WHAT does a bespectacled young singer-songwriter from Wembley have in common with Frank Sinatra?

The answer – they both lived in the same house.

Though, obviously, not at the same time.

Honey-voiced Londoner Gary Go had no idea who’s former pad he was moving into when he rented a room in Hoboken, New Jersey, after landing a job at a local studio.

But the experience made an impression. ”It was a dream!” says Gary (real name Gary Baker), talking to The Guide from Madrid, before heading out for tapas ahead of a gig in the Spanish capital.

“People talk about the universe conspiring with you, and it was like that,” he adds.

“I only moved to New Jersey because someone offered me free studio time. I found the room online, and when I got there saw a plaque on the wall that Sinatra had lived there. It was pure chance.”

While at the house Gary composed many of the guitar and piano led songs which would see him signed to Decca.

“Of course, it also inspired a ‘crooner’-style ballad on the album. Though that’s where the similarity ends. He was a good-looking guy, and he had nice hats. I don’t know where I get my image, but I’m no Frank.”

A true multi-instrumentalist with a mastery of delicate, uplifting pop and a narrative lyric, Gary wrote his first song aged eight, learned to play a toy Casio keyboard, left school at 17, and began his assault on the industry by getting a lowest rung job at a record label – making tea and setting up microphones.

He soon set up his own bedroom-run label The Canvas Room, produced some songs, released an EP, and started playing shows around London.

“I grew up in the shadow of Wembley Stadium,” he explains.

“If the wind blew in my direction I could hear the bands playing. So I’ve always had a huge love of music. But I’m not into football at all.

“Even now, I have no other life than music. The only problem is that means I don’t have much to write about. I’ve got to figure that out!”

This month Gary, 24, heads out on the road with hot new star VV Brown, for a co-headline tour which hits Oxford on March 26.

It’s an unusual double bill. “From what I’ve seen, her whole aesthetic is something I like. Though it’s very different from my thing,” he admits.

“People should come down and see the eclectic train wreck of me and VV Brown... which will excite and ignite your mind!”

Interestingly, Gary’s first experience of Oxford was somewhat less rock & roll. “I studied for my GCSEs at one of those cramming colleges,” he laughs. “I stayed in a university college and liked it a lot. But until now, I haven’t played any shows in the city.”

The gig comes ahead of a support slot for Take That’s summer tour, and follows the release of debut single Wonderful – the first from his soon-to-be-released self-titled and self-produced album.

“People really seem to get me,” he says. “In Spain people have been singing along with me. They know the songs even though they haven’t yet been released. I guess that’s the power of the ‘interweb’.

“The best bit of this is the reaction you get from the audience. Having 1,000 people singing your songs back at you is amazing.”

Among those fans is Take That’s Gary Barlow, who fell for his melodies and telling lyrics after going to hear him play at the back of a pub.

“He really got into my songs and liked them. Then the rest of the band also got into my music, which is great.”

The tour with Take That will see him playing to a million people in just a month – including a gig at Wembley Stadium.

“It’s very exciting.” he says. “You’ve got to believe in yourself. Believe in what you’re doing, and be the best person you can be. And, if you do that, you will be helped along – and the universe will conspire for you.”

Gary Go plays the Oxford O2 Academy on March 26. Tickets are £7. Go to wwwgigsandtours.com or call 0871 2200 260.

In next week’s Guide, we talk to co-headliner VV Brown.