James Bay: I'd be up for a pub tour of Britain's 'vital' small venues

Brit-winning star James Bay is “well up” for returning to the pub circuit to help save Britain’s “vital” small venues.

The Hold Back The River singer has performed on arena tours with Taylor Swift, Ed Sheeran and The Rolling Stones - but would now jump at the chance to play a tour of UK pubs.

Bay, 29, who lives in Islington, said: “I get up every day because I am now lucky enough to play shows professionally. The fact I can’t do that is desperately depressing. I would do a pub tour tomorrow, I am well up for it.

“I’d wear a visor so whatever was coming out of my mouth doesn’t go everywhere,” he said.

Pubs reopened as part of Boris Johnson’s July 4 loosening of lockdown measures, while open-air shows were green-lit last week. But it is still unclear when music venues will be able to re-open.

Bay spoke ahead of a live-streamed performance on his YouTube channel, which has almost 2 million subscribers, in aid of Save Our Venues which is helping small venues across the country left struggling by the pandemic.

It has so far raised over £2.4 million to help hundreds of grassroots venues at risk of staying permanently closed.

Bay said small venues were “vital” to the UK music scene.

“I remember the first time people shut up in a pub and stopped talking, that made my heart explode in many ways. If we want a future for music, you have got to have those small venues. Otherwise artists can’t work out how to do their thing really well and go on to bigger venues.”

Bay, who has been running weekly live streaming performances and tutorials during lockdown, said he had enjoyed being able to connect with fans at home.

“I am not Mr Social Media. But as the idea of gigging disappeared, I found being connected to my fans was a wonderful thing.”