Hertfordshire-born James Bay, 25, studied guitar at the Brighton Institute of Modern Music. In 2014, he had a hit single with Hold Back The River and last year his debut album, Chaos And The Calm, went platinum. He won the 2015 Critics’ Choice Brit Award, has been nominated for three Grammys, and will be performing at Eventim Apollo in London this spring.
When were you happiest?
When I started getting to grips with playing the guitar, aged 11.
What is your greatest fear?
For a long time it was alligators; more recently, it’s heights.
What is your earliest memory?
Loving Born In The USA by Bruce Springsteen when I was about three.
Which living person do you most admire, and why?
My dad, for providing for the family for 20 years – he was a wine merchant and recently retired.
What is the trait you most deplore in yourself?
I wish I was more spontaneous.
What is the trait you most deplore in others?
I wish there was a bit more smiling at strangers.
Property aside, what’s the most expensive thing you’ve bought?
I’ve bought some guitars in the last year at the £3,000-5,000 mark.
What do you most dislike about your appearance?
I have very knobbly elbows.
Who would play you in the film of your life?
Bill Murray.
What is your most unappealing habit?
A vocal warm-up that involves sticking a tube into a glass of water and walking around blowing bubbles – people have to avoid the cascading water and/or spit.
Which book changed your life?
Another Country by James Baldwin.
What did you want to be when you were growing up?
Mostly a ghostbuster, often a fireman, sometimes a footballer.
What is the worst thing anyone’s said to you?
“You can’t go home and see your family – you’ve got to stay another five days,” when I was in America meeting music industry people a few years ago.
What is top of your bucket list?
To play a sold-out show at Madison Square Garden.
What is your guiltiest pleasure?
Fifa video games.
To whom would you most like to say sorry, and why?
My girlfriend. I am away a lot and, as much as she understands, I’d like to say sorry for not being there.
Which words or phrases do you most overuse?
“Um” and “ah”.
What is the worst job you’ve done?
When I was 15, collecting trolleys from the supermarket car park, which was on a hill. They’d roll to the bottom and I’d have to push them up.
What has been your biggest disappointment?
My left foot. (I’m great with my right – I can bend it like Beckham.)
If you could edit your past, what would you change?
I couldn’t do it. I realised recently that all the things that have gone wrong are just as important as all the things that went right.
If you could go back in time, where would you go?
I would very quietly wander around when dinosaurs were on earth and hope not to get eaten.
When did you last cry?
Watching Forrest Gump when I was jet-lagged.
How do you relax?
With beers or cups of tea.
What single thing would improve the quality of your life?
Less pizza – living on tour is not conducive to eating healthily.
What keeps you awake at night?
Everything in my head.
What song would you like played at your funeral?
Free Bird by Lynyrd Skynyrd – the greatest guitar solo ever.
Tell us a secret
“I love PlayStation” is one of my passwords.
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