Young At Heart

I’M so hungover! Last night I had a fitting for some clothes, some friends came over – and it all got a bit excited!”

Yet despite a splitting headache, Will Young is surprisingly chirpy; garrulous even.

The multi-platinum singer became a household name as the first winner of Pop Idol, and his winning song Evergreen is now the UK’s 12th best-selling single of all time – so he is no stranger to interviews.

But while he might have been expected to grow jaded when talking about his much emulated route to fame, this morning – over coffee and aspirin at home in London’s Holland Park – he is genuinely enthusiastic.

Disarmingly frank, he is excited to share his news and to reveal a few truths about the 31-year-old artist we still can’t get enough of... including his penchant for a good curry.

“Yesterday ended up as a curry night,” he confesses with a whisper – as if sharing a naughty secret.

So what’s his ‘Ruby’ of choice? Madras, jalfrezi?

“No,” he laughs. “I’m a real Middle England boy. I like a good chicken tikka masala with a naan, pilau rice, saag aloo – and a couple of Cobra beers. And the good thing is, like many things in life, they’re all at the end of a phone line.”

I suggest one can tell a lot by a chap’s taste in curry. “Yes,” he agrees. “I tend to think I’m more progressive than I actually am. If you want to get really heavy – in terms of human relations and social freedoms – I’m more progressive, but in other ways I’m more conservative. I believe in treating people well.

“I hate snobbery; that’s the part of Middle England I dislike – looking down at people and judging them… I hate that.”

Is he talking from experience, as an ‘out’ gay man? “I don’t think so,” he says pensively. “It’s more that I don’t like being put in a box. I’ve always hated being labelled.

“If I listened to people I’d have never entered the pop industry; I’d have entered the City and done some horrible job that doesn’t suit me. That’s what’s great about shows like Pop Idol. People from different backgrounds get together. There’s a real mix – that’s the great thing about music.”

When he describes himself as a Middle England boy, he’s not kidding. Will was brought up in prosperous Berkshire – a Champagne cork’s pop away from Henley, where he returns on Wednesday to headline opening night of the Henley Festival.

“It will be like going home,” he enthuses. “My parents lived in Henley, and I’m related to the Brakspear family, who made the beer – so it’s great to be playing the festival. It will be a home crowd, which will be quite weird.

“I’ve always felt an affinity with the place. I remember when the Brakspear’s brewery got taken over. I was quite upset. But I still keep the family tradition alive by drinking the beer.”

Will’s Oxford connections run deeper. When he was 19 he studied at D’Overbroeck’s College, in Banbury Road.

“While I was there I worked at the Grand Café on the High Street,” he recalls. “I had a great time in Oxford and always wanted to go to the University, but wasn’t clever enough. There’s a sense of romance about Oxford. It’s such a beautiful place.”

So where did he used to hang out here?

“The Bear Inn; I liked that one. And Little Clarendon Street. My godmother had a shop down there and worked in the Covered Market. I also loved Freuds on Walton Street, where the cool kids went. I, however, have never been cool – though I have discovered ‘cool’ as I got older; I’m certainly cooler than I was then.

“I’ve always been true to myself, though. I very much knew who I was. There’s something amazing about being a teenager; you’re a bit untouchable.”

Will returned to Oxford two years ago, following in the footsteps of Mother Theresa, the Dalai Lama, Malcolm X and Kermit the Frog, by addressing the Oxford Union.

“It was absolutely terrifying,” he hoots. “I did this thing where I tried to link in Plato with Kerry Katona.

“It was all about the idea of who we are as people; it was interesting – but muddled. “It was a great experience for a guy who had won a talent show, though.”

Ah.. the talent show.

He is genuinely grateful for the opportunity thrown up by that 2002 Pop Idol win, when he stood up to Simon Cowell.

“I always knew I wanted a different type of job. I was working for a music publisher at the time and knew I couldn’t do the nine-to-five. Sometimes now, however, I crave routine because my timings are all over the place. I’m getting lazier as I get older too, and I get bored really easily.

“Music is still my number one thing and passion, though; I absolutely love it. I get more pleasure out of it now than eight years ago.”

Will Young plays the Henley Festival on Wednesday.

The festival runs from Wednesday to next Sunday. Other nights are headlined by Bryn Terfel (Thurs), Nigel Kennedy (Fri) the stars of the West End musical We Will Rock You (Sat) and Ronan Keating (Sun).

To book tickets call the box office on 01491 843404 or visit henley-festival.co.uk See next week’s Guide for more details.