I first heard of Leigh thanks to an In Your Ears Takeover by Nunny Boy – he called him the housewives favourite from Australia.
Immediately I could see and importantly hear why. A voice and sound that was so cool in a Ozzie laid back way – it brought back echoes of my favourite Oz band INXS and others I listened too at the time Midnight Oil, Hoodoo Gurus but with a touch of the classic New Zealand song-writing prowess of Neil Finn.
Since then I have followed Leigh quite a bit – trying to tune into his late night live sessions from Facebook which conveniently for us Brits hits us in the morning – normally whilst I am on a train going somewhere for work, so I get to enjoy it muchly. He is an affable and likeable chap and uses the FB platform to broaden his appeal.
My initial thoughts on Leigh were like he was the Crocodile Dundee of the grassroots music scene, but that felt a little bit patronising and when the fine songsmith sent me a batch of songs from his debut album, which blew me away to be honest, I thought it was only fair that I and now you, got to know him a bit better so Leigh kindly sent me this:
Ok mate, here’s a little bit of history…I was born and raised on a farm on the outskirts of a small town. No one in my family played music, and none of the local kids played. I had an obsession for it from a very young age, and spent much time listening to my Mother’s record collection.
I sang constantly, made drum kits from junk laying around, and got my first guitar at 7 years old. I taught myself by copying the sounds I heard on the records, and a few books. It wasn’t until I was a teenager that I met other kids who played, and joined in jam sessions.
When it was time to decide a career path, music was frowned upon by my Father, and I was coerced to go to university to study for a real job. I studied Business, Arts, Philosophy, and Teaching, and majored in drinking and partying, all the while playing music and getting in bands. I eventually ditched uni and worked various shit jobs, continuing to play in bands.
I was involved with a band that had some mediocre success, producing a few EPs, getting national radio exposure, and touring. I was the lead guitarist, sang backing vocals, and contributed to song writing to a small degree, but the band really wasn’t my project, and eventually it broke up. At that point I had 3 young children, and I needed to focus on them and earn money. I started my own cover band as lead vocalist and guitarist. This turned out to be extremely successful and lucrative, and became my full time job.
Over the next twenty years I barely had a week off, and performed around 5000 live shows both with my band and solo acoustic. I always had the desire to write and produce my own music, as I am, despite my history compelled to be creative.
With my kids growing up and leaving home, I decided to start compiling my own material, and shortly after, the Pandemic hit and all live music was wiped out. From then on I focussed entirely on this, using my honed skills from years of live work. It was like starting all over again though, improving my writing, developing my own sound and style, a process that continues and I guess never really concludes.
I suppose my course rural accent and mannerisms do give a somewhat false impression of who I am, but hopefully a deeper and more creative and philosophical side will surface in my music as I get more comfortable with expressing myself. I am quite an introverted and solitary person, and now grapple with this as being an indie artist these days requires endless self promotion and social media posturing. A necessary evil I suppose, but I am inclined to just make music and set it free to fly on it’s own.
As you read this – Leigh has released his debut album via Bandcamp and you can check it out here:
https://leighthomas.bandcamp.com/album/the-long-way
It’s called The Long Way and features 10 tracks, some of you may of heard including the excellent Higher Low, the 80’s cool of Something About You and the Joe Adhemar featuring/production Find My Way – probably some of the best music out of Australia since those I mention above.
As well as those singles, songs like anthemic The Long Way, I can be your man and Kids of Tomorrow will do nothing but enhance Leigh’s reputation on both sides of this little 3rd rock from the sun.
Go check him out now and let him know what you think.
Oh and if are getting on a train during the working week – make sure you catch him on Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/leighthomasmusic
Good on ya mate!
PNL
Michael
The Rebirth Of Cool 