The deeply personal record is inspired by living, and learning to navigate, an uncertain future.

“The main thing for me is that this isn’t a sob story. It’s me being myself – and, as the final songs on the album show, there’s happiness in my acceptance of my situation,” says Sunderland’s Tom A. Smith on his deeply personal new music.

Tom's new record is a deeply personal album | Photo by Katie Anderson

placeholder image — Tom's new record is a deeply personal album | Photo by Katie Anderson

Tom, 22, from East Rainton, was born with hypoplastic left heart syndrome and by the age of four had undergone five life-saving open heart surgeries.

It’s a life-limiting condition with Tom living today with only one side of his heart. However, it’s a condition that never stopped him pursuing his music passion and dreams.

A hugely prolific songwriter, he’s gone on to be one of the city’s brightest music talents, appearing at Glastonbury, SXSW and a locked out Great Escape show this summer alone and sharing stages with Elton John, The Maccabees, Gang of Youths, The Kooks and Miles Kane, among many others.

He’s never spoken publicly about the condition before, but felt the time was right with his debut album, including new single Carry That Weight, co-written with The Maccabees’ Hugo White and backed with When The Angels Sing My Song, which you can listen to here: https://tomasmith.lnk.to/Carry-That-WeightPR

The tracks are taken from his much-anticipated debut album, The Golden Gates, released in April 2027, inspired by how he has spent his life navigating an uncertain future.

Speaking about his early years of undergoing multiple surgeries, Tom said: “From the occasional memories that come to me from that time and also the rest of my childhood, I know how difficult it was for not only me, but my family as well.

“My current state isn’t a long-term option, as a result of that my future is quite uncertain and I will require more extreme medical care as I move deeper into my adult years.

“Upon my chest, etched on to my skin, is a scar. A scar that, and with everything that comes with it, haunted me for 20 years.

Tom's scars, which he once hid, feature in the album artwork | Submitted

“I was scared of it. I couldn’t look at it in the mirror, I would pretend to be ill as a kid so I could miss things like swimming lessons or PE lessons because I was so scared of what the other children’s reactions may be. In case they didn’t see me in the same way they see everyone else.

“It served as a constant reminder to me of who I really am, where I’ve been and what’s to come. I was ashamed of it. People would say, it’s just a scar. It’s just a scar… It’s not just a scar.

“It’s a map of everything that has gotten me to where I am right now. It’s a symbol for everything myself, my family and hopefully all of you will continue to go through with me and there is absolutely nothing to be scared or ashamed of or to want to hide.

“Over the last two years I’ve done a lot of thinking about how it has impacted me as I’ve become an adult and most importantly, I’ve written an album about it. I always knew and wanted this to be what my first record was about; it was just a case of when the right time for me to talk about it was.

“Though at first, when I started writing it, I was frustrated, angry and my emotions towards it hadn’t changed. I then started to think about how it impacted the people I love and finally I began to accept it, and in a sense, I started to appreciate it. Though I am not fully there yet, I do believe this is the final stage towards it. Taking ownership of something that has owned me my whole life.”

Recorded in Sunderland and co-produced alongside Barry Hyde of The Futureheads, Tom’s former guitar teacher and long-time mentor, The Golden Gates brings together twelve tracks of impassioned alternative rock, intimate songwriting and emotional honesty.

The album’s striking artwork, features the surgical scars across Tom’s chest, which he hid for many years and is now embracing as a part of his identity.

*Golden Gates is out on April 2, 2027, via Fiction Records. Pre-order here: https://tomasmith.lnk.to/The-Golden-GatesPR