Cruz Beckham: ‘I want to learn to be the best musician I can be’
As Beckham prepares to kick off a run of sold-out London dates, the singer tells us why he wants to make his name the old fashioned way...
By Nick Reilly
When The Royston Club hit the road for their UK tour last year, eagle-eyed fans began to notice that the singer fronting previously-unannounced support band The Breakers looked, well, a little familiar. That’s what tends to happen when you’re Cruz Beckham and, in fairness, you happen to be decked out in the same shirt that your dad wore for that free kick against Greece in 2001.
Those gigs, the singer explains, were all part of an attempt to do the hard yards and make a career in music.
“I want to earn my stripes, I want to work really hard, I want to learn to be the best musician I can be, I want to meet my fans, and ultimately see where this mad journey takes me. One step at a time,” he says of understandable claims that a certain surname might have given him a kick start in music.
Tonight (March 24), then, sees Cruz kick off a string of sold-out shows in London after sharing a selection of solo cuts, including the Beatles-flecked ‘for your love’. We caught up with the rising star to discuss everything so far.
How does it feel to finally have the first taste of your music out there, Cruz?
Exciting and relieving! I’ve spent about 10 years trying to learn the craft of music and also spent a lot of time trying to find who, musically, I want to be. I was working with a few different producers but when I got in the studio with Lewis and Justin we instantly clicked and I knew I was going to really find myself in those sessions. I love and feel so proud of the music we’ve made together, and it’s meant the world to me to finally release it and put it out into the world. Especially playing these songs live too – getting up on stage, playing these songs live with my boys, and hopefully bringing a little joy to people’s lives too – it’s a proper dream come true! And seeing people singing the words back to us has been crazy.
And I feel so grateful to everyone who’s come to a show, streamed the singles, shared it with their mates, left a comment on socials… There’s loads more music to come and I’m buzzing for everyone to hear it and hopefully connect with it.
What’s your journey into music been like so far? When did you first pick up the guitar and what made you want to pursue it full time?
Music has always been a huge part of my life. There was always music around the house and it ranged from The Stone Roses to Chaka Khan and everything in between. Like I said, I fell in love with playing guitar when I was about 11 and haven’t stopped since, and as soon as I picked a guitar up I knew I never wanted to do anything else. So since then the journey between genres and discovering where I feel like I belong right now has been beyond beautiful. Even now, the songs we’re putting out were written about 2 or 3 years ago and I already feel like I’ve grown and evolved so much since then, but I’m also so proud of them too. Like ‘for your love’ will forever be a song that I am so proud to have written, recorded and now perform live. I guess that’s exactly what growing as an artist feels like, and I’m really excited to see where this journey takes me.
Hearing how the audience is connecting with different songs is making them so much more special to me too. I feel like there’s such a strong bond between the UK and guitar music that I’ve always really resonated with personally, so from being in the studio to getting together with The Breakers, it felt like I finally found the missing piece of the puzzle, and I’m really proud of what we’re doing together.
Did your parents inform your music tastes growing up?
Oh absolutely, there was a heavy guitar influence from The Stone Roses to The Rolling Stones to The Beatles, but also a lot of R&B and pop too. I spent years deep diving and studying the greats with no boundary to their genre. A great song is a great song!
Why did you decide to lead the project under your own name when it arguably could’ve been easier to go for a stage name that wouldn’t attract the same attention?
I realised quite quickly when I was in studios that nothing resonates more than honesty in music. Honesty, truth, and speaking from your own experience. So anything else would’ve felt inauthentic. I didn’t spend that much time writing songs to better understand who I was, to then be someone else.
How do you respond to accusations that you’ve got a level of privilege not ordinarily afforded to other artists?
I completely understand it. On one hand, I can’t control what family I come from but on the other hand I am so aware that I’m incredibly fortunate, which is why it means even more to me to do this the right way and try to be as proud of myself as I can. I really want to do this the right way – I want to play live in these independent venues across the country that I feel so lucky to be playing in on the tour right now and when we supported The Royston Club last year, I want to earn my stripes, I want to work really hard, I want to learn to be the best musician I can be, I want to meet my fans, and ultimately see where this mad journey takes me. One step at a time.
What have your parents made of the new music?
They’ve been so supportive. Very honest too, but I really listen and trust their feedback on everything, but in the end they support me unconditionally and I want to work hard to make them proud.
We recently saw you performing ‘Viva Forever’ with your mum and the other Spice Girls. Was it a full circle moment for you?
I mean, I’m a huge Spice Girls fan so it was just as fun for me as it was for others to watch.
What’s the future looking like? An album? An EP?
In the dream future I’ll be 100 years old, still on a stage with The Breakers until everyone is sick of us, with a big smile. In the near future though, I have an album ready which I’d love to put out and there’s more shows coming too. If it was up to me, I’d be playing live every day. I can’t wait to keep exploring and writing and evolving as a person and as an artist. I just want to keep working at this to be the best musician I can be to be honest. I’m lucky enough to have people I love and trust around me so the ride really is the destination… And maybe Madison Square Garden for an actual full circle moment.
Is there anything else the world should know about Cruz Beckham?
Come to a show and find out!