Bradley Simpson on life as a solo artist: "As a musician and producer it’s the biggest challenge I’ve had in a long time"

Bradley Simpson will be familiar to many for his work with The Vamps, who staked their claim over the airwaves, and indeed the postered walls of many female teenagers, during their rise in 2010s. Now, over 630 shows, five studio albums (two of which went no.1 in the UK) and ten years later, the singer has decided to go it alone.

There’s no need to let your inner fangirl fret too much though. While the group felt it was the right time to go their separate ways creatively, he insists that recent developments are more hiatus than outright schism.

“We had a conversation a few years ago, a couple of the boys had already started their own projects,” Simpson reveals. “We were all in a space where we didn't feel ready to make a sixth album yet. I started writing a couple of songs that didn't feel that they fit the band. They felt too personal.”

His upcoming debut record, the name or release date of which he shan’t reveal for now, looks to document those turbulent years as part of an arena-packing outfit.

“The album’s about the past 10 years of my life, so it covers a lot,” Simpson says.

“There were certain parts of it I hadn't reflected on, it was a whirlwind time. We started off really young. I was 17 when the first song came out, and I'm 28 now. A lot of the fans who are coming to my shows now have also gone through their life. One turned up the other day and was like, ‘I've had a baby.’ It's really cool, I’ve found writing about it very cathartic and therapeutic.

“One of the things I’m most grateful for about being in a group is that we went into a bubble and shielded each other. We were also lucky that our fans were always respectful. We never experienced it the same way other artists might have, which can be really tough."

He's shared two singles from the project so far, the first of which, 'Cry at the Moon', hinted to a matured, rock-oriented approach.

“I grew up on rock music,” he says. “AC/DC got me into playing guitar and my mom was a proper rocker,  it was always on in the house. It was something that we'd semi touched on in the band, more so in a live space. In terms of the studio we never really dived into it. So for me personally, it really felt like the right place to go, I wanted to do something that felt authentic.”

Since then, Simpson dropped the heartbreak-swathed follow up 'Picasso', which took a brighter, crooning turn.

"I worked with Ina Wroslden on it, who's an incredible songwriter," he says. "The first thing she said when I came in was ‘I love your song titles,  whatever we do today, we need to get a really interesting song title’. So we started playing around and trying to push the lyric as much as we could.

"We fell into this idea of people who have managed to dress up heartbreak in a way that is beautiful, or who can make the highs so high that the lows aren't as low."

"It's not a heartbreak album by any means," he adds. “There's plenty of love songs on there. There's a lot of songs that act as words of affirmation. I’ve just been trying to get the last decade of my life wrapped up in an album really. There’s no one specific theme, but I think love influences a lot of it.”

His first time writing and producing a full scale project as a solo artist, how has Simpson adapted to the shifted workload?

“It's been fun,” he says. “As a musician and producer it’s the biggest challenge I’ve had in a long time. You have to be more consciously aware of how each instrument sits, rather than relying on someone else who's wearing the bass or the guitar hat.

“It's so easy with software now, so I’ve tried to make the album up of as many first takes as I could. We’ve got plenty of live drums too, keeping it as human as possible.”

Does he ever worry about having to meet the aural expectations of an already established and dedicated following?

“In my head they're such separate entities,” Simpson reveals, comparing his solo venture to his time with The Vamps. “The music's very different and the shows feel very different. It’s an opportunity for me to show a different side of myself to the fans, so I’m trying to cultivate that. It's nice to go back into smaller venues and play festivals that I never had before. I'm grateful to have been able to step into arenas over the course of my career, but there’s an intimacy you can't get in bigger venues.”

• Bradley Simpson plays The Academy Green Room on November 6, 2024.