October 2014
HE’S already played a dozen shows but Callum Burrows admits “it hasn’t quite sunk in yet”.
The tour supporting Ed Sheeran, whose latest album X is Britain’s biggest-selling of the year so far, will run to a total of 37 dates across the UK and Europe, keeping Burrows, aka Saint Raymond, busy until the end of November.
The 19-year-old from Bramcote is facing crowds of up to 20,000 people a night.
“It’s a crazy experience,” he admits.
“It’s harder to see faces in arenas so you don’t realise how many people there are... not until the moment in the set where we get everyone to light up their phones. That freaks me out a little bit.
“Smaller venues are more nerve-wracking in a way because you can see their faces and how they’re reacting. When it’s on such a big scale you kind of forget where you are for a bit, which is great for the nerves. It doesn’t really sink in until you come off stage.”
This is especially true of the colossal O2 Arena in London, where he played four shows with Sheeran in front of 20,000 people each night.
“Even as a support, when the place isn’t full because not everyone has left the bar yet, there are still 10,000 people there, which is crazy.”
Has the Bramcote teenager been bricking it, preparing to face such numbers?
“I’m usually kind of chilled before shows but I must admit I have been pretty overwhelmed by it. The crowd have been really welcoming. When you get a really good reception from that amount of people, it feels amazing.”
Most of them may have forked out to see Sheeran but many know Saint Raymond, as he’s discovered when he’s “busked” outside venues for people queuing up.
“It’s been weird seeing some of them sing along,” he laughs.
“It’s really random.”
Do any of them think you are a busker and throw money?
“I wish.”
He’s also been meeting fans after shows.
“We’re getting hundreds of people turn up.”
Burrows, who signed to Asylum, part of the Atlantic group, last summer, has been doing a 40-minute set with his band.
“We do the same set every night to keep it solid. That’s seemed to work really well. And I don’t approach these gigs any differently to what I’ve done before. It’s just about keeping the confidence I’ve built up in the smaller venues. I’m not changing anything too drastically.”
The effect of being on the road with such a big artist has been a sharp increase in his following on social media, topping 26,000 followers on Twitter and 23,000 likes on Facebook.
If they all buy his new single Fall At Your Feet, released at the end of November, he’ll be guaranteed a place in the chart.
It’ll be his first single release after a series of EPs that have all landed in the iTunes chart.
And the album?
“It’ll be early next year, I think, but I’m not too focused on that at the moment,” says Burrows, who has been amusing himself on the road by playing Fifa 2014 (“I play that on the bus, like a loser, but I love it”).
He adds: “I’m always cautious about saying the album’s finished because I’ve been speaking to a lot of artists like Ed and they’ve said they wrote the best song on their album a week before going to press.”
It is common for support artists never to meet the headline act but that’s not been the case with Burrows and Sheeran.
“The first few days he was super ill and then he came to hang out in the dressing room a bit and I caught it,” he says.
“So we’re both still on the mend. But he’s often asking how it’s going and we’re texting. I think for an artist like Ed Sheeran to do that... a lot of artists wouldn’t give a toss.”
His shows often attract celebrities but Burrows hasn’t been star-spotting a great deal, it seems.
“I think Brooklyn Beckham was at the show the other night. And I was stood next to one of One Direction watching Ed last night.”
Did any of the magic rub off... on him?
“(Laughs) Yeah. Probably.”
Does he know which one it was?
“Yeah it was Niall, the blonde one, the Irish kid. It’s how I roll these days.”
The tour comes to Nottingham next week, with two shows at the Capital FM Arena.
“There’s nothing like being at home,” he says.
“I haven’t been back for three weeks. It’ll be nice to go back to my own bed and see the family, all the nieces and nephews. Especially after the craziness of doing all this.”
This week Saint Raymond was confirmed to headline a show at Rock City, only the fourth Nottingham artist to do so, following local boys Jake Bugg, Dog Is Dead and – way back in the 90s – electro-metal band Pitchshifter.
Callum says: “It’s always been the dream – and it’s definitely something to look forward to.”
Saint Raymond supports Ed Sheeran at the Capital FM Arena on Wednesday and Thursday at 7.30pm. Tickets, priced from £36.40, are limited. Call 0843 373 3000 or go to capitalfmarena.com to find out more details.
He plays Rock City on Wednesday, February 11 and tickets are £10 from the box office. Call 0845 413 4444 or go to alt-tickets.co.uk.
HE’S already played a dozen shows but Callum Burrows admits “it hasn’t quite sunk in yet”.
The tour supporting Ed Sheeran, whose latest album X is Britain’s biggest-selling of the year so far, will run to a total of 37 dates across the UK and Europe, keeping Burrows, aka Saint Raymond, busy until the end of November.
The 19-year-old from Bramcote is facing crowds of up to 20,000 people a night.
“It’s a crazy experience,” he admits.
“It’s harder to see faces in arenas so you don’t realise how many people there are... not until the moment in the set where we get everyone to light up their phones. That freaks me out a little bit.
“Smaller venues are more nerve-wracking in a way because you can see their faces and how they’re reacting. When it’s on such a big scale you kind of forget where you are for a bit, which is great for the nerves. It doesn’t really sink in until you come off stage.”
This is especially true of the colossal O2 Arena in London, where he played four shows with Sheeran in front of 20,000 people each night.
“Even as a support, when the place isn’t full because not everyone has left the bar yet, there are still 10,000 people there, which is crazy.”
Has the Bramcote teenager been bricking it, preparing to face such numbers?
“I’m usually kind of chilled before shows but I must admit I have been pretty overwhelmed by it. The crowd have been really welcoming. When you get a really good reception from that amount of people, it feels amazing.”
Most of them may have forked out to see Sheeran but many know Saint Raymond, as he’s discovered when he’s “busked” outside venues for people queuing up.
“It’s been weird seeing some of them sing along,” he laughs.
“It’s really random.”
Do any of them think you are a busker and throw money?“I wish.”
He’s also been meeting fans after shows.
“We’re getting hundreds of people turn up.”
Burrows, who signed to Asylum, part of the Atlantic group, last summer, has been doing a 40-minute set with his band.
“We do the same set every night to keep it solid. That’s seemed to work really well. And I don’t approach these gigs any differently to what I’ve done before. It’s just about keeping the confidence I’ve built up in the smaller venues. I’m not changing anything too drastically.”
The effect of being on the road with such a big artist has been a sharp increase in his following on social media, topping 26,000 followers on Twitter and 23,000 likes on Facebook.
If they all buy his new single Fall At Your Feet, released at the end of November, he’ll be guaranteed a place in the chart.
It’ll be his first single release after a series of EPs that have all landed in the iTunes chart.
And the album?
“It’ll be early next year, I think, but I’m not too focused on that at the moment,” says Burrows, who has been amusing himself on the road by playing Fifa 2014 (“I play that on the bus, like a loser, but I love it”).
He adds: “I’m always cautious about saying the album’s finished because I’ve been speaking to a lot of artists like Ed and they’ve said they wrote the best song on their album a week before going to press.”
It is common for support artists never to meet the headline act but that’s not been the case with Burrows and Sheeran.
“The first few days he was super ill and then he came to hang out in the dressing room a bit and I caught it,” he says.
“So we’re both still on the mend. But he’s often asking how it’s going and we’re texting. I think for an artist like Ed Sheeran to do that... a lot of artists wouldn’t give a toss.”
His shows often attract celebrities but Burrows hasn’t been star-spotting a great deal, it seems.
“I think Brooklyn Beckham was at the show the other night. And I was stood next to one of One Direction watching Ed last night.”
Did any of the magic rub off... on him?
“(Laughs) Yeah. Probably.”
Does he know which one it was?
“Yeah it was Niall, the blonde one, the Irish kid. It’s how I roll these days.”
The tour comes to Nottingham next week, with two shows at the Capital FM Arena.
“There’s nothing like being at home,” he says.
“I haven’t been back for three weeks. It’ll be nice to go back to my own bed and see the family, all the nieces and nephews. Especially after the craziness of doing all this.”
This week Saint Raymond was confirmed to headline a show at Rock City, only the fourth Nottingham artist to do so, following local boys Jake Bugg, Dog Is Dead and – way back in the 90s – electro-metal band Pitchshifter.
Callum says: “It’s always been the dream – and it’s definitely something to look forward to.”
Saint Raymond supports Ed Sheeran at the Capital FM Arena on Wednesday and Thursday at 7.30pm. Tickets, priced from £36.40, are limited. Call 0843 373 3000 or go to capitalfmarena.com to find out more details.
He plays Rock City on Wednesday, February 11 and tickets are £10 from the box office. Call 0845 413 4444 or go to alt-tickets.co.uk.
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