When did you decide that a music career was for you?

 

I can’t say that I have actively decided it was a career, I more just happened to continue to drift back to music after trying different things. I’ve always been somebody who believes that you should try everything and fail as much as possible to find out what you love and music is one thing that I always kept coming back to so in that sense it just kind of de facto became the thing that I was doing.

 

Who are your musical inspirations and why?

 

My musical inspirations are varied. I love Frank Sinatra and Fats Waller, but I also really enjoy music from people like Myles Smith and The Astronomers. I think I take a bit of inspiration from all types of music that I listen to and then just use that within my own.

 

 

Can you tell me 3 things about yourself that people might not already know?

 

I was a carer for six years looking after my grandad who really out of everybody is the biggest inspiration in my life. Unfortunately, he passed away last year in May which hit me hard, but also inspired me to really pursue music as a passion in my life. 

 

The second thing would be that I was in a show called This England, and I got to do a scene with Kenneth Branagh, which was a cool experience. 

 

The third thing would be that I have an extended diploma in filmmaking, which is a little bit random, but I’m sure has helped when it comes to making content

 

What song of yours best describes you and why?

 

I’d say the best song that probably describes me is a song I wrote called Wannabe, which is effectively about a time in my life, where I wasn’t sure who I was and therefore felt like I wanted to be anybody else, but myself. It’s really a song about self discovery and learning to be comfortable in your own skin.

 

What has been the best gig you have done to date and why?

 

I’d say the one that always stands out to me is one I did in a local town called Brandon which was on a summer day and just went down perfectly. Any musician knows that when doing a gig it’s very rare that everything always goes according to plan and that one just has a special place in my heart. I think the deeper reason behind it is because it was the moment when I was playing and realised I’d like to do it as a career.

 

If you could perform a gig at any venue where would it be and why?

 

I’d have to say the Cambridge Corn Exchange because I remember going to watch Hobo Johnson there with my brother, and it was one of the only gigs that I had been to up to that point. I just remember standing there and thinking to myself that maybe one day, I’ll be able to play here and sell out a room full of people

 

What has been your best achievement to date and what would you like to achieve in the future?

 

Honestly, I think my best achievement to date has been my latest single. British Blue Sky was a song that always stuck out to me after I’d written it. It’s also my first song to reach 600,000 people on a post which was a really cool achievement. I was really lucky that on its launch week I managed to get 22,000 streams on Spotify alone which was beyond my wildest expectations.

 

Tell me a story from backstage or after a gig?

 

When I first started out, I did a gig at a very fancy restaurant and played a two-hour set only to find out right at the end that my guitar had not been playing through the amp so all people could hear was me singing for two hours. Needless to say, I was not invited back to play again.

 

What do you like best about being a musician and why?

 

The thing I like most is being able to write things that resonate with other people. I find that a lot of the music I write comes from times in my life where I have felt very isolated and as though nobody else has gone through the situation that I was going through. In them moments, I would listen to music and it would help me feel better or sometimes just help me feel in general. Being able to make a positive impact on people through the music I write will always be the best thing about doing it

 

If you were not in the job you are now what would you be doing?

 

It’s hard to say, but I would probably be running a business because before doing music, I did that and it is still a big passion of mine.

 

What has been the best gig you have been too as a fan and can you tell us about it?

 

The best gig I’ve ever been to was the Hobo Johnson one at the Cambridge Corn Exchange besides from the fact that it was an awesome gig, It holds a sentimental place in my heart, because I went there with my brother, and I wouldn’t have wanted to be there with anybody else. it was a real bonding moment

 

What would your ideal festival lineup be and why?

 

Myles Smith

Cat Burns

The Astronomers

Dean Lewis

AJR

 

What would you say is the best piece of advice you have ever been given?

 

“A day at a time” my grandad would always tell me and I live by it to this day. I think sometimes in the chaos of life we can get lost in a moment that feels like a lifetime, but it’s always important to step back and remember tomorrow is a new day and everything always works itself out

 

What things make you happy and what things annoy you?

 

Coffee makes me happy, it is 100% the thing that keeps me going. Spending time with those I love is also another one.

 

I don’t get annoyed very easily, although I cannot stand arrogant people. It really gets to me.

 

 

What things do you like to do when you are away from music?

 

When I’m away from music, I love to do gaming. Honestly, it’s been something that has been with me since I was a kid and helps me relax. I’m also massively into film so that is another thing I enjoy doing. Besides, from that I’m a pretty laid-back person I don’t enjoy clubbing or anything like that. I’m much more of a stay-inside-and-chill type of guy.

 

 

Do you think social media and the internet are a good thing in the music industry?

 

I think social media and the Internet are amazing for the music industry in one sense, that being so many talented musicians are now able to be discovered so easily, but there is definitely a large negative effect that social media has as well. I think a lot of the time, if you are on social media you will at some point begin to look for validation within the numbers that you gain, and that is something that I had to learn not to do to be able to actually grow as an artist.

 

I think it’s all about balance at the end of the day. For me I have my business social media accounts, which I use for music and other things, but I don’t have a personal social media because when I’m not posting my business or my music, I prefer to stay off it from my mental health.

 

How important do you think your look and image are when it comes to being in the music industry?

 

I think what’s important when it comes to image, is just being authentically you. There is that Oscar Wild quote “be yourself because everybody else is taken”, and I love that. That really summarises my thoughts on what your image should be. Don’t try to be anybody else but yourself because at the end of the day, people like authenticity. So, just work on being you. I believe the reason we see a lot of people try to be someone else is because being yourself is scary. You have no barrier between you and the audience at that point, which can sometimes mean if they don’t like what they see, that means they don’t like you. Whereas, if you put on a character or you try to be somebody else, it makes it easier to deal with that rejection. However, I have found the most success when I was unapologetically Ben.

 

 

Can you tell us about any tattoos you have and the significance of them to you?

 

Not really, because I don’t have any tattoos

 

If you run the country for a day what would you change about it and why?

 

I would make sure to address the cost of living crisis so that people can afford to live and nurses didn’t have to go to food banks to feed their kids.

 

What would your ideal day consist of?

 

Get up, go get my morning coffee from Starbucks with my mum, come home and do some gaming, go for a walk, and have a wonderful dinner and relax with the movie or TV series. 

 

If you could say one thing to your fans what would it be and why?

 

Thank you so much from the bottom of my heart. I honestly could never thank you enough for allowing me to do the thing I love every day. I hope all of you will stick around for the journey because I can promise you that this year is going to be insane in the best possible way. The reason I’d say that is because, without the people who listen to me, I wouldn’t be able to do what I love.

 

How would you answer the question Who is Ben Wheatley and what are the differences between you as a music artist and you away from music? 

 

When it comes to answering a question about who I am, I think the main thing to point out would be, I’m a human being who feels stress, anxiety and has worries the same as everybody else. It’s really easy when we look at social media to see somebody who has everything figured out, but in all honesty, nobody does. I strongly believe that this feeling of uncertainty we all face at one point or another in our lives is the thing that connects us. 

 

What was the first record or song you purchased and why?

 

It’s a split between Royal Blood’s first album and the Marshall Mathers LP2. I can’t remember which one I got first, because they were both near one another, however, both of them were awesome. Both of them resonated with me for a similar reason, which is I really enjoyed the way they wrote songs, and I think listening to people like Eminem in my early years helped formulate my passion for songwriting and deep lyrics.

 

What would say to someone thinking about becoming a musician and getting into the music industry?

 

Just do it, start writing music and learning an instrument. People spend a lot of time planning how they’re gonna do a thing that they never end up actually doing so don’t be that person. If you go into it with the mindset that you are going to mess up and you are not going to be perfect, it makes the entire process so much easier because you take the pressure off yourself. Most importantly, have fun with it.

 

If you could collaborate with any other band/singer or musician who would you choose and why?

 

I would love to write with Myles Smith mainly because his songwriting is so incredible. I also really resonate with the songs that he’s written so that would be fun.

 

If you could have written one song from history which would it have been and why?

 

Probably Money Game pt 2 from Ren which in my opinion has some of the best songwriting ever. Every time I listen to it, I get jealous of the fact that I didn’t write it, that’s how you know it’s a good song.

 

What things make you uncomfortable?

 

Letting people down, I think as you gain more of a following you end up being unable to do things with as many people because you have a limited amount of time, however, it never gets easier because you always want to make everybody happy. I might also be a little bit of a people pleaser as well, which probably adds to it.

 

If you wrote a book about yourself what would it have in it?

 

I’d write about my experience caring, because for me that was the most isolating time of my life. From my teenage years to my early 20s I watched all of my other mates go off and do the things like holidays and jobs while I stayed in my town. I wouldn’t change it for the world, because I was caring for the man who raised me and taught me everything I know. He was a dad to me and so I was always gonna be there for him. However I didn’t know anybody who was doing the same thing and that made it really hard. If I had to write a book, it would be about persevering, even when times are tough and never giving up on a thing that you know you can do. At the end of the day, success is just being consistent at something despite the fact that a lot of people may think you’re crazy for doing it until you make it, then they’ll call you a genius. I’d

 

What has the rest of the year got in store for you?

 

For the rest of this year, I have a load more singles coming out. I will also be very present on social media and possibly other bigger platforms too!

 

Towards the end of the year, I would love to be able to do some live shows for people and actually get to meet everybody who has been supporting me but we’ll have to see on that one.