Stapleford singer George Gadd talks about his new band and debut album Too Many Ghosts

Whether it was his Mum blasting out the likes of Meat Loaf and Simply Red, or his Dad spinning a range of prog-rock, George Gadd recalls there always being music played around the house when he was growing up. Named after the late-great George Harrison, George’s parents may not have been musicians themselves, but they were avid music fans, eventually passing on their love of music to George, firstly through Queen’s iconic Greatest Hits collection. Once he reached his early teens, he began to forge his own music taste – partly influenced by his parents once again, but also his own discoveries online too. 

“I think in my head I had this Holy Trinity of Bruce Springsteen, Paul Heaton and Robert Smith – they’re probably the cornerstones,” he reveals. “But I think in terms of formative years, I grew up when MySpace was a thing, so very much that Emo (scene). I feel like I maybe pushed it away for a while, treating it more like a guilty pleasure, whereas now I feel like I just embrace it.”

Once he had discovered his inner emo, by his mid-teens songs soon began to appear. Hiding away to write music, George would soon pluck up enough courage to want to perform them at his local pub – which would end up being his very first gig.

“I was always quite an insular kid – I’m not very good at sports, I wouldn’t say I’m accomplished in academia – so I think it was my niche that I carved out for myself,” he says openly. “It did instil a bit of confidence in me as well. They let me play (the local pub) and from there, I just kind of caught the bug – so I was sixteen then, I’m 33 now… and I’ve still got that bug!”

Carrying with him that appetite for writing and performing, George would also pick up some bandmates along the way, eventually forming his own band: George Gadd + The Aftermath. In the line-up is Ciaran Grant (guitars and synths), Dan Hess (bass) and Xak James (drums), as well as George himself on vocals and guitar. While their natural chemistry wouldn’t suggest so, it seems their coming together was a bit of a happy accident. 

“I had this gig booked supporting Kevin Devine at The Bodega - it was a Monday night and they (The Bodega’s management at the time) gave me a cheap list of names (of local musicians). I put these names down and the band ended up doing quite well,” he discloses. “Then they offered me a headline slot later that year and I thought if I’m going to headline The Bodega, I don’t want to do it on my own - I want to do it with a full band. So myself, Ciaran, Dan and Xak, we started playing together a bit more and we would gig quite frequently, so then I’d start writing a bit more.

The songs he would write with the band can now be found in their first full length album, which just released in September – Too Many Ghosts. A collection of songs from across their career so far, some of the tracks date back almost a decade. While it may be a team effort, George remains the sole contributor to the album’s lyrical content.

“The album is very inward facing, written from a first-person perspective documenting a certain part of my life,” he explains. “And I think with the debut record, all those songs fit together. I have other songs out there like Courtney, but that wouldn’t fit on there conceptually.”

“Not Human and Shake A Ghost, they were originally done in bedrooms. Shake A Ghost was literally in Ciaran’s old flat, with three mattresses and a guitar. So, the intention was to give those songs their due as well. We did the album and for the longest time it didn’t have a title – then I sat down one day and thought it’s probably that isn’t it (Too Many Ghosts). Obviously it’s a lyric on there, but also a tongue-in-cheek reference to the fact I probably say ‘ghost’ too much in my songs!”

To help him and The Aftermath patch together the album, George reached out to Phil Booth at JT Soar to work on production, as well as assist with redoing some of those old bedroom recordings. His contributions, George credits with helping the songs on Too Many Ghosts really come to life.

“He (Phil Booth) basically packs up all of JT Soar and takes it to a Grade-2 listed Mill in North Wales and just converts that for like ten weeks – and every week he’ll have a different band in,” explains George. “And it’s just the coolest way to make a record, because you just live in it.”

“Little Bird, I would say is probably the most depressing song lyrically. I wrote that song in 2016, and I think we were playing it live for a very long time and we kind of just retired it, because I felt like I couldn’t do it justice with how I wanted it to sound in my head. But I think Phil being on production kind of took it to that other level.”

In addition to Phil at JT Soar, George also brought in his friend Dan O’Dell (Heartwork) as mixing engineer, simply giving him a note of ‘Bon Iver’ when asked how he wanted the album to sound aesthetically. He also earned his emo stripes by having Wil Schade (Slaughter Beach Dog & Modern Baseball) play saxophone on the aforementioned track, Little Bird. All experts in their craft, they help George’s heartfelt words on Too Many Ghosts to really resonate, as he sings of everyday things like travel as a means of escapism (Shake A Ghost) and losing a beloved family pet (Leo).

However, George isn’t just a product of the Nottingham music scene, he’s a vocal champion for it too. Chances are you’ll often find him at shows around the city, supporting his fellow local musicians in the audience. During our discussion, he namechecks Swallowtail, Ben Mark Smith, Molars, Cheap Dirty Horse and Fallowed as some of his current favourites. It’s this incredible cheerleader spirit that epitomises everything that is helping local music to thrive right now.

“I always associate the word scene with a sound. Nottingham doesn’t have that – it’s more of a community,” he reflects. “You’ll find people going to Metal nights, then some to Hip-Hop nights – it’s not as pigeonholed. There’s no emulation as well - people aren’t looking at Do Nothing thinking I’m going to gravitate towards that - people are doing their own thing and they’re celebrating it as well.”

Speaking of celebrations, George and his band have their own coming up soon at The Bodega to mark the release of Too Many Ghosts. Pulling out all the stops, the big album launch show sounds like it’s shaping up to be a very special evening indeed. 

“The Bodega’s a home away from home – I say away from home, it’s still in my hometown!” he says laughing. “We have sold it out a couple of times before - the last time was in 2019 and I think with COVID, it felt like that momentum kind of stopped. I felt like I didn’t want to do it again until I had something I could do it again with (in this case the album).”

“In terms of the night itself, there’s Willow Bay supporting who are quite a new Nottingham act – a really good folk trio. I’ve known them for a few years and it’s featuring members of The Fine Art Society and Kelsey & The Embers. Then our friends Campfire Social, who also feature on the record. So, it’s a night where the album’s played in full, but also with some special guests - we’ve got a trumpet player coming up as well! And then of course, there will be a peppering of other songs that have been played throughout the years as well.”

George Gadd + The Aftermath will play The Bodega on Saturday 11 October, with Willow Bay and Campfire Social supporting – tickets are available. The band’s debut album, Too Many Ghosts, is also available to buy and stream everywhere.

@georgegadd