Get to know...Bailey Tomkinson

Bailey Tomkinson at just 20 years old is our new star to watch out for. The singer and songwriter from St Ives, while just at the beginning of her career is already beating some of the biggest pop stars in the UK charts. Bailey’s sound and look evoke our nostalgia for the 70’s, instantly teleporting us into complete dreaminess

When did you start singing and playing the guitar, and why?

I started performing and writing when I was 11. I always expressed myself best through my songs, as I was quite shy in school and could never tell the boys I liked how I felt. I never wanted to just sing other people’s songs to a backing track, I wanted to be a musician so I learnt to play the guitar and the piano and started writing.

Why did the 70’s become an inspiration for you?

A lot of my favourite musicians/bands had successful albums in the 70’s, like Carole King’s Tapestry, Neil Young’s Harvest and Rumours by Fleetwood Mac so I was automatically attracted to the era. I studied photography in college and focused on 35mm film which introduced me to a lot of photographers from the 1970s; I became infatuated with the fashion and the overall aesthetic. Woodstock, Farrah Fawcett, vinyl, Flares and ABBA - most of the things that I’m influenced by were born, or on trend in the 1970s.

Did your style - both in music and fashion - change and develop during recent years?

My style has definitely developed over the years. Living by the beach in St Ives, my fashion taste has always been surf based, as I got older I started thrift shopping and wearing more vintage so I combined the two. I remember watching ‘Almost Famous’ and being completely obsessed with Penny Lane’s wardrobe so I think a lot of my taste is inspired by her. My Mum was a model, worked in the fashion industry and was the co-owner with my Dad of a vintage shop called Tumbled, she has always been fantastic at predicting the trends… I wore pink Dr Martens to my year 6 prom!

Who are your biggest idols?

Musically, there’s a whole host - everyone from Taylor Swift to Bruce Springsteen with a bit of Weezer and Aerosmith thrown in! I especially love Carole King and had to namecheck her in “I Wish”. But in a wider sense, the Penny Lane character in Almost Famous, I mentioned earlier and Petra Collins, the photographer, is also a massive inspiration stylistically. The people I admire the most are ones who are authentic, not afraid to be themselves rather than manufactured.

Where do you see yourself in five years?

Who knows?! I’d love to be able to perform at Madison Square Garden in New York, but that's a dream, not impossible though! I’d love to be travelling around the world performing to different crowds in different cities that know the words to my songs. If I play my cards right then hopefully, I can make the dream possible.

What book do you always come back to?

There’s a cool answer to give to this question, and a truthful answer isn’t there? The cool answer is something like “Catcher in the Rye” or “On the Road”…but the truth is, I read to escape, so I love a good story! And Cecelia Ahern writes stories I enjoy… I recently read ‘Where Rainbows End’ and ‘P.S I Love You’ so I think any of her books are a re-read.

Dream partner, to share a stage with?

Billy Joel. Lyrically, I think he’s a genius, he’s a great showman too although he’d probably make me look like a giant!

Karaoke song that never disappoints?

I’m secretly quite competitive haha. I love to sing ‘The Winner Takes It All’ by ABBA my friends used to say I reminded them of Donna Sheridan so I always find it super fun to sing this one.

What are the biggest challenges of working without a manager?

I started this adventure with no contacts and no manager but that all changed recently. The video to ‘I Wish (It Didn’t End Like This)’ hit no2 in the iTunes video charts and that news went viral in the mainstream press, I was featured in Daily newspapers, Hello! magazine, loads of places! There was no way I was going to be able to handle all that by myself…so, long story short, now I do have a manager! And she’s amazing, she can open doors that I simply couldn’t open on my own. I think for somebody starting out you have to lean heavily on friends and family and local support - my hometown of St Ives has been incredible but ultimately having a great team around you can make a big difference in moving to the next level.

How do you come up with the ideas for visuals such as video for Hey Ace?

Filming Hey Ace was tons of fun! At the time I was 18 and had my friends in the video. Rory Ahanan was the brains behind the video, I’ve known him for years and he’s fantastic. A lot of my music is narrative led and we wanted the video to honour that as much as possible - the guy that played ‘Ace’ was actually the guy I wrote the song about when I was 15! We filmed it in my hometown and we wanted it to feel a bit like a high school movie like Dazed and Confused. We were just running around with a camera having a blast!

What are your professional plans for the upcoming months?

The reality for any musician at the moment is very uncertain. Lots of festivals and big shows are getting cancelled or postponed due to the Coronavirus and that’s understandable, ultimately people’s health has to come first. I’ve got a lot of really exciting things in the pipeline, lots of meetings, very exciting ones…but for now it’s a bit wait and see until things go back to normal.

Check out Bailey here ♡