Jake Bugg honoured to warm up for Rolling Stones

Jake Bugg caught up with Absolute Radio backstage at the Barclaycard Presents British Summertime Hyde Park Festival, fresh off the stage, having just warmed up for the Rolling Stones.

Jake said: "It was a privilege and an honour. I never thought it would be a reality, I mean I've dreamt about it, I've I thought of these kind of things but I never thought something like this would actually come true."

He continued: "It's the biggest show I've played, maybe not the most receptive crowd wise – you know Seventy, eighty thousand people there to see the Rolling Stones, not Jake Bugg, but it's a complete honour. I did T in the park, which was amazing and then onto supporting the Stones. You can't beat that. I just loved it."
Jake explained how he and his band had prepped for such a monumentous gig by lowering their expectations: "I told the band and the lads - that when you go on stage just think that there's no-one in that crowd to see us, so if you get a couple of cheers and a couple claps it's better than what you thought it would be."

Jake cited the Stones as having a big effect on him musically, drawing comparisons to their old blues influences: "The Stones have definitely been an influence on me. They're a great band with a good body of work and there is definitely something to be taking out of that. You know they had a lot of old blues influences; they're an amazing band."

Jake spoke about the importance of having his close friends with him on tour to make sure they put him in his place and keep him grounded: "My cousin came over for a couple of nights and I have three or four really close friends around me on tour. It's good to have that you know, they'll be the first people to tell you if you've changed into a terrible person."

He continued: "I have changed, I've learnt a lot and a think you are going to change as a person but I hope I can only change into a better one."

The huge shift in his life will have a direct effect on writing his second album, Bugg explained: "Well on a second record for me to sing about drinking and smoking and stabbings in car parks, you know, would be very dishonest because I haven't experienced that in the last year. I've had a lot of amazing opportunities that where I come from, a lot of people wouldn't get, so I think maybe there's something in giving people an insight into what's been going on."

Jake revealed he has been ready for stardom all of his life however: "It's crazy, because obviously I've dreamt of it so many times and it's all I thought about being a kid so when it actually happened, because it had run through my mind so much it now seems quite normal. I was kind of ready for it I think"

Jake just had time to catch a few Rolling Stones tracks before being whisked away to prepare for a gig abroad telling Absolute Radio that he wont be having a day off for two years: "I've got to be up at 5am. I'm going to Portugal. Non-stop, I haven't got a day off for two years, that's not really an exaggeration I suppose."

He continued: "My crew and my band, they'll tell you that it's actually quite hard on the road. I didn't know, I thought it would be quite easy, you know, three guys on stage, a few guitars, but we don't stop, we go to one gig after the other. Look, it would be nice to have a couple of nights to party but I can't really complain."

Absolute Radio is the official Radio Partner for Barclaycard Presents British Summer Time Hyde Park.