George Ezra feared people would react to his struggle with post-tour anxiety with “Shut up, pop star”

WHAT happens after you spend three years touring the world chasing the success of your debut album? George Ezra found out the silence can be deafening.

British pop star George Ezra in Sydney today for the launch of his single Paradise from the new album ÒStaying at Tamara'sÓ Ð released March 23rd. Picture: Justin Lloyd.

IF the sold out signs at the first Australian concerts for British pop’n’roll singer George Ezra didn’t give him an enormous sense of relief, then the pretty, shining, singing crowds certainly did.

The affable Englishman who swept the world with his breakthrough hit Budapest in 2013 was greeted with roaring singalongs for that song, Blame It On Me and his new stuff, Pretty Shining People, Don’t Matter Now and Paradise from imminent second record Staying At Tamara’s.

Those concerts last week were the make-up shows for the last-minute cancellation of his Splendour In the Grass appearance last year.

George Ezra finally performs in Australia after cancelling Splendour. Picture: Justin Lloyd.

Ezra is a little noncommittal about why he couldn’t make it last year — maybe he had to finish that long-awaited new record, perhaps he got a better offer — but he admits he was anxious about pulling the plug on the festival gig and side shows.

This was the festival where he had flipped burgers years ago, before he became a pop star, and was in Australia visiting family in Queensland. He was excited to be invited to play it.

“I just have to put my hands up and say it was powers that be. Your manager calls you and says ‘You’re gonna hate me, this is what it is and you are going to get the abuse’,” he says.

“I just didn’t log into Twitter for two days to save myself the (hate) ... because the fact is, I am the villain in that situation, the one in the public eye.

“There’s this thing I love about pop music and pop culture and that’s people don’t know how the sausage is made. I like that there’s smoke and mirrors which makes it intriguing and kinda glamorous.

“People don’t see the boardroom meetings involved with every decision.”

Ezra was inspired by Budapest for his first album and Barcelona for his second. Picture: AFP / Tolga AKMEN.

The phenomenal success of Budapest and his 2014 debut album Wanted On Voyage kept Ezra on the road for three years.

He found himself in that timeworn trap of having to quickly write and record the follow-up.

But the songs wouldn’t come. There were the distractions of catching up with family and friends, a walk to the pub preferable to staring at a blank canvas.

What he didn’t realise was there was another reason for his writer’s block.

After a few years of having people tell him what to do and where to go for three years, adjusting to doing nothing at home provoked a bout of anxiety.

Ezra decided he had to get away and booked a month’s stay at an apartment in Barcelona owned by a creative soul named Tamara.

Ezra had a hard time to adjusting to life off the road. Picture: Eamonn M. McCormack/Getty Images.

“I became useless and scared. I do know people who can wake up and write a song every day. And I just can’t, I can’t do it. I was so aware I needed to write a record and equally aware of the fact I couldn’t at that time,” he says.

“That trip to Barcelona was when I realised I hadn’t been feeling right. I have not been well, I haven’t been looking after myself and it became a lot clearer to me.

“So with the anxiety thing, I was lucky I was able to identify it as this period of time and so aware the cure was to have stuff to do and feel like I was adding something to something.

“The reason I was nervous to bring (anxiety) up was anyone would be within their rights to say ‘Shut up, pop star’. Luckily, my fans are not like that.”

The Staying at Tamara’s record will be out on March 23. Picture: Justin Lloyd.

Staying at Tamara’s proved to be just what the songwriter needed. Her network of friends were musicians, artists and designers, creative people who inspired him.

Her home was crowded with obscure vinyl albums that would spark ideas for unexpected instrumentation, flourishes of horns and rhythms and melodies from African trance recordings and other weird and wonderful long-players.

“I took a guitar, took a notebook. A lot of stuff came together for me in my head and before I left, I knew the record would be called Staying at Tamara’s,” he said.

“Which was a little annoying because it meant I then had to write a record.”

One of the first songs he completed was called Pretty Shining People. You’re not the only one who immediately thinks Happy Shiny People by REM when you read that title.

His record label mate suggested he might want to rethink that because of the similarity. Ezra pointed out he also had a new song called Paradise and he wasn’t about to retitle that one either just because of Coldplay’s hit. Or the dozens of other songs which have been released under that name.

“If you try to reinvent those kind of words and titles, there’s no way it doesn’t sound like you are trying to reinvent it. When a song is so obviously meant to be called Paradise, which I think mine is, if you try to be artistic about it, it won’t work. Just call it Paradise,” he says.

“What I learnt as well is people often call songs the wrong title anyway.

“People are always shouting out for What You’re Waiting For when they mean Blame It On Me. I get that because it’s the lyric I repeat most. They are always saying ‘I love your song What You’re Waiting for’. I don’t correct them.”

While he was waiting for the boardroom meetings to decide when Staying At Tamara’s would be released — March 23 for your calendars — Ezra also decided to launch into the world of podcasts.

When he was writing for the record, he didn’t want to listen to music so would fuel his creativity and clear his head by listening to comedians talking to other comedians.

His first George Ezra and Friends podcast, launched last month, was with mate Ed Sheeran and he has since interviewed Rag’n’Bone Man, Hannah Reid from London Grammar and Craig David.

The temptation may have been to unlock the secrets to songwriting but that was the least of the lessons learnt talking to peers who clearly sound comfortable relating to one of their own.

“Frustratingly it’s a bit pointless (talking about songwriting) because someone can tell you their secret, you try it and it doesn’t really work for you,” he says.

“I’ve learnt one lesson from each one so far. Ed’s thing was how it doesn’t matter how big you are, you need to do promo as if it was your first record.

“He would be the same whatever industry he went into, it’s just the way he’s wired.”

Staying At Tamara’s is out on March 23. New single Paradise is out now.

Originally published as George Ezra feared people would react to his struggle with post-tour anxiety with “Shut up, pop star”