On 24th March 2020, Lewis Capaldi released a short documentary with YouTube Originals in which he performed the song that was number 1 the day he was born. On 7th October 1996, this song was ‘Setting Sun’ by The Chemical Brothers and Noel Gallagher.
Capaldi is the first artist to participate in the series, named ‘Birthday Song’, but there are more to come. The 20 minute episode showed the singer, along with his friends, family, and teachers, discussing his growing up and musical journey. Fans were even treated to videos of a teenage Lewis Capaldi playing with his band.
From a young age, the singer-songwriter performed originals at jam nights with his friends, following in the footsteps of his older brother. One friend in particular, Adam Warrington, who played guitar with Capaldi, went on to play for Yungblud, and another, Aidan Beattie, still plays bass for Capaldi in his band.
The former landlord of pub and music venue The Grange spoke about Capaldi, saying “I remember the first time I heard Lewis sing – it feels like a long time ago – but he stuck out clearly then. He had a tone and a sound that was different to most pub bands or pub acts that will ever be, even as a young kid.”
The artist spoke about how incredible it is that he now has number 1 one songs of his own, and joked that maybe in the future someone would be covering his song for the ‘Birthday Song’ series. He gave an insight into his writing process and how he arranged the Noel Gallagher song to create a new sound.
Ultimately, the cover took on an emotional, slow, acoustic arrangement and viewers were able to watch Capaldi record the song. “This is going to be interesting…I hope I’ve done it justice,” he shared, continuing in his usual cheeky manner, “The only person who’s not gonna like it is probably Noel Gallagher”.
This alludes to the Scottish singer’s previous feud with Gallagher, after the Oasis star hurled insults at Capaldi, who responded in inventive ways which made fun of the situation. It was also revealed that ‘Setting Sun’ was not the first Gallagher song the singer has covered. He played ‘Live Forever’ by Oasis in a school talent show, saying it was the first song he learnt how to play.
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Lewis Capaldi recently finished the UK tour for his debut album ‘Divinely Uninspired To A Hellish Extent’, hours before the Scottish ban was put into place, calling off all gatherings of over 500 people in an attempt to control the coronavirus. The rest of the tour is planned to run from June to October with dates around the world. Find tickets on his website.
