Artist Name: Luke Flear
Hometown: Leeds
What project(s) are you currently working on?
I have been working on my debut album “Looks Country To Me”. This is a 12 track project full of songs I wrote and recorded every instrument on, and is my first official step into Country Music.
What inspired you to pursue a career in music and when did you know?
I grew up constantly surrounded by music.
My dad has always been a classic rock enthusiast, and some of my earliest memories are of watching his old MTV tapes of Bon Jovi, Bryan Adams, Queen, ext. My grandparents are country music mad, so the mix of the artists mentioned above and Patsy Cline, Johnny Cash and Kenny Rogers seem to set the record straight! I started playing the drums very early, and by 10 years old I was playing guitar, piano and bass also. I can’t picture my life without music, and ever wanting to be doing anything else.
If you weren’t pursuing a career in music, what would you be doing for a living?
I can’t picture a world in which playing music wouldn’t be my number 1 aspiration, but I suppose like many musicians I have always found an interest in acting, or even just generally the media world.
What is your favorite downtime activity?
This always seems to change. As of now it is binge watching a great TV series. There is something about immersing yourself in a really well written show and it becoming a small separate world in your life, a break away from normality…. It’s good for you.
Who is your biggest celebrity crush?
You’d have to ask my girlfriend that one!
Who is your favorite sports team(s)?
My dad grew up in County Durham where the nearest big football team was Sunderland, so that was grilled into us as kids. But I am also Leeds born and proud, so my heart belongs to Leeds United also.
What is the last movie that you watched?
ELVIS. For the 3rd time in cinemas.
What is the last album you listened to?
Jason Isbell and the 400 unit, Live at the Ryman. Without a doubt the songwriter of his generation.
If you could only listen to one album for the rest of your life, what would it be?
Would have to be the first album I ever really got into as “an album” at about 8 years old. Led Zeppelin 3.
What is the greatest country song of all time?
Wow. Big question. Country is a genre that’s foundations were built purely on storytelling and incredibly smart songwriting, so you are always spoilt for choice.. but I would have to choose the one that started everything for me. “Folsom Prison Blues” is the perfect introduction to Country Music. It’s an outlaw, cry for help, southern blues progression delivered by the most iconic voice of its genre. I heard it first at maybe 5 years old. I have played it at every show since being 15 years old.
What has been your favorite city/town that you’ve visited out on the road?
County Fermanagh, Ireland. My first show there was very timely to when I first began exploring the country artist act, and it was that trip that did the convincing. An Irish audience is not only the greatest audience to play to, but even better when you’re a country singer. The roots of country music belong to Ireland, and to watch people my own age scream back to me the music that I could not get away with at gigs back home… that answered a lot of questions for me.
What is your favorite meal?
My mum’s spaghetti bolognese.
Who is your dream duet partner?
Keith Urban. I saw him live in Manchester a few months ago, and this only reminded me more of why he’s one of my big inspirations. To not only have is approval but sing a tune together? Where do you go from there.
Who would you like to go on tour with?
As of now I am hugely excited to break into the UK Country Scene, even though the long term goal is Nashville. I love the idea of performing across the UK with not only other artists but COUNTRY artists. To be that, you have gone through the same niche experience every UK country singer has. Your love for the genre was strong enough to commit to, even when accepting the fact it makes you an outsider to the norm. So to tour with any rising artist in the UK country scene would be an aim of mine for the year ahead.
What is your ultimate career goal(s)?
My aim is to make a living out of doing what I love. But I’d also be lying if I said I’d never dreamt up becoming a huge name in music my entire life.. To have built a body of work that has gained a pure, large, organic audience over years and be able to sustain it would be the dream. I hope to spend some time in Nashville in the coming year, and gradually build myself up in Country Music until my name is where I feel it has the potential to be. Music is my whole life and to really “make it” would be my ultimate career goal. Sounds broad but it’s honest!