The Dublin songwriter who learned his craft in open mic rooms

The story of Gavin James starts in a house where the record player did a lot of work. Born Gavin Wigglesworth in Dublin in 1991, he heard his father play Cat Stevens, Sam Cooke and Bob Dylan, while his sister sang and toured with a musical. Further back in the family there were opera-singing great-grandparents and a grandfather who was a stand-up comedian and whistler.

At eight he joined a rock band and started writing songs, though the group broke up after a quarrel over an alleged paranormal experience. He carried on alone, playing gig after gig and slowly building an audience. By twenty-one he was concentrating on songwriting and working the open mic nights. In 2013 he released “Say Hello” independently and it took the Meteor Choice Award for Song of the Year. He also won the Choice Music Prize for Irish Song of the Year in 2013 and again in 2016.

Major labels followed: by 2015 he had deals with Sony in Europe and Capitol in the US. That spring he appeared on American television's Shark Tank and released the four-track EP For You, and later in the year he opened for Ed Sheeran and Sam Smith. His debut album Bitter Pill, a homage to Alanis Morissette, came out in November 2015 and went Platinum in Ireland. He said he wanted his songs produced properly without losing the edge they had live.

The following year the stages got bigger. He sold out three nights at the Olympia Theatre in Dublin, played Shepherd's Bush Empire in London, and headlined 3Arena in front of 15,000 people. His cover of David Bowie's “Changes” relaunched Virgin Radio UK. Spotify named him a Spotlight Artist of 2016, and he later joined Bliss n Eso on the ARIA-winning “Moments”. Songs such as “Nervous” carry the same plain, warm delivery that once filled small open mic rooms.