TIM HUGHES talks to singer/songwriter Ben Montague about the rollercoaster of emotions that inspired his album

WE’VE all been there, haven’t we? You meet someone, fall in love amid a riot of emotion and are convinced that happiness will last forever. But it doesn’t. You argue, make up, quarrel again, and eventually drift apart – that early euphoria replaced by bitterness, loneliness and creeping resentment.

There’s nothing new or unusual there; it’s a story repeated countless times since mankind came down from the trees. The thing is, most of us don’t broadcast the whole heartbreaking process to the world by turning it into a record. But then most of us aren’t Ben Montague.

Looking for inspiration for his album, the singer-songwriter turned to something he, like the rest of us, has first-hand knowledge of: breaking up.

“It’s based on a journey I went through with a girl,” he says. “It’s not just about the heartbreak and sad times but also the work pressures and life in general which all have an effect on a relationship. “It’s from the time you say you love someone to the time you say you are leaving – which is what happened to me.

“It’s about the heartbreak of when you split up but still can’t get them out of your mind, but also about picking yourself up after you’ve been knocked down.”

The record, Tales Of Flying and Falling is due out in January. The first single Love Like Stars, out now, is an expansive piece of widescreen pop-rock which sets the tone at the start of the curve.

“This song has to be one of my favourites on the album and the one that is most significant to me,” he says. “It was the first song I wrote and the one that shaped the sound of the rest of the album.

“It captures that glorious moment when you can’t think of anyone else.”

If Ben’s name is unfamiliar, his songs certainly aren’t. The deliciously melancholic Haunted, released two years ago, was an instant radio hit and won fans for his sweet, soulful voice.

It was also enough to win him a deal with a major label and to get his album recorded at the famous Rockfield studios with producer Dave Eringa (Manic Street Preachers, Idlewild, Kylie).

“This was always my dream,” he says. “To make an album with one producer, in one studio.

“I wanted to take my time and make sure every song sounded as good as it could. Working with Dave was amazing. He’s a rock guy; I write pop songs. We bonded over old school desks and old school mics and a love of authentic, epic music.”

Ben brings his tales of love and loss to the O2 Academy Oxford tonight. It’s a show which has extra significance for Ben.

“I love Oxford,” he says. “My dad moved to Witney when I was younger, and I spent my childhood between Dorset and Oxfordshire. I went to school at d’Overbroeck’s on Banbury Road, and the place still means a lot to me.”

It was while at school that he first dabbled in music. “I fell in love with the guitar,” he says. “There was always one around the house and I taught myself – and there were also loads of great records – with everything from Cream to the Stones and The Who. I had a band at school and fell into music. But it was only when I got to university in Bristol that I realised this was what I wanted to do and genuinely thought I could do it.

“The band thing didn’t really work out so I set out on my own. “I did an acoustic thing, but it was a struggle.

“I had to sell a guitar to pay the rent. I was playing covers gigs and shows to two people in the room. I also taught guitar and gave tennis lessons to get by. It’s a very hard industry to be in.”

Since then he has taken every opportunity to heighten his profile – including supporting the Stereophonics and The Wanted.

He describes his sound as “a singer-songwriter version of Coldplay with a bit of Snow Patrol chucked in.”

“I love big, anthemic songs,” he adds. “I’m a solo artist with a big band feeling. I did the whole acoustic thing for a while but there didn’t seem to be anyone out there making a big sound as a solo artist, which is what I love.”

But aren’t his shows a bit depressing? I mean there’s only so much heartache a gig-goer can take, isn’t there?

“It’s uptempo and melancholy but I wouldn’t call it gloomy.

“I try to make my gigs a lot of fun; they are not too serious and there’s lots of energy. It’s not just piano and guitar – there’s a heavy rock element too.”

The album does end on a high note, with our hero bumping into his ex and starting out again. Is that, I wonder, also autobiographical? What, after all, happened to the girl in the songs?

“Her name is Leanne,” grins Ben. “And we got back together again!”

Ben Montague admits to having played some unusual gigs.

“I’ve played everywhere from small clubs to airports and arenas,” he says. A show at St Pancras Station meanwhile, mesmerised a group of people into missing their train to Paris.

“The strangest though was singing to two people in their hotel room as a wedding anniversary present,” he adds. “I was hidden in the room with a guitar and had to serenade them when they came in! I’d do it again if I was asked too. After all, you are never too big for that!”

  • Ben Montague plays the O2 Academy Oxford tonight. Tickets are
    £8 from ticketweb.co.uk