Jon Gomm

GOMM PORTRAYS A LITTLE PIECE OF PASSION FLOWER

A decade ago a ‘Passion Flower’ blossomed, a life-changing release for Yorkshire musician, Jon Gomm; ten years on, this past September 24/25, and ‘Passion Flower’ has been thrust back into the spotlight. Alongside the re-release of his 2013 album, ‘Secrets Nobody Keeps,’ and an upcoming, sixweek, UK-wide tour, the 44-yearold is readying to kick-start a career, alike most others, that has found itself hampered, in part, by a global pandemic. Although not fully halted that of the Blackpool-born, Yorkshirebred, multi-genre musician, it’s been close enough – last year would be sugar-coated with the release of some new material, arriving in the shape of the new album, ‘The Faintest Idea.’ “The highlight of the pandemic, for me anyway, was releasing my new album,” explained Jon. “It was finished, released, but I’ve not had the opportunity in which to tour it. “It’s been really hard though, with these strange times that we’re going through, but I’m going into this with no real expectations, just ready and wanting to get back out there again.” The tour, which sees Jon begin in Dublin on 1 October, stopping off at places like York and Bristol, Nottingham and Glasgow, Newcastle, and Liverpool, before winding up, on 15 November, on the South Coast, in Brighton. It is a set of dates which sees a conflict, of sorts, between artist and booking agent, often clashing over choice of venue, but they make it work. However, because of what is going on, it’s still something that will perplex even the strongest, greatest of minds. “It’s going to be really weird,” explained Jon. “It’ll be strange, with all the travelling, but I’m ready to get back on

stage, as it’s the only place I can really feel myself, so it affords added excitement as well. “It also means that I can be weird myself again, when I’m up on stage. “As for the booking agent, they always want me to do a lesser number of dates but at larger venues, whereas I want to do the exact opposite. “I’m looking forward to it though (the tour), and it’s in places that I’ve been to before. “I really love this country, it’s beautiful, the people, and the cultures, so I really love playing here. “This’ll all make it emotional as well, when I do start touring; I’m just disappointed there’s places I’m not going that I’d have like to. “ As for Jon’s eternal ‘Passion Flower,’ it brings with it a connection to the iconic Stephen Fry; it was because of Fry that that specific track took on a life of its own, and went viral. “I do owe a lot of thanks to Stephen Fry for what ‘Passion Flower’ became,” delights Jon. “Before I released it, I mentioned that, and a few other tracks, to some music friends, because I’ve always been more attracted to releasing singles than I have albums. “So I did that online, through my fan-base, and some people thought that ‘Passion Flower’ was ridiculous, with the length of it, so it did become a bit of a shock when it went viral, a few months later. “That was exciting, surreal, and a bit crazy, all at the same time, so I’ve just continued in the same vein ever since.” Jon Gomm appears at The Cluny, on Halloween (31 October), ticket information and more available via the event page HERE and you can keep up-to-date with all the musicians exploits via his Facebook https://www.facebook. com/jongommofficial and Twitter https://twitter.com/jongomm; or visit his website via https://jongomm.com/

Photos by David Galbraith, Tom Martin and Marek Zawrotny