Public Republic

Interview by Maja Jankowska

Harry Seaton is an inspiring, extraordinary talented singer, guitar player, songwriter but also a person with problems faced by over 60% of UK children – bullying. How does he cope with it, and what is his recipe for life?

You fell in love with music at age of 10, and now as a 16 year old you produce your own songs and play it all over England and also Germany! What inspired you to create music at such a young age; do you come from musical family?

Not particularly, my dad was in a band a long time ago, but he never pushed me into music, my eldest sister was a keen pianist at the time I began to play guitar and that made me gain interest in music and I just knew I wanted to be a guitarist straight away, since then my dad has now taken up the guitar and formed a new band and my little sister is playing drums so most definitely now a musical family!

Family plays a big role in Harry’s music career. A very characteristic thing of Harry is the price tag which he still has on the guitar. It symbolizes his father’s support ‘he put money aside to buy it for me when i didn’t even ask for it, because he supports my music a lot and therefore it signifies to me the effort he puts into making the money he does to support my dream’

What bands and musicians inspire you ?

I think my main inspirations when song writing now are Ben Leftwich, The XX, Lauren Aquilina, Lewis Watson and James Vincent McMorrow however I am heavily inspired by Johnny Cash and Bob Dylan

You said you are a songwriter. Do you have these moments when ideas come to your head and you just have to write them down, if so when do the ideas appear in your mind?

Yes I certainly do, I fail to see how anyone can sit down and try and write a song, it needs to come to you, the ideas often appear in my mind when I’m on a walk, talking to a friend going through a rough time, or sat thinking about a rough time i am currently going through

Rough times …

I used to get bullied a lot and music was my escape and recently my bullies found out about my music and decided they really liked it and now we’re all friends!

Common reasons for bullying people are their appearance and hobbies and it was not different with Harry.

‘ my hair’s never been ‘normal’, everyone’s started growing it now but i had shoulder length hair when everyone had buzz cuts and now everyone’s growing it i have short sides and a long messy top which is quite an uncommon haircut, but then also some people find anything to pick on, i was a county tennis player which is quite an achievement, but it wasn’t football, it wasn’t rugby, i sang a lot, i was in swing band and choir, the little things that people can make jokes about, things you wouldn’t expect people to dig at you about they often just will anyway ‘

Harry still fights bullying by escaping into music. His advice for bullied children is simple:

Never let anyone bully you into giving up, it sounds cliché but if you let them win you’ll have nothing to be proud of in later years when you look back at how you dealt with it’ .

You are on the right path to be famous; you already are ‘Facebook and you-tube famous’. Are you not scared of the ‘haters’ that appear in every artists life?

These past 6 months have been mental in both good and bad ways, but I think I’ve learnt how to deal with it and in some cases rise above it, it’s now less of a problem than ever, I just hope it stays that way.

What is the message of your songs, is it in some way your direct message to the ‘haters’?

The general messages I tend to include are that I am not and never will be perfect so people should stop expecting that of me, that hateful comments do affect people, and that i am just trying to make something of myself just like everyone else.

You seem to have a keen idea of what your plans are. Are you connecting your future plans for life to music or is it just a hobby and a way to express your feelings ?

My music will always be my main priority but i try very hard at school just in case nothing ever happens so that i can have something to fall back on

Harry has been working hard over the Christmas time and has now released his first music video which you can watch on his YouTube channel http://youtube.com/harryseatonmusic, furthermore his single is now available in every major online stores. Harry will be performing live in February in Norwich also in his hometown King’s Lynn and he will be supporting Lauren Aquilina in Manchester.