James Brittain-McVey breaks silence on The Vamps 'split' fears amid solo work
The Vamps guitarist and singer James Brittain-McVey has spoken candidly about split fears.
The musician 31, admits that the lads, Tristan Evans, Connor Ball and Bradley Will Simpson are the 'best of friends'. He told me: "We were in the studio in the summer, we're going to be doing some more stuff, we just need to get some vocals done.
"There's no thought process in any of our heads where we're like 'Oh let's leave and pursue the solo stuff'. It's been three years since the last Vamps album – three years for other bands is not that long but I feel like The Vamps have done so many albums in such short succession that people kind of presume something is wrong."
James Brittain-McVey has confirmed The Vamps won't be splitting any time soon (Samir Hussein/WireImage)He added: "We've got a big world tour this year that started a year ago, there's going to be more stuff coming, it just takes time to get it right." But James is still looking forward to a career as an independent solo artist and discussing his mental health in his new music.
Speaking about his solo music, he said: "With my music, I'm able to really like go down the rabbit hole of exactly how I'm feeling. I'm able to write five-minute songs, it's nice to have that musical freedom."
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The musician teamed up with Mind for his first solo gig in almost two decades after detailing his mental health struggles. James previously revealed he passed out after consuming too much cannabis. He said: "I kind of tricked myself into feeling that it was a good thing for me, a good drug, it was good for my mental health, it was good for my inspiration with songwriting."
Although James admits he wasn't chemically addicted to the Class B drug, he says he "definitely became addicted to the feeling of consuming it". He added: "You can draw parallels actually with my negative obsession with food and exercise. I was getting to the point where my schedules and my routines were centred around smoking cannabis. It took a big moment which was last October when I passed out, it was a real awakening."
James also opened up about his struggles with Cannabis (Mind)The Chester-born musician said he noticed that the drug had a "detrimental effect" on his mental health. While he is an advocate for men's mental health, James says he was "nervous" to discuss his experience with the drug as he didn't want it to be the "defining feature" of his solo career.
His first solo EP, Manabi, explores James' struggles and later jumping over hurdles in order to get out of the "dark place". When he passed out at a pub while enjoying a Sunday with bandmate Tristan Evans, he says having the support of his bandmates and wife Kirstie was massively "important".
He said: "I think my biggest takeaway from stopping the weed, it's not even just the weed, it's getting out of the dark place I was in, I realised, I wasn't there for them. I was so insular and unreachable emotionally." He commented that he was "aloof and detached" from what was going on around him.
Although The Vamps are very much still a band, James is enjoying his solo career (Mind)"The Vamps boys have been have been great with that stuff. It's kind of awkward and embarrassing sometimes to speak to them about it. Cannabis or that party lifestyle is easy to be seen as 'Oh we're just having fun,' I think for me to actually to say, 'No, look guys,, I kind of have an issue with it. It's it's quite a weird thing to talk about. But you know, I had like a really good chat, chat with well with all of them."
James admits he's a "workaholic" but acknowledges that he's "lucky" to not attempt to replace the adrenaline of being on stage with anything. "Over the last couple years when I've come home, I've been like straight on my solo music trying to figure stuff out. I'm very lucky that I have a sense of normality in my house with my wife working a 9-5, it's good to keep me in check, if I lived on my own alone, I could sit around and do nothing for a few days."
Each member of the band is enjoying solo time, with Brad recently selling out four solo shows next month within just a number of minutes. Meanwhile, bassist Connor is enjoying time with his band Lunars, with him and bandmate Sasa Macek releasing their latest single, No Way In Hell, as well as a recent sold-out show at Camden's Underworld earlier this month.
In 2022, Tristan created his own concealer collection in partnership with Homme which he described as "really fun". "That was something I wanted to do for a while, coronavirus hit and I had a little bit of time on my hands," he explained before continuing: "It's something I've always done, I've always worn makeup. I've always believed anyone can wear makeup, you shouldn't believe in the stereotype 'Oh my God, men can't wear makeup' – that's so old school."
Frank offers confidential advice about drugs and addiction (email [email protected], message 82111 or call 0300 123 6600) or the NHS has information about getting help.
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