Hot Press Interview with George Ezra

If you were one of the oh-so-smug types who took a “life-changing” trip to Glastonbury 2013, chances are you’re still blathering on about it. It’s also highly possible you were served Spanish pastries by a pop star.

He may have just been named fifth on the BBC Sound Of 2014 list, and may have been playing his first ever festival slot on the Sunday, but during that June weekend in Somerset, George Ezra was also on catering duty.

“My flatmates were working on a churros van,” the chocolate-voiced 19-year-old recalls. “So I spent a lot of my time eating churros and trying to sell churros. But I was rubbish at it. So there’ll be a few people that got a bowl of not-so-great churros served by me. They won’t know it, but it happened.”

Still touring by train and enthusing about his 16-25 railcard (“It’s cheap, man! And I don’t even have an amp!”), he’s earned a lot of goodwill online thanks to his lack of airs and graces. A rare thing.

Google the blond former BIMM student and anonymous jibes are conspicuous by their absence. There’s genuine warmth for Ezra.

“I think what’s a bit of a blessing is that I don’t take myself very seriously,” he ventures. “I take what I do very seriously and I take my music very seriously, but I don’t take myself that seriously. I think people like that. There’s a lot of people who can pull a pose, put their heads in their hands, do you know what mean? It’s easily done.”

In similarly unassuming fashion, fresh from a Christmas wearing long johns and pondering whether or not it’s legal to taxidermy a human – more on that later – Ezra seems quite unaware that 2014 has begun, despite being heralded as one of its ‘rising stars’.

“It’s like being back in school when you keep putting the old date at the top of your work,” he shrugs.

Among his fanbase, there are already in-jokes. Chief among them, his enigmatic sign-off “#petan”. He’s been ever so coy about what it means, but surely an Irish journo can charm him into a confession.

“I can’t… I’d love to,” he says with a smirk. “It just ‘is’. You know words that can be used for everything? We sort of found that it was like that. It was a word that we started using to fill any gap in a sentence and it works perfectly. Start using it, it will start to make sense!”

Probably as good an answer as you’re going to get, considering he’s previously ignored the tweeted pleas of Tom Odell, who he supported in The Olympia, for a meaning.

“I know! It might be cold but I do sit back and chuckle about it. I need to come up with a better reason as to what it is, don’t I?” Having toured with the now-established Odell, you’d imagine the two are fairly close. Not exactly so.

“It’s interesting, because obviously in his position, it’s been hectic. Especially on tour. The last thing on his mind is making best mates with the support act. I’m not saying he was cold towards me, but you have to appreciate that they’re there to work and so are you. When we did get the chance to talk, of course we did. I hope we’ll get the chance to gig together this year.”

Odell recently claimed he’s not a good example to youngsters, due to his fondness for cigarettes and booze taking priority over protecting his voice. As Ezra edges towards ‘role model’ status, does he have any vices he’ll have to curb? “I’ll have to come back to you on that!”

It seems unlikely we’ll see him plastered over the red tops stepping out with Taylor Swift. “Haha! Well, if you could arrange it, then I’ll be there!”

Fame is the last thing on the North Londonborn, Bristol-based artist’s wish-list. His sparse songs, dominated by a voice that should by rights belong to a much older man and enlivened by left-of-centre, considered lyrics, tap into a deep well of ancient blues. His 2013 debut EP, Did You Hear The Rain?, certainly doesn’t sound like the work of someone born in 1993.

Initially finding Bob Dylan, he worked back and fell for his mentor, Woody Guthrie.

“Obviously, you read anything about Bob Dylan and you’re probably going to see the name Woody Guthrie somewhere. I’m reading Guthrie’s autobiography for the second time at the moment. It’s a brilliant book actually, he was a very interesting man. I think a lot of it with Woody Guthrie’s songs is the way he delivers his lyrics. Sometimes they feel like a punch. He ends the sentence really abruptly at times. He can hold a vowel for however long. I dunno, it impresses me.”

Finally, to return to his big Christmas question, did Ezra ever find out whether it’s legal to taxidermy a human being?

“I never found out! Surely it is though, if you really wanted to? There must be a price to pay if you wanted a loved one with you forever?”

Is that how he’d like to end up? “Yeah… like a big puppet in a glass cage.”

Thankfully, you can’t see George Ezra becoming that kind of pop star.

George Ezra plays the Sugar Club, Dublin (February 19) and McHugh's, Belfast (20)