. That's how long ago it was. And he sent me a message and he ended up doing a music video for me. He's done videos for Florence and the Machine and Jessie Ware. And so I met him, which is amazing. I met loads of people that still come to my shows. And it was definitely a confidence booster. You know, it made me a lot tougher as a musician and it gave me a lot more confidence in myself as a performer to sort of hold my own and taught me about just sort of like I'm just getting better and and practicing and things. So it was it was a really amazing experience. Really incredible. I wouldn't change it for the world. And I would say that the busking thing is very, very good. I mean, I couldn't believe it just the other a couple of months back in Newcastle upon Tyne on this big street called Ensemblin Street, which is where all the shops are. There was two girls singing there and they sounded absolutely amazing. So I got in touch with them. I said, would you, you know, would you like to come on the radio show? And then I exchanged a telephone number, my mobile number. Then the next thing was they've just won the Vice UK for 2023. Yes. So two girls who went from busking on the Ensemblin Street to now be the winners of the the Vice UK there. So, wow. But also good to know that you, good to know that you spotted that without even knowing it. So that's it. You've got an A&R future. But yes, the busking there. Excellent. You've had some great ground there, learning your craft, as it were, to a wide audience. Excellent stuff there, Rod. Now, you've released four studio albums to date. In 2012, Make Me Believe in Hope and 2014's Life is Easy. 2016's Choreography, which won the WINQ magazine's Musician of the Year Award and saw you to become the first and to date the only unsigned artist to perform on Graham Norton's BBC One TV show with Sir Elton John in tow. And 2020's Fun City, which was the UK number one dance album featuring 12 LGBTQ plus collaborators. What was it like working with Elton John and appearing on such a big television show? Terrifying. Working with Elton, not terrifying, so much fun. He is, we're still really good friends. We email all the time. He's really, really, really one of the nicest people that I've ever met in the world. And I know that there's all of the diva. I think it's that documentary in 1997 or whatever it was. That's the one that made everyone. That's right. Completely amazing. It was the first time that I met him. I was obviously very scared and, you know, because I grew up listening to him. Everyone that is younger than him did because he was famous from such a young age. And I was very shy the first time I met him. And then the second or third time, I was, you know, a little bit looser and just a bit sillier because I'm a ridiculous person. And he's like, oh, you're very funny, actually. You know, when I first met you, you were really shy. And I was like, babes, you're Elton John. Everyone's nervous when they meet you. And he's like, yeah, I guess that's right. And we became such good friends. So when I was making the choreography album, I had All In The Name that I wanted to record with him. So I went to L.A. to record with him in the same studio that Gaga did The Fame Monster. And so I turned up and I knew that we'd do it really quick because he's always super fast. We'd done one duet, I Wish We Were Leaving, before that. So I knew the kind of speed. And we did the All In The Name really quick. And he's like, well, is there anything else you want me to do? And I was like, actually, babes, yes. And I prepared two other songs. And I said, well, you know, if you wanted to add some background vocal to this, he was like, yes, I'll be your B.V. girl. He just heard them on the spot and added background vocals to Symmetry of Two Hearts and Run It Back to You as well. And it was we had so much fun. The thing that is so amazing about this man is that he just loves music so much. And you can tell when he's on stage and you see the live footage that he just gets such a kick out of the world of music. And he has his radio show and he champions new artists all the time. So it's all about music as discovery and music as pleasure. You know, it's amazing to see somebody not just at his age, but at his stage in the career after so many albums to still find music that magical. That's very inspirational to me. And then getting to perform with him on Graham Norton was really, really wild. For me, that was very scary because that was the biggest thing I'd ever done. And when they told me who else was going to be on the show with us that you sit on the couch with, it was Jodie Foster, Ryan Gosling, Russell Crowe, Greg Davis, Tom Daley, Elton John and me. And I was like, I'm the least famous person you've ever had on this show, surrounded by lots of the most famous people. So I felt very like, you know, wearing like a sort of like lime green suit, while everyone else was looking like a million dollars, it looked like about a million pence. I'll have to watch that. I'll have to watch that footage. I bet it's on YouTube somewhere. It is on YouTube. Yeah, it really was like such a special moment. And, you know, for anyone who's like a casual listener, like independent people, like we really don't get to do these things. And I'm so grateful to everybody on the team of Graham Norton Show and to Graham himself, like who's lovely and we're still friends. It really took a chance on me as an independent. And, you know, you guys as well, like championing my song, to survive or to get heard as an independent artist is really difficult. And I'm sure anyone out there making music knows that, that it's yes, you can put music out yourself, but there's also a million more people doing that. So it's proportionally, it's no easier to get heard or to have your songs translate to the public. So everyone that's given me all these opportunities, I'm so thankful for and it's been amazing. They've all been great people. And for me, my whole career is just based on good people, not money, not connections, but like really lovely people that have taken a chance on someone that they thought, you're a good person, let's give it a shot. That's right. And make good music as well, Rod. That's right. Yeah, that's kind of important. It's very important. Now, keeping on with the theme of Elton John, I heard that you've toured with Elton John, appearing on 55 shows with his, I mean, what was it like on the road and where did you visit when you were on tour with Elton? I played in Newcastle. We did, that was one of the first shows. Actually, when we played in Newcastle, it was one of my favourite shows because I used to take photos of the audience after our set. And when I put our set up with the lighters to take a photo with the lady in the front row, it was being sick in Newcastle. And I was like, regional pride. That's absolutely amazing. It would have been the same in Nice, to be honest. And that was before Elton even came on. I was like, oh, love, you've got a long night ahead of you. The shows were so good. It was my first time playing to audiences that big across the world. So I opened for him in the UK, across Europe, we played in Russia even, North America, two shows in Canada. And it was just such a brilliant experience. And it made me write bigger songs. So it was before I did the choreography album. And I wanted to write choreography to be able to play those songs in a room that size and feel amazing. So it helped me grow a lot as a writer and as an artist. We had so much fun, like we'd go record shopping for each other and he'd email me, is there anything you're looking for? And I'd email him like, oh, I found this, you have this record when we were in different cities. And I think I got him Faced by George Michael on vinyl and he got me the Suspect of Christmas album, iconic. We had, we really, really had the best time. It was just magic. Now, you released your debut film score in 2023 for Old Man, the International Male Story, while in 2020, 11 of your songs soundtracked the cult hit web series, The Disappointments. Prior to that, you began your flirtation with composition by moving images, writing the theme for UK comedy legend Mark Gatiss BBC4 talking head series Queers, which also appeared at the Old Vic for a special event. What was it like composing a soundtrack and what was the brief you were given? It was really fun. It's been my life dream, actually, to do a film score. And it was so much fun, a completely different part of your brain that you use doing that because it was all instrumental and not lyrical. So it's, I'm used to writing lyrics and melodies together. But it was a really fun challenge. It's a documentary, so it's mostly conversation and dialogue or monologues, you know, because the narrator was silent, or the interviewer was silent in those pieces. So I had to leave a lot of space for the actual words being spoken. So I tried to create the music around what the people were saying and try and orchestrate the speech versus song lyrics in effect. And it was so fun. It was really a cool subject matter. And a lot of my friends were actually interviewed in it, just by chance. They didn't know that I knew these people like Jake Shears and Drew Droege, who's this amazing comedian over here. And it was a really lovely experience. I got to go to the premiere and sort of take, you know, meet all the people from the film. And working with Mark on the Queers TV show was amazing as well. Mark is amazing. I was a huge fan of League of Gentlemen growing up, you know, all of his work, like Doctor Who, Sherlock, everything like that is just completely fantastic to me. And he's really one of the best people in the whole world. He's such a lovely man. And he's hilarious. So when he just, I met him because we both won an award at that Wink Awards, where I won musician of the year, he won man of the year. And we ended up just chatting. And he was like, Oh, where do you live? I still live in New York. He was like, Oh, I'll be there next week. Let's have a coffee. So we did. Excellent. And in the meantime, we researched my music and was like, Oh, would you want to have a go at writing the theme tune? And I literally sat down that day, I improvised something, sent it to him. He was like, it's perfect. That's great. Excellent. Excellent. And the rest is history. And the rest is history. Yeah. So, you know, growing up in the UK, I think that TV is such an institution. I know it's like a worldwide phenomenon, but there's something very special about British TV and British soaps and British comedies and British dramas, you know, that we had in like the 90s and the 2000s growing up. So to feel like I was doing something with the BBC or with like something that was on British TV that people could watch at home was so cool. Now, what was it like to write for Screen? Because in the past, you've written studio music for artists instead, such as Danny Minogue, Bananarama and Erasure. It was, yeah, Screen is very different because you're not really writing for like a person. It's more sort of for the people watching. So you normally, if I'm writing a song for another artist, I'd be thinking about them, but there was no one there to think about. So it's thinking about the next step. And it was really cool. You know, I spent a lot of my time listening to film scores. That's my love, actually. So it was, I do a lot of passive research just by listening to those anyway. So trying to learn what you can do with a score and how scores work and themes and motifs you can use. And it was so great. It was a good palate cleanser from just writing songs all the time. And then once I'd finished that, I was definitely ready to start writing songs again. Back to the pop. Back to the pop. Yes. Are you more comfortable with pop, would you say? Yeah. Pop, dance, whatever. It was dance floor based pop music. So, you know, I'm from the radio school of the 90s where, yes, like Corona and the Real McCoy was dance music, but that was also pop music because it was high up in the charts. So for me, they're kind of intertwined. And like Black Box is dance music, but that's very pop as well, you know, or like, oh, I can't even think of something like Fragmatokas Miracle as like a, you know, dance, but also very pop. It is. Yes. It's like a lot of the dance music. It's like a crossover kind of thing. You know, it's all popular music. And of course, me, I mean, I was celebrating my 30th anniversary last year. Just the end of last year was my 30th anniversary of doing legal broadcasting because I used to do a radio, I used to run a radio station from my own house. And you could hear the music all across the estate and things. But yes, yes. But what I was doing, you see, is I was playing all the Coronas and Real McCoys and all that. It was just a magical time in the 90s for all the dance music and everything. Just great party atmosphere. It was amazing. Yeah. Like I remember showing some of my friends in America, like over here, the Billboard chart has multiple charts, the dance chart, the Hot 100, the Bubbling Under, whereas we just had one. And I'm sure there were other charts, but no one knew they existed in the public world. Right. So you would just have in the top five, we'd have like Celine Dion, Rednecks, Real McCoy and like Michael Bolton. And like, it was so random that like Mr. Blobby and Elton John head to head for Christmas number one. It's such an insane world to live in at the time. And my friends in America can't believe that those were like the combinations of people that were like actually vying for the number one position. So odd. I know you wouldn't get, I know that kind of thing doesn't happen in the Billboard Hot 100. I know that for sure. Maybe they've got a silly chart somewhere as well, you know. Yeah, the random chart. The random chart. Yes. Now, you're based in New York, as I mentioned earlier. Has the Big Apple opened up lots of opportunities for you since making the move over there? Yes. I've found over here that people in the music industry are much more, and when I say people in the music industry, I mean other artists or promoters or people that book you for shows, have been a lot more open than people that I've met in the UK. I moved over here knowing a handful of people. Admittedly, some of them were sisters. Yeah, that was a bit of a boon. But you know, I was just introduced to people and they were like, oh, that sounds really cool. Here's my email, whatever, whatever. And in the UK, people weren't really willing to share connections that they had, or they weren't as receptive to new people. At the time, in the 2010s or whatever, it was very cutthroat. Everyone was either signed to a major label or they were worthless. And I was one of the worthless people. So I watched all of my friendship groups get signed to Polydor or Island or Sony, and not me. And I just realized very quickly that I was not allowed to sit at those tables. And I just had enough. So I moved to New York and people were just so much more welcoming and fun and really just wanted to make music versus make music that would sell, if that makes sense. And I also have nothing against major labels. I have friends that work there who work so hard and they work on amazing artists, really amazing artists. And my friends that got signed were amazing artists as well. But the difference in perspective of like, oh, just because you don't have a deal doesn't mean that you're not worth taking a chance on or working with. That was like the big shift. So I've had so many more opportunities to work with people that I've loved and respected over here and to tour and to travel and to write and produce for people. And I've found making a network here much easier than over there. And it also gave me the confidence to go back to the UK whenever I was there and feel a lot more confident in my skills. So it sort of changed my mindset as well. And it was very, very necessary. And you'll be getting a lot of airplay over in the States. I found that when I listen to the radio over here, I tend to find that the new artists that are being played on national radio stations tend to be people who are signed to big labels, which I think is all wrong, really, because it used to be the case of like we mentioned in the 90s there, you would have people who are signed to the acid jazz label, like the brand new heavies and things like that, which were which was quite an a radical independent label. But they would be featured as you know, on the on the playlist of radio stations. And every time I hear listen to national radio, and I'll not mention any of these fee paying stations, license fee paying stations in the UK. A lot of the artists which are here are not independent artists. I wonder why that is? Because I'm sure because in the States, like I say, totally different. It's you know, it's an interesting thing, UK radio. I think it's always constantly changing. I've been very lucky with like, regional radio have always been very much behind me. And I've had my moments with national radio, I really have had some really good support from them. But not in the way that like major label artists do. And I understand it. And I understand how that world works. But yeah, it is interesting to see and you're looking at people and you're like, Oh, universal, universal, universal sub sub label. Yes, you know, and it kind of, that hasn't changed so much over the last decade. And I kind of feel like, well, at least at least I freed myself from that little comparison bubble for a while, you know. That's right. And you're having great success now, because you're having a good time. You've made the greatest escape and you've got your confidence built up there in the States there. So the Big Apple is being very, very good to you. Now on another note, you're a great supporter of the LGBTQ plus and humanitarian causes, the Trevor Project, Aliforni Center, HMI, ACLU, for their goals as well, if I'm saying that right, and local independent LGBTQ plus businesses to helping them to survive and thrive. Please could you tell us about these good causes and how listeners can help and support or maybe find out more. So all of the ones that you mentioned are actually American based charities. But what I try to do with my UK tours is I ask my fans on Twitter or on Facebook what the charities or, you know, organizations in their areas that really need amplification are. And I try to do fundraisers with ticket sales or donations at the venue for them. And I'll try and amplify whatever local body needs the most help. Like we all know the cancer researchers, we all know the ones that have enough support to have national visibility. But especially now, you notice that there are so many more small charities very locally doing really essential work. But women's rights, helping immigrants, helping families on low income, helping fight homophobia, you know, there's so much that needs to be done that I feel like my responsibility, and I want to, I really want to help people help other people, you know, for me, music is about community. And doing the shows is about community. And I love getting to travel the world and meet people in each town. So the real ethos of my shows is to be able to help the good people doing excellent work that really need as much help as possible. Indeed, and with you being a public figure there, that's the perfect platform in order to maybe address them, you know, and help charities as it were, as well as, you know, sharing and bringing together people with your music. Yeah, there's a lot of independent businesses, you know, I'm sure we all have friends that do, even if it's like small scale craft, and they sell their own works, or if they do volunteer work or charity work or animal work, or, you know, other people then do like maybe caring for the elderly or something, we all know people that are trying to do stuff to make the world a slightly better place. And then we know people that run their own shop or their own bar or their own restaurant. And each of these people that doesn't have a chain behind them relies on every single donation or every single transaction, like a sale, buying a beer, buying a CD, buying a book from their store or whatever. And I don't think people understand the power that they have to support other people, you know, like sharing a person's song, posting about a friend, if your friend's written a book, like I'm fortunate, lots of my friends have had the ability to publish a book, I'll post about their book. If your friend has like a swimming group that is open to people to join, post about that, you know. The power that you have just on your phone is really amazing. And you can do a lot of these things without spending a penny to help people stay afloat. Write a review of a local business, write a review of your friend's bar or coffee shop or whatever on Yelp or Google Maps, you know. It sounds really sad, but I'm like one of these like, like old aunts that writes reviews on Google Maps for every single place that I go to, where the people are nice and that the food is good. And I get messages saying like, oh, 500,000 people saw that review. And you're like, wow, okay, that does actually make a difference, you know. And so I just try and do small, small things that I can, small steps to help whoever I can in whatever way I can. Lovely. Yes. Everyone needs to help each other, as it were. Excellent, excellent work you're doing there. Now back to the music and your forthcoming album, Enjoy Youth, which is released on your own record label YSKWN. Sounds like it's going to be a great album. Please could you tell us what we can expect? It is an album that is meant to make you feel joy, basically. I haven't felt much joy since the Covid year and the years since because I feel like a lot of people, it took a while to bounce back from that, you know. And it's been a bit of a rough ride. So I wanted the album to make people feel good and to remind people to focus on moments of joy. That doesn't negate the stuff that's going on around it. There's a lot going on in the world to digest in the process at the moment. But to remember to allow yourself to feel joy in the spaces where you can, you know, whether it's people you love, something you love, a hobby that you have, peace and calm in whatever moments you can find in the day. So the album is really a reminder to enjoy the time that we have because it's limited and it's very precious. And I'm very lucky that I've met so many people across the world that I just love to bits. And I wrote it for them and I wrote it for me and I wrote it for all the amazing people that come to my shows that have just brought, like when I was on UK tour in September, the people that came and brought so much incredible energy to the rooms was very rejuvenating, very healing. And I want to keep that going. I want people to just remember that, like, contrary to what people in the government are trying to make you believe, life is actually quite beautiful. And if they would let it be, it would be amazing. But they won't. So we have to make it as amazing as we can ourselves. Definitely, definitely. And we need more music like yours in the charts here in the UK. I know that for sure, because there's too much of the doom and gloom in the charts at the minute. Honestly, honestly, I'll tell you something. I would rather play independent artists on the radio than a lot of the other stuff that's around at the minute. And that's why I'm speaking to you today, because since I heard your latest single, You Want My, which is a fabulous single, which is a great dance track and it's very Pet Shop Boys-esque and quite uplifting, I was like, you know, we've got to have you on the show. Now, talking about the song, what was the story behind it and how has it been received? Well, I work a lot with this guy called Ian Masterson. If you've seen RuPaul's Drag Race recently, he's been the guest music producer. If you know Strictly Come Dancing, he does a lot of the music production work for that, which is amazing. He's also a regular collaborator for Bananarama and Danny Minogue. And back in the day, he was involved in Planet Perfecto and he was also a trouser enthusiast. So you would probably know him from that. Yes, definitely. Yes, we know the trouser enthusiasts, we do indeed. So I work with him a lot and he sent me this instrumental to the song. And the idea was to write a song for somebody else, you know, like pitching it for other artists. And I heard the instrumental and I was like, no, this isn't mine. I really, really loved it. I was like, it made me feel so powerful and so alive. You know, like when you said it was sort of Pet Shop Boys-esque, it really was. It made me feel like a Pet Shop Boy. I love Pet Shop Boys so much. And it really lives in their world of the kind of like the very era where it's just outrageous pop music, outrageous dance music. And I wrote the top line, like the vocal parts really quickly and just loved them. So I sent them to Ian and he really liked it as well. And then we agreed that I could keep it and use it as the first track on this new album because it really did make me feel like alive again, you know, really alive. And I hope that it just makes people dance and feel fabulous about themselves. It is. It's a great positive tune. I would highly recommend it. It's called You Want My... and it's out now. Now, you were talking about your tour. Where were you? Where did you tour last year there? Because I've missed out on that one. Yeah, it was a very small tour last year. It was just Bristol, Brighton, Birmingham, Glasgow, Manchester and London, I think. No Newcastle there. No Newcastle. No, unfortunately not. No, the really difficult thing is that the cost of like petrol and stuff has gone up so much. This is not meant to be like a doom and gloom thing either, but the cost of traveling has gone up so much that I've had to really scale back on how many places we stop on tour. And I actually do the tours by public transport to try and be a little bit less carbon focused. Of course, yes. But yeah, we just didn't make it work last time. And hopefully this year I'll be back in Newcastle. I love it. I have some amazing friends in Newcastle who make me laugh so much. Yeah. Yeah. Any suggestions are very welcome. Definitely. Well, yes, you've got to fill that Newcastle arena, I know that. I think I got a little bit before that bit. Unless you want to start at the City Hall in Newcastle, which a lot of great acts have performed there. And also there's a place which used to be called the Sage Gatehead. It's called the Glass House. So I think I've heard of that. And it looks like an armadillo on the side of the River Tyne. Right. But you know what, I think I did Town Hall with Erasure a couple of years ago. Yeah, well, there you go. Yeah, which was amazing. Amazing, amazing show. And like Erasure is like my favourite pop band. They are fabulous. I've been trying to get them on this show. I don't know what's going on there. Oh, they're probably busy. Yeah, no, you'll have to have a word there. You'll have to have a word. I'll do my best. Now you have some tour dates coming up in 2024. You're going to be performing at Mighty Hoopla Festival in London, which is June the 1st. Yes, I'm very excited about that. That's the first one we've announced and the rest will be announced shortly, I believe. Oh, right. I'm keeping the rest of them secret. I've got another three dates I can mention. Yeah, yeah, they're not announced yet. Right, we're not announced there. Right. OK, but you've had an exclusive there by listening in and watching today. Mighty Hoopla Festival London, June the 1st and June the 2nd. So where can listeners get tickets for your gigs and follow your music? So my website is brightlightx2.com on all social media, TikTok, Instagram, Facebook, Twitter or X or whatever you call it now. It's brightlightx2 is my handle on all of those. If you find me there, you'll find convenient links to listen at your leisure. If you type brightlight brightlight into Spotify or Apple Music or Tidal or Deezer or whatever you use, I will come right up and there is a little playlist that will show you everything that I've done so far. Or you can go album by album, whatever you like to do to consume music. And thank you to anyone that follows me. I post lots of pictures of cats as well. So if you're an animal lover, then you will not be disappointed. Lovely, lovely. By the way, I've got a comment on those. I mean, those of you who are listening into the radio here at the minute, if you are watching this on YouTube, which will be posted later, I did. I love them glitter balls behind you there. Thank you. Yeah, absolutely wonderful. Do they rotate or are they just hanging there? They don't. I have two other disco balls in my living room that do rotate. Wow. This is my studio area. So these ones are static just so that I don't get too vertigo laden when I'm making my music. So do you have your Elton John music on and your Sisters as well as your music and have all the lights going in and out? All my disco grades. And I've got George Michael there behind me. Oh, yes, I see him there. Yes. That looks like it's from the older album. It is from the box set that came out last year. Oh, yes, that's wonderful. The little inserts that they gave. Absolutely fabulous. I absolutely love George Michael. Absolutely fantastic. He still is because he's living on forever with his music there. Now, on another note, the vinyl revival is upon us around the world. So may I ask you, what is your favourite vinyl record you have ever bought and why? This is a difficult one, this one. Yeah, it is. It's a really difficult one. What I'm going to say is maybe not the one I bought, but Kylie Minogue's Light Years album, when it was reissued exclusively through Sainsbury's, which made me so angry, I can't even describe to you. Wow. Because I don't live in the UK and there was this crazy rush to buy them. And obviously, people bought them and just put them on eBay. And I was like, oh, my God, this is going to be on eBay. Two of my fans direct messaged me on Twitter and asked if I wanted them to get it for me. And one of them managed to get me one and he sent it to me. And I'm going to be forever grateful for that because as a, you know, a person that grew up in the UK, Light Years was my favourite pop album. And I love having it on vinyl. I love the album so much. I didn't buy that one myself, so that's cheating a little bit. But it's one that is very precious to me because I know that it disappeared and it's my, when I go on Discogs, it's my second most expensive record, actually. I bet it is as well. My goodness. And a Sainsbury's exclusive as well. It was. Yeah, they did a couple of them as a Sainsbury's exclusive. I don't know quite what was going on there, but I'm assuming they got a sweet deal. I bet. I love it. I love it. Now, unfortunately, we've run out of time. Can you believe it, Rod? Time flies when you're having fun. So all I can say is thank you so much for joining me on the show. Good luck with the album and your single as well. And finally, would it be possible for you to introduce your latest single, please? Yes, of course. Thank you for having me. I'm Bright Light, Bright Light. This is my new single, which was written both as a loving homage to Pet Shop Boys within music and George Michael, actually, because the title is a reference to I Want Your Sex. And this is my loving homage to both those artists called You Want My. Thank you very much, Rod. Thank you so much for joining me, Bright Light, Bright Light. And we'll speak to you soon. Be great to have you on the show again in the future. Thanks so much. Thank you very much. Bye.
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