Sunderland talent Tom A. Smith on film role, hometown show and signing to a record label

The singer-songwriter from East Rainton first started learning guitar when he was four and he’s hardly put it down since, performing at some of the country’s biggest festivals and writing close to 800 songs with 50 hours of music on his SoundCloud.

From his very first gig on stage supporting Detroit Social Club at The Cluny when he was eight and playing at SAFC’s Fan Zone when he was still at school, the 21-year-old has gone on to rack up countless hours of live performance, including being selected by Elton John to join him at his British Summer Time show at Hyde Park, appearances at Glastonbury in 2022 and 2023 (Left Field stage and Strummerville), performing at Kendal Calling, BBC Radio 1's Big Weekend in Dundee, F1 British Grand Prix at Silverstone, opening Leeds Festival to more than 6000 music fans and more.

He’s supported big names such as Catfish & The Bottlemen, The Lathums, The Mysterines, Hard-Fi, Courteeners, Miles Kane, James, Billy Bragg, DMA’s, Vistas, and Gang of Youths to name just a few.

Now, he’s cementing his deserved place in the spotlight after signing to Fiction Records, his name now appearing on the label’s website alongside some of his heroes like The Cure and Tame Impala.

It will see the release of a new single, Fashion, on August 1, which coincides with a hometown gig on August 15 as part of the Fire Station’s Summer Parties series of outdoor gigs taking place at the venue’s Parade Ground.

“It's going to be an absolute party, so I can't wait for it,” said the former Houghton Kepier pupil. “We’re so familiar with this venue, playing Waves and two sell out shows here at the auditorium. We saw last year’s Summer Parties and they looked incredible so when they asked us if we wanted to play this year it didn’t take much persuading.”

Tom’s made many digital releases in the past few years after forming his band when he was 17 alongside Dylan Abbot on guitar, Fraser Graham on drums and Katie Anderson on bass, but new track Fashion will be their first release through a label.

“We’re not session musicians, so everything we’ve done has been fresh and exciting for us all,” said Tom. “We’re all learning together.

“I still don’t think I’m at the peak of my powers performance-wise, but that just means there’s space to grow. But we’re in a great place with our live shows at the minute.”

Catching the ear of household names

Over the years, Tom’s talent has caught the ear of some big names. Tim Burgess handpicked him to play his stage at Kendal Calling, making him the festival's youngest ever performer and in the week David Bowie passed, Bowie's widow Iman shared Smith's cover of Bowie's Lazarus online, commenting on the emotional impact of Tom's rendition.

Even Morrissey - not a man known to lavish praise or endorsements on others - played Tom’s cover of Please Please Please Let Me Get What I Want as his walk on music on a US tour.

But his sound is one that all started in his Sunderland home thanks to his dad Andy’s passion for music, listening to the likes of The Cure, Motown, Bruce Springsteen, 90s music and more and the A in his stage name is a nod to his dad’s big influence.

Music was purely fun when Tom started learning guitar and piano with his brother and sister, but he soon became obsessed, studying his idols and performing covers.

He started music lessons with Futureheads frontman Barry Hyde who introduced him to even more great artists and over the years Tom has developed his own unique sound.

A hugely-prolific songwriter, penning 250 songs in Lockdown alone, Tom finds inspiration for his tracks from the everyday at that time.

“The most important thing about writing songs is getting better at writing songs,” he said. “When I’m not away performing I like to get two songs written, fully recorded and down in a week.

“It took a while to work out what my sound is, testing a lot of things and everything I’ve put out has been quite different. But I’ve spent the last year really honing in on my sound and going back to my roots with my sound.

“I think at the moment I’d describe that sound as quite experimental, alternative guitar with a bit of a pop element. I like to keep the music catchy and relatable.”

On making his acting debut

Not content with forging a promising career in the music industry, Tom will also be making his debut on the silver screen.

A semi-autobiographical film of Dave Stewart’s colourful life growing up in 1960s Sunderland is to be shot in the city.

Drawing inspiration from Barnes-born Dave’s early life, the musical feature is a semi-autobiographical journey into the North East of England as the cultural revolution of the late 60’s meets the social and economic challenges of the early 1970s, with Tom playing a young Dave in the film.

“I still can’t believe it,” said Tom. “Dave messaged me in early 2023 and asked for my number and asked if I’d done acting before. I hadn’t but he really wanted a Sunderland lad to play him in the film, with a proper Sunderland accent.

“I met with the director and producer and it went from there. The songs are brilliant and I’m so excited for it. It’s a random side mission for me, but who knows what may come from it.”

The film will feature songs by Dave Stewart and a musical score by Dave and Bafta, Grammy and Academy Award winning A.R Rahman.

It will be directed by Academy Award-nominated and Bafta-winning filmmaker, Shekhar Kapur, who directed Elizabeth and What’s Love Got to Do With It?

Sunderland-born Bafta winner David Parfitt will be on the production team.

Rising to fame with Eurythmics, Dave Stewart is one of the city’s most-successful creatives with a career as a singer songwriter, producer and musician spanning 40 years and selling more than 100 million albums.

*Tom A. Smith plays The Fire Station for the Summer Parties series on August 15. Tickets from https://www.thefirestation.org.uk/whats-on/tom-a-smith-tw5c