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From gigging with the likes of Kodaline, Sam Smith and Ed Sheeran, to appearing twice on James Corden’s Late Late Show in L.A., to hitching a ride on One Direction’s private jet, it was little wonder that the motor-mouthed Dubliner came across as a little excited and delighted in his conversation with Stuart Clark.

This afternoon, sitting in the London offices of Good Soldier music publishers (other clients on their books include David Gray, Biffy Clyro and The 1975), he’s obviously settling into his groove a little more. He’s just got word that he’s hit the holy grail of musicians, with the title-track of his album now playlisted on both BBC Radio 1 and Radio 2. The news that he is the 458th most streamed artist in the world on Spotify has also just been announced. But rather than bouncing around the office, he’s taking it all in his stride. “It’s all good, man,” he laughs, with a wave of the hand. “It’s all class. It’s all cool.”

Not that he’s taking anything for granted. As his manager Edison Waters told me before the interview, “Gavin’s journey, as you have seen, is all about true hard work and constant progression.”

Today, on a brief break from touring, he’s writing songs. “I’m just chilling, man, doing some writing,” he says. “Everything is really cool. Everything is kinda getting a little bit bigger and a little bit faster. When I’m not gigging, I’m spending a lot of time here in London doing a lot of writing for the second album and all that. But I’m just really chuffed by the way everything’s going, really.”

He’s spent most of the summer playing festivals.

“I’ve been doing a lot of festivals. We’re going to Scotland this weekend to do Inverness for a festival called Velodrome, which is going to be cool. It’s where the Loch Ness monster is, so it’ll be great. After that we’re going to Belgium to do – if I try to say it, I’ll mess up! – but we’re off to do a festival in Belgium. It’s going to be a lot of fun. I went to Iceland for a bit which is mental, absolutely mad... seen lots of puffins. It’s crazy!

“I’m just going to festivals this Summer then from September I’ll be heading off to Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Singapore, and then off to do a UK tour. Then, after that, America again and then Australia so it’s going to be busy, busy, busy right up till Christmas. Pretty much right after Electric Picnic it’ll be flat out right up to Christmas, so it’ll be a lot of work. But it’s all good!”

He’ll be headlining the main stage at Stradbally on the Saturday of Electric Picnic. “Last year I did the Rankins Wood stage,” he recalls. “I loved it. It was kinda the first Irish gig I had done for a while because I’d been in the States for a good bit and it was mental. I did the one song that was actually on the radio – which is a song called ‘For You’ – because I hadn’t played back home in a couple of months. And then I did it first for some reason – probably because I’m an idiot! – but everybody started singing it, and I was like, ‘Wow, people know the actual songs!’ It was pretty amazing.”

Is he nervous about the prospect of playing the main stage?

“I always get a little bit nervous,” he admits. “But I’m not too bad. I definitely will be nervous about 20 minutes before, but it’s going to be fun.

“My own shows seem to have a more intimate kind of vibe and I’m usually very chatty in between songs, which I don’t think I’ll be doing too much of at Electric Picnic because it’d be lost in the crowd. I’m just gonna go out and try to rock it for an hour... blast through it. I have no idea what I’m going to say so I’m probably just gonna be like, ‘How are ye, how are ye getting on Electric Picnic, are ye doing well?’”

Has he ever attended Electric Picnic as a punter?

“Yeah, I think I went there in about 2011 or 2012,” he says. “Or was it 2013? I actually have no idea, but I definitely went when I was about 20. I went with all my mates; it was amazing. Great craic. And I remember somebody did stand on my head in the tent when I was sleeping!” Does he have any festival tips? “The obvious one is to bring bog roll because that’s the most important thing in the world,” he laughs. “And babywipes! Otherwise, I dunno, it depends what you really care about. I don’t really care about how me hair looks after the first day because it usually looks shite anyway, but you should bring dry shampoo. Dry shampoo is definitely a good choice.”

But enough of all that. With so much happening in the next few months, when will he have time to record his second album?

“Oh, I haven’t a clue,” he sighs. “I have shitloads of songs so I’m going to have lots of songs that I didn’t put on the first one and then loads of new songs I’ve written even in the past month. So I’m going to have to try put them all in a box and pick them out.”

Does he road-test them when he’s touring?

“Yeah, I do sometimes. When I’m back in Dublin, I tend to pop into Bruxelles. I did all the open mic nights in Bruxelles and the open mic nights in the Ruby House, so I’d usually go in there and try out some new songs, which is cool. A lot of my mates still play around Temple Bar, so I usually sneak up on stage and play some songs with them.”

Has he written anything that he knows will definitely be featuring on the next album?

“There is one called ‘Simple Song’. It’s good, yeah. That’ll be one, and then… I dunno. There’s loads of them so there’ll be a big choice to pick from. All I’ll say is that they’re definitely going to be a lot different – a bit more soulful and a bit more rocky at the same time. But I’ll be touring for the next while, so the album won’t be out until next year.”

Does all of the travelling ever get gruelling?

Gavin James shakes his head and smiles: “Nah, I love it, I love travelling and I love meeting new people. It’s definitely different than any other kinda job, but I love it. I wouldn’t be doing it if I didn’t.”