Positioned somewhere between Tim Buckley and Shaun Ryder (if you will), Lee Griffiths is the latest hopeful from the abundantly talented musical machine of Manchester. Although he's a singer-songwriter who mainly plays an acoustic guitar, I wouldn't mention the word "folk" to him if I were you. The rather pat comparison would be with a solo Noel Gallagher; but then again, you're only edging towards an idea of the sound of the man who has already been billed as "the man most likely to . . ."
Aged 26, and newly signed to the impressive ZTT record label (which stands for Zang Tumb Tuum - a phrase used by the Italian futurist Russulo to describe the sound of machine-gun fans, trivia fans) Griffiths is from the rough'n'tumble Moston area of Manchester where he was expelled from school and later, rather impressively, received a life ban from British Rail for an incident we'd better not go into here.
If his upbringing resembles something from a Happy Mondays or an Oasis biography, his music is a different kettle of arpeggios entirely. More John Martyn and Richard Thompson than Mani and Bez, his first single, Feeling The Strain (just released) was an exuberant and auspicious debut which showcased his talents and paved the way for the really rather good album, Are You Sitting Comfortably.
Like most Manchester musicians, he has Irish roots (in the grandparents department) and a bit of baggage. "I'm from a rough area; I've grown up with alcoholism around me; our house has been burnt down and I clearly remember times when we didn't even have a 50 pence piece for the television meter," he says. "It's a typical working-class experience but if I hadn't gone through that, I wouldn't be here now, singing these songs."
He has developed a musical style that owes nothing at all to the local heroes around him (Smiths, Buzzcocks, Joy Division, Mondays, Roses etc), and says he was first taught to play the guitar by a guy "who looked just like John Lennon". When he first started playing live, he felt totally out of synch with what was going around him: "It was always me with my acoustic guitar sharing the bill with three indie bands. In that sort of situation it was difficult to get the songs across, so I really had to learn how to deal with an audience. There have been situations where I've been shouted down, or people just weren't listening, but I soon learnt that the aggressive way paid off best, so I'd do things like ask a guy in the audience out for a fight if he was causing trouble."
Listening through the album, you understand why he's getting the "English Tim Buckley" comparisons - but Griffiths himself can't see it. "It's not a comparison that annoys me, because the funny thing is, I've never really listened to Tim Buckley. The other thing that amuses me is the folk/rock description - if anybody listens to my work they'll know that it's not flowery or clever. Most of the songs are autobiographical, and I've been through a lot of shit, so they're just from my point of view. Sometimes I get embarrassed by how sincere they are."
While his record company says that he has "a heart of stone wrapped up inside several layers of deceptively swoony songs", Griffiths himself feels there's a rockier feel to his output. "I suppose now it's about 60/40 in favour of acoustic songs over rock songs; but the balance is always shifting, so I'm not yet sure how things will progress. I don't think it really matters how a song is played - I mean, just listen to Fake Plastic Trees by Radiohead. That would sound good no matter which way you approached it."
As he busies himself with gigs at T in the Park and Reading, there's nothing he wants to do more than play in Dublin. "Because of the family connections and stuff, that would be just amazing. I also think, and I'm not just saying this, that Irish audiences would appreciate the sort of stuff I'm doing. Hopefully I can get something arranged for later in the summer." Any promoters listening?
Are You Sitting Comfortably by Lee Griffiths is out now on ZTT Records
