It's 10 years since Will Young first shot to fame by winning the first series of Pop Idol. Despite a new X Factor winner being thrust upon the public each year, Young remains the most enduringly successful contestant of any of the recent TV talent shows. Not only has he continued to notch up the hits (his most recent album Echoes entered the charts at number one a couple of months ago), but he's also diversified, with film and theatre acting roles and numerous TV appearances – recently being awarded his own TV special on ITV and guest hosting Never Mind The Buzzcocks.
Made in conjunction with producer Richard X, Echoes finds the singer embarking on a more dance-oriented direction. On the back of its success, he's currently finishing a 23-date tour of the UK.
Hi, Will. How is the tour going?
The tour's going well. Bit tired today. But it's great fun. It's great to get out there, particularly with the new music, and to translate that live, and see how that works. It's a real challenge as a singer, definitely, to sing the new songs.
How did you come to work with Richard X on your new album?
I just asked him. I'm a great believer in waiting for the answer to things, and I didn't really think through who I wanted to produce the songs, and then various names were being put forward, and I just thought 'no, that's not going to work' or 'it's not exciting', or 'I don't think that will be interesting', and then I was in Manchester, and I bought the Steve Mason record, which Richard had done. I loved the production, and I thought that if he can produce this then this is the man for me. And he's just done the best job. He's so brilliant, just brilliant.
What are your favourite tracks?
I normally do have favourites, but not on this one because I think they're all good in their own way. It's quite hard to choose singles. And I really do mean that. I love the song 'Personal Thunder'. I think that sits in its own pocket. And I love 'Runaway', which I did with Jonathan Sloan, because I really liked what he'd done with Empire Of The Sun, and it was very much the type of song that I wanted to do with him. I love 'Hearts On Fire', which is a really cool one, and is a great one to do at gigs.
Rewinding slightly back to your Greatest Hits in 2009, I liked the single 'Hopes and Fears', but it didn't chart. Did that panic you? Did you wonder if your pop career was winding down?
No, because it was sort of different. It was on the Greatest Hits, and that sold almost half a million, which for a greatest hits is brilliant, and that was just in the UK. The single was just something I needed to put out there to show that Hits was out there. I think if 'Jealousy' hadn't done so well, then I would have been worried much more.
Then the new album went to number one, which must have been hugely gratifying.
What was amazing, talking about singles, is how well the single did, because in the last few years, the albums have done well but the singles not so much, so that was really surprising, in a way.
The music business has changed greatly in the last 10 years. Does that make it harder for you as an artist to be heard? Is securing radio play an issue for you?
Radio play is even more important, if anything. I worried more when some stations wouldn't play my music, for whatever reason, and that's a concern. If they don't play me, then people don't get to hear it and they don't know it's out. Luckily, I do have enough people that do want to play my music. With 'Jealousy', I don't know; you get all these statistics, saying it's like the third most played song in the UK, or something like that, and that's without two major stations that just won't play my music.
Doesn't Radio One play you?
Radio One haven't played my music in four years.
Does that upset you?
Well, what can you do? Either you sit and cry about it or you just get on with it. In any industry, it does come down to those people who control the traditional conduits and channels of communication to the public. The mainstream. You can't do anything about that, so I'm really thankful to the people who have decided to play me; and I've learnt, over the years, to let go of the things that I can't do anything about. On top of that, what's great now is that I might not get Radio One and Capital playing my music, but now you've got things like YouTube, where you've got a video of me prancing around in Lycra, and one-and-a-half million people have watched it, so there are other ways of getting around it. It's a double-edged sword, really.
What about your acting – do you have any upcoming roles in film, TV or theatre?
I have actually, yeah. Hopefully, it's a mixture of all three. I'm really excited, and have been thinking over the last few months of trying to bring in music and TV, but in an interesting way, so I've been looking at loads of things that I can maybe do around that. And I don't just mean a musical; I mean something that had more of a music element to it. So, there are a couple of things, and occasionally I do auditions for things, and I either get them or I don't [laughs], and that's what I quite like about the acting. I think my strike rate is about 50% at the moment, which is not bad.
Your music career proves that sexuality is no bar to success in pop, but have you ever experienced discrimination or typecasting in the acting world?
I don't think so. I think we've moved on a long way, but I don't think we can rest on our laurels, you know? I think there are still challenges to being a gay man in any mainstream profession. There are still people who have problems with other people's sexuality. We can sometimes make the mistake of giving ourselves a pat on the back and thinking that all is fine now, but it's not really. If you compare us to places like Holland or Scandinavia, where people really don't give a shit, people do kind of give a shit here. And it's very sly things. I think the use of the word 'gay', and the way that it's used as a derogatory term, in the mainstream, and that you still hear it so much in schools – that needs to be clamped down upon. Language is so important – the power of language – and claiming back language. In schools, the use of the word 'gay' is still very much a derogatory thing. You see it in schools, on TV and on the radio. It's very powerful, and it plants a seed that gay is negative. And it shouldn't be. But I've gone off on a tangent, with regards to acting, I haven't seen it so much for me, I have to say.
You've done a lot of work for charity over the last few years – such as Mencap, Catch 22, Oxfam and the Prince's Trust – is it important to you to use your fame in a positive way?
Yeah, it is. I was just thinking that I haven't had a chance to do enough for Catch 22 [a charity that helps young people facing difficult situations in their lives] recently because I've been really busy; but yeah, a lot of what I do is fairly self-obsessed, so it's quite nice to do something that isn't.
Catch 22 is a very worthy cause, helping kids who are facing particular difficulties - whether in their home life, education or otherwise. Is the outlook for young people and teenagers getting bleaker, given the world's financial woes?
Yeah. In the context of the summer riots, there have been a lot more conversations about this, and the youth can come out of the wrong side of those arguments or conclusions. I think it is [bleaker] in a way, because families are more dissipated. I don't know what's being done about it. I go and see projects that we do at Catch 22 and I see kids and they learn really quickly, and they're not the monsters that everyone seems to want to portray them as being. They just need guidance. It's why charities like Catch 22 are so important.
Do you have a boyfriend or partner at the moment?
I do not.
Looking for one?
Well, I suppose so, in as much as any single person is looking for one? I'm always on the lookout. Actually, I oscillate from being quite content on my own to thinking it would be nice to meet someone. I guess I don't want to get too content on my own, [laughs] because then that would probably be it and I'd be happy to stay that way.
Do guys throw themselves at you? Or do you ever wonder: "Does this person just like me because I'm famous?"
Yes, that goes through my head, but I don't warrant it with any more time than it deserves. I kind of think I have a fairly good judgement of character, and tend to think that if I was proved wrong then it would just be a bit disappointing, as it would be for anyone else if they found out that someone they like was an arsehole. Luckily, in 10 years, I haven't had that.
Do you think your fame intimidates people when you meet them?
Yeah, maybe. I think it can work two ways. Sometimes it can work in my favour and sometimes it doesn't work in my favour. That's just the nature of the beast really. People will have pre-judgements and think certain things, good and bad, and that's just part of my life, so I just get on with it, really.
'Come On' and Echoes are out now.
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