Today FM, tomorrow . . . the world?

Jamie Lawson became an overnight sensation when Ian Dempsey played his YouTube song on air. The chain of events since has him in a spin, he tells BRIAN BOYD

What happened to you on January 17th?

I've been a struggling singer-songwriter for the last 15 years – sometimes getting by, sometimes not, and always broke. I have two albums out which weren't exactly hits, but early in January I started to write for my third album. One of the songs, Wasn't Expecting That, I put up on YouTube and it got a modest amount of views, but on January 17th it got played by The Ian Dempsey Breakfast Showon Today FM. There was no physical release of the song, so they just played the YouTube audio, which isn't the best – but apparently the phone lines lit up and loads of people were ringing the station asking about the song. The response was really phenomenal.

And then?

It just became totally bizarre. Today FM rang me to say they wanted me to come into the studio the next day to play the song live. That was great, but I live in Cornwall and was struggling to pay my rent. I couldn't even afford the Ryanair fare to bring my guitar over, so I had to borrow one when I got to Dublin. Then I heard The Late Late Showhad been on and they wanted me to appear that Friday. Then I heard that a gig in Whelan's had been arranged for me the same day as going on Today FM. And a gig in Wexford. This is all in the space of 24 hours. Then they told me I was probably going to be No 1 in the Irish charts that week.

Goodness!

It actually got a bit freaky at one stage – that sudden exposure and success really messes with your head. It was only when I was on the train back up from Wexford to do The Late Late Showthat it started to make sense. And because I was only supposed to be in Dublin for one morning and was still here a week later, that meant I had no clothes or anything. Then I did go to No 1 in the Irish iTunes chart and No 3 in the main singles charts. But all this happening in Ireland sort of made perfect sense.

Why would that be?

I’m from Plymouth, but I lived in London for a long time. One night in London I was playing a gig with an Irish musician called Mark Dignam, and he invited me to Dublin. This was in 2004, and I ended up staying a few years. I was really attracted by the music scene and how you seemed to cherish your musical acts. I was playing gigs, but I had a job in Tower Records. I used to play my own album, and sometimes people would come up and ask who was playing and that they wanted to buy it. I never told them it was me.

Why is your song so special?

It tells a story and it has a situation that most people either have experience of or they know someone in that situation. There’s a sort of twist in the tale. I remember Today FM telling me truck drivers were ringing in saying they were stuck in traffic and in tears because of what the song is about. It’s now got almost 300,000 views on YouTube.

What’s going on now for you?

I just signed a deal with Universal Ireland. We took my last album, The Pull of the Moon, added Wasn't Expecting Thatand a few other new songs to it and re-released it as Wasn't Expecting That.And I've just finished a big tour all around Ireland.

Are you the Plymouth David Gray?

Ha ha. That would be nice. I just think there’s something in my music that Irish people pick up on – and that’s to do with the unique musical culture you have over here. And you do have great acts, such as Declan O’Rourke, The Frames and Damien Rice. I realise that there is a great possibility that I will be a one-hit wonder. But I don’t think so.

Has the non-Irish world woken up to Wasn’t Expecting That yet?

The Sunday Mercury in Birmingham have always been huge champions of my work. They made my last album their album of the year. At the moment I’m in talks with UK labels. I’ve also been over to New York.

Wasn't Expecting Thatis out now. Lawson plays Vantastival in Louth on May 1; Patrick's Bar, Ennis (2); Cypress Avenue, Cork (3); Róisín Dubh, Galway (6); Dolans, Limerick (7); Vicar Street, Dublin (28)