Will Joseph Cook: 'Girls Like Me' video premiere

Singer-songwriter from Kent crafts impressively mature pop lyrics to match his equally-impressive voice

Roisin O'Connor
Thursday 03 March 2016 14:37 GMT
Comments
Will Joseph Cook/Press image
Will Joseph Cook/Press image (Will Joseph Cook/Press image)

Your support helps us to tell the story

From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.

At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.

The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.

Your support makes all the difference.

It's really difficult to get past the fact that Will Joseph Cook is still only 18-years-old.

The singer-songwriter from Kent crafts impressively mature pop lyrics to match his equally-impressive voice.

Since his first two EPs he's been working on new material, including the wonderful "Girls Like Me" - the video of which we're premiering on The Independent.

Cook says of the video: "In the middle of a north sea storm on an overnight ferry to Rotterdam, warmed only by the dim glow of an ‘I’m a Celebrity’ repeat showing; the idea of speed dating myself in drag finally came to me*.

"The video for Girls Like Me stars myself and my friends/lovers - Kaby and Billy. I got to wear many outfits but only got to use glitter once (its really hard to remove). It’s coming out this week and was a shit tonne of fun to make, so I hope you like it."

*true story."

Watch below and let us know what you think.

Q&A with Will Joseph Cook

What have you been listening to recently?

I went to an Ed Banger Records night recently and have just been binge listening to all their artists, rediscovering and discovering some smashers. The last thing I listened to on my iPod was So Lonely by The Police. Also, I know I’m pretty late to the game, but the latest Alabama Shakes album is super good and I’ve been listening to that a bunch.

Are you doing any festivals this summer?

Definitely! Lots of bookings coming in, it’s really exciting. As well as a couple of the bigger festivals, we plan to get out and do a lot of smaller ones this year (all of which I will be announcing soon). I'm off to Austin for SXSW in a couple of weeks which is beyond mad, and I’m also really looking forward to playing The Great Escape again in May as I didn’t get the chance to last year. Winter sucks, the only good thing about it is the clothes; summer is definitely my element, I can’t wait.

What are you looking forward to for the rest of 2016?

Playing a tonne of shows. I’m also releasing my album, so I guess pretty much everything that comes with that. Meeting people, seeing the world a bit more and sharing the music.

What was the first gig you ever played, and what’s been the best so far? The first gig i ever played was at a local live music night called The Grey Lady in my hometown Tunbridge Wells. I was 14 at the time, after that I played regular shows there for years. I still do sets there now when I have the time. One of my most enjoyable shows, off the top of my head, was at the Lock Tavern in Camden. Only a few people there had actually come to see us play but by coincidence a massive group of Canadians showed up. Everybody danced and the night became an unexpected party.

Join our commenting forum

Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies

Comments

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in