Thomas Headon talks tour life and finding his sound

Interview & Photos by Zayne Isom

From creating music in his bedroom to touring with Sigrid, Thomas Headon has already made a name for himself in the indie-pop scene. The Australian-raised singer moved back to London in 2019 to pursue music after growing up in Melbourne. He released his first two singles, “Grace” and “Clean Me Up,” in late 2019 and has since built quite the dedicated fan base through his presence on social media, specifically TikTok and Instagram. Earlier this year, the 22-year-old released his third EP Victoria featuring songs such as “Strawberry Kisses” and “Nobody Has to Know”––both of which have over two million streams on Spotify. Following the release of this EP, Thomas played a series of festivals in Spain, the U.K., and Germany, and is excited to kick off his first headlining tour in the U.K. this fall. We got to catch Thomas Headon before his first show back in Birmingham on October 27.

This interview has been edited and shortened for clarity reasons.

PLEASER: This is your first headlining show in a while, are you nervous, excited? How are you feeling?

Thomas Headon: Yeah! First headline since March. I am kinda shitting it a little bit. Last time we played a show that we headlined, it was to like 600 people––it was the day the EP came out. It was fun. It was in London so it felt like home but now this is the first time in a while that we’ve been out and we got a new band too, Arianna [Reddi], playing keys and guitar. It was just guitar, bass, drums and me before! 

Have you played in Birmingham before? 

TH: Yeah, I played here in November, I think. I did Victoria [EP] in November, that was fun. But like that was one of those tours that there were like, so many reschedules just right after COVID. Yeah, and then everyone was kind of getting COVID again at the time as well. So it was slower. Yeah…it was just like a bit shit. It was like my first ever tour.

So you were just learning and it was probably a bit nerve wracking.

TH: Exactly! So that’s the thing you know, we've done like…what we've done now…we've done like, a whole festival season, that promo tour and played in more places not just the U.K. so that’s been fun! 

That’s awesome! You played in Spain right? 

TH: Yeah, We did a festival in Spain!

That’s so sick! Do you have a lot of fans in Spain?

TH: No (laughs) maybe new fans… actually probably not because that gig went so wrong. It was terrible. I think I ended up breaking my microphone, that happened. So I didn’t use a microphone for like half a song and then the playback system broke so everything was really sped up. So it wasn't great, but you know we moved on––haven't been back to Spain since (more laughs). 

You just played Live at Leeds too, how was that? 

TH: Yeah, actually, that was fun. Leeds is like my favorite place in the U.K.

I feel like it was such a random lineup this year with all the different genres. Do you feel like the energy was still there during your set? 

TH: It was very random, yeah. I couldn't really tell whether the crowd was there for me or not. I was speaking to Will [Joseph Cook], my support act, about it and he was like ‘The weirdest thing about Love at Leeds was like, there were people in the room’. My room, I was surprised, was packed. It was like, ‘Oh you know the lyrics,’ but then there were a lot of people just kind of standing there so I was like ‘Okay do you not?’ Not that they have to know the lyrics, if you are here for the vibes that’s cool as well, but like there's a lot of you here for the vibe. But it was funny, I thought it was fun. I love playing Leeds. 

After playing all these festivals this summer, do you feel like the vibes of a festival better or these smaller more intimate shows? Do you like the smaller shows where you can really connect with your fans or do you like the massive crowds where you can reach a bigger audience? 

TH: It depends man, I honestly think it does depend where you are playing. Like it's one of those things like London crowds…oh god I can’t say this…who cares I'm gonna say this. London crowds suck. They are terrible. Yeah, cause if you want to see live music in London you can technically go every night. I think that's why everyone thinks London crowds are shit because people are just like ‘Oh cool more live music.’ So, in London I think it's great to play a massive gig because it's like, ‘You all suck, but at least there's a lot of you’ (laughs). But then somewhere up north, especially in the U.K., you know, the crowds are mental. Being in like a sweaty 200 cap. Manchester and Leeds crowds are wild…Those are really fun.

I noticed that this EP is a new sound for you. I've listened to your music for a long time and I feel like it's less pop and more like rhythm based now. Did you know that all the songs were gonna eventually be put on an EP? Or did you just write them and realize later that they would go well together? 

TH: Not really. I think I just like, write them. The thing is, my whole musical career has been super weird so far. I was super lucky with my first EP, and the success of how it went. Which was great because it was purely just me fucking around my bedroom. It wasn't me like, ‘Oh yeah, sick I've developed my sound and this is it now.’

Truly “bedroom pop”

TH: Exactly, yeah, that's what it just like it came to be. And then on the second one, I started working with a producer and it was great. But then I think it's just because it was different, it felt like something completely out of my lane. It was really pop and indie and whatnot. I don't think I realized at the time, that’s how I like doing it. So I stripped it back to how I used to do things for this one. I just wrote it all by myself just on the guitar which is cool. Yeah, but then it was just like writing songs for six months, basically. 

Where were you writing these songs?

TH: They were written in a bunch of different places actually. I was in the U.K. for a bit then I was in Germany and northern Australia.

Do you feel like you took inspiration from the different places you were?

TH: Maybe? I wrote Victoria in Germany but it doesn't have anything to do with being in Germany. I think in general though, you know, traveling gets things out of you. New stuff is just good for the brain in my opinion. So, I did a lot of writing like that. It was just a collection of songs that I eventually went ‘I like this one, I like that one.’

Were there any specific artists that inspired you while writing this album? 

TH: Not really. I wrote a lot during the pandemic when I hadn't really done a lot of live stuff. So my first tour, which was the one in November, all this EP was done, and I just wanted to get it released, but I couldn’t yet. I wrote this EP for the purpose of playing live. 

Once you had that experience playing live you were like “Okay, these are the kind of songs I want to write”? 

TH: Exactly 100%. I think there was a lot of Blur, that British Brit-pop band, it was very British focused. Like British festival culture type stuff: Declan McKenna, Two Door Cinema Club, just like guitar bangers I loved but no one in particular was a big influence. The good thing about this EP too was that because all of the production work was done remote. I had a vision for the song when I wrote it just on a guitar, and then my producer would just take it as a song with an acoustic guitar and a vocal and then go crazy with it. Which was amazing because sometimes it completely flipped from how I wanted it to sound. But it was great. It was good fun to make. 

I’m sure that a cool evolution to watch and you probably liked songs better once they had a bit of production added to them! 

TH: Exactly! That's what happened with the song “Strawberry Kisses”. It was meant to originally sound like “Adore You” by Harry Styles. Super dark and slow and now it has all these keys and guitars added to it.

Really? Would you ever consider releasing the original version? It could be called  “Strawberry Kisses (Dark Version)”.

TH: Haha no, probably not. I hate that version now that I’ve heard the version we released.

It's so interesting that you can write a song you love so much and then you hear it a different way and you're like, “Actually, I don't like it anymore.” 

TH: Yeah, crazy right? 

What's your pre-show ritual? 

TH: We have a lot of beer, that's one thing I know. Water is also important. You know, I need a better answer for this question. This is gonna make me sound like such a macho bro but I do push ups. It’s kinda just before we are on stage and we are waiting. We like to do a band hug. 

Okay here's a random one. You are known for having a cardboard cutout of Harry Styles.  Would you sell a cardboard cutout of yourself at the merch table?

TH: You know we have a bunch of me, they’re in my house. It's really weird. I don't like it. We got one for like a music video once and then we were gonna bring actually to one the last shows you did. But like selling them? I feel like I would be such a prick (laughs). 

You are going on tour with your mate Alfie Templeman, are you excited? 

TH: I am excited! We got a bus, a tour bus, which is my first ever tour bus and I am so excited. The thing is, Alfie and I are actually friends. It's not some weird marketing scheme to like, ‘Get the two indie boys to do a song together,’ and every time we hang out, it's just a big party all the time, which is great. But I'm super excited. I also just am so excited to go back to the U.S.! So excited. 

Are you hitting new cities this tour that you've never been to?

TH: I think some, yeah. We’re doing Canada, that’s new, I’ve never done Canada before. Also, all my life you know when people are like ‘Where do you most want to go in the world?’ I've always said Canada. 

I've heard great things! Toronto? 

TH: Yeah, Toronto and Vancouver. I’m excited to go there. Other cities…hmm…I don’t know what else we are doing. Ah we are also doing D.C. and I didn’t do D.C. last time. Have you listened to Taylor’s [Swift] new album? Are you a Taylor fan? 

You know.. I’m like an OG Taylor fan so I still feel like her older stuff is always going to be my favorite, but I like the direction she’s going. 

TH: Okay, I have the exact same opinion. That’s great. 

What's your favorite song on Midnights?

TH: Ahh, you know what, everyone is shitting on it but I think that “Vigilante Shit” one is pretty good. I don’t mind it, I think it’s cool. Yeah. But, you know, same with you. It's not as bangin’ as her old stuff.  

Are you going to sing some covers tonight at the show? 

TH: I am! I’m singing a Taylor and a Harry [Styles] cover. I’m excited. I also haven't sang them yet but they're really hard to sing.

Last question. This is a funny one: If you had to describe your music as an ice cream flavor, which flavor would it be and why? 

TH: That is such a good question. I feel like my answer is just shit. I was gonna say neapolitan, you know, you've got three flavors in one but that’s a little bit cheating. Only one…cookies and cream. 

Is that your favorite ice cream flavor? 

TH: Yeah. What’s your’s? 

I love Cookie Dough. 

TH: Ohh, cookie dough. Of course! Do you like the Ben & Jerry’s one? 

Of course, it's my favorite! What about strawberries? You know…”Strawberry Kisses”? 

TH: Noo, oh wait. I probably should have said strawberry. 

I think Cookies and Cream is a solid answer.

TH: Okay, final answer, I'm gonna change from cookies and cream to cookie dough. 

Catch Thomas Headon in a city near YOU and make sure to check out his brand new single, “Georgia”, out on all streaming platforms.