Yungblud launched his new venue/store/community space B.R.A.T in Denmark Street, Soho last night and has been talking about the ambitions he has for it.
In a new interview with NME, the singer, known to his mum as Dominic Harrison, said he wanted to “create a physical space in the middle of London. It’s a flagship to say thank you to the people who listen to my music.”
So the Beautifully Romanticised Accidentally Traumatized store (he copyrighted the name a few years before Charli XCX’s Brat album, it should be noted) will be somewhere fans can buy clothing, hang out, see a band and more.
“All this is a place to belong,” Harrison explained. “I don’t want to call it a shop, I want to call it a fan club. I was looking to create a place where you can come in, you can buy clothes if you want, you can come for a coffee, you can have a beer after work.”
Locating it in Denmark Street – Britain’s Tin Pan Alley and a place soaked in music history – was crucial. “The community has fought so hard to keep music present here, because we were about to lose this street to gentrification about five years ago! When I first met my manager, we had a shoebox office above Hank’s guitar store. I remember saying, ‘Wouldn’t it be wild if one day we had a building on Denmark Street’… and I’ve had that dream since I was 17!
“So yeah, I wanted to bring a new generation to this iconic street. It’s been so integral to British music since the ‘40s. Elton [John] met Bernie [Taupin] here. The Sex Pistols lived across the street and formed the band. The Rolling Stones have roots here too, and so did The Beatles!”
The 28-year-old also talked about Ozzy Osbourne and how much playing the Back To The Beginning show and singing Changes meant to him.
“Ozzy was always my north star," he said. "Ozzy Osborne and David Bowie meant everything to me. Ozzy was a character in my life who was a reflection of everything I went through. I was always a bit over the top. I was always seen to be a bit loud, but when some people saw that as a negative, Ozzy would provide me with the hope that there was an avenue for someone like me in the world.
“Then, to know him as a friend towards the end, to know his heart, and to know Sharon Osbourne… I really started to understand that they did things their way. It’s always been inspirational because, for me, the biggest enemy to any artist is the phrase, ‘This is just how it’s done’. That’s a cop out. ‘This is how it’s done’ was once an innovative idea that got stale.”
It’s that attitude that continues to drive him on, he says. “I don’t really listen to naysayers anymore. I’ve outgrown that. I’m 28 now. When you first start, it’s easy to get affected by that, but I find it funny now, and I just use it as fuel.”
