Paul Liddell is a latter day troubadour. A relentlessly hard working musician, who, with guitar in hand, travels the length and breadth of the UK, bringing his own unique blend of northern charm and acoustic live sampling devilry to his band of loyal supporters.
So far Paul has released two solo albums and 3 EPs and his current album, the excellent Milestones And Motorways is a proudly home-made and independent release.
Tell us a bit about yourself. I’m a musician/singer/songwriter/performer/general musical dogsbody. I live by the seaside in north east England and I play lots and lots of gigs. Some I play solo with an acoustic guitar and some with my band Delphians. I’m quite handy with a loop pedal, and my solo set is full of loops, beats, crap trumpet playing, harmonies and other stuff… as well as songs of course. My new album is called ‘Milestones And Motorways’ and I’m rather pleased with it. I enjoy fantasy fiction, real ale and single malt scotch from the Isle of Islay.
Can you talk us through the story of the lead track (Milestones and Motorways)
The track came about in the middle of a long string of gigs. I was getting to the point where I was thinking, “why am I actually doing this?” and I realised at that point, even though I was near exhaustion, with diesel under my fingernails and 300 miles still to drive, that I’d still rather be doing this than anything else. The song is about doing something you love.
You are doing an online show this week – what’s the thinking behind that? I thought that if I could replace some of my gigs with online shows then I could still play to the people that want to hear me, without having to pay £100 on diesel and killing myself driving about the country. I can also have wine which is a bonus. Details here if you want to know more.
One of your songs ‘Brighter Lights’ is to be featured in a new movie, can you tell us about that? I just happened to know the guy who was putting together the soundtrack for the film. Right place right time, which is a rarity for me, I can assure you! The film is called ‘About Her‘.
Where do you hope to be this time next year? I hope to be touring a new album at better gigs with more people listening. I’m also toying with the idea of a Harry Potter themed tattoo, so maybe that will have happened. I fancy buying some more pedals too, but I’m not sure how much more I can fit in the car. That’s about it. I’m a happy bunny.
