Inchmarlo Community Hall may seem like a world away from the glitz and glamour of the music industry but for Banchory boy Calum Bowie, the small village venue was where his journey to becoming a Scottish singing sensation began.
“When I was at in P6 and P7 at Banchory Primary school, me and some of my friends created a school band called Steel Trapz,” laughs Calum.
“I’ll always remember we played at a birthday party in Inchmarlo Community Hall.
“I thought we rocked the house down, it was great fun.
“It’s what gave me that taste for live music.”
Fast forward to today and Calum, 23, has not only played at Scotland’s biggest music TRNSMT but his music videos have been viewed over 60 million times and he is signed with EMI, the same record label as fellow Scottish singer Lewis Capaldi.
Chatting over video call from his Edinburgh flat, Calum’s down-to-earth demeanour and cracking sense of humour is instantly apparent as he describes how surreal it felt to attend the swanky Brit Awards afterparty recently in his new pair of Doc Martens boots.
“It was very weird and I felt very under qualified to be there but everyone made me feel very welcome which was nice,” says Calum.
“Mel C was on the decks as well which was very surreal.
“I got Doc Martens to wear for the occasion but I hadn’t realised that you have to wear them in so my feet by the end of the night were very sore but at least they looked nice.
“It was my first pair and what a debut they had.”
Inspired by his hometown Banchory
To reach the dizzy heights of success at such a young age, anyone would forgive Calum for being a tad precocious, but the singer-songwriter is far from it.
In fact, his eyes positively light up when he talks about growing up in Banchory with his mum Laura, dad Dave and younger sister Rhona, 21.
“I miss Banchory all the time,” says Calum.
“My family still live there so I go up whenever I can.
“I miss all the hills and the tranquility – it’s so peaceful.
“When I was younger I probably didn’t appreciate how amazing it was until you travel a bit more but I love it.”
Mastering the guitar by the age of eight
Growing up, music was always turned up in the Bowie household.
“As a family we listened to a lot of music,” says Calum.
“My dad was really into ACDC, Iron Maiden, Led Zeppelin and Black Sabbath.”
At the age of eight, Calum’s dad challenged him to learn ‘Breakfast At Tiffany’s’ ( a song by Deep Blue Something) on guitar to show he was into it enough to buy him one of his own.
He was, of course, and with his new guitar, Calum began learning his favourites insatiably, always putting his unique spin on them.
His talent and love for music was also encouraged by one of his teachers at Banchory Primary School.
“My class teacher Mr Taylor was great,” says Calum.
“He was really into his guitars and he used to let our school band rehearse during lunchtime.
“And then when I went to Banchory Academy we had Mr Bruce who was great teacher and really supportive too.”
Supportive family
By the time Calum was 12, he had already written his first song and two years later he released his first EP.
Describing himself as unacademic, Calum says music was always his main focus which his mum and dad supported.
“My mum and dad are so sweet,” says Calum.
“They were always very supportive and they knew that music was always the plan A and everything else was building towards it.”
From playing empty gigs to TRNSMT
After completing his final year at high school, Calum decided to take a year out, working as a lifeguard at Banchory Sports Centre during the day while performing in Aberdeen music venues at night.
“During that time I played at The Tunnels and at Drummonds a lot,” says Calum.
“I still have videos when I played at Drummonds and there was no-one in the whole building.
“When there’s no-one there there’s no pressure so that was where I learned the most.”
TikTok sensation
Keen to fly the nest, Calum then moved to Edinburgh where he spent two years studying engineering at Edinburgh University.
“My heart wasn’t in it and I’m sure my lecturers would agree so I decided to keep pursuing the music,” says Calum.
Calum’s big break came during lockdown when videos of him singing from his flat windowsill while having banter with workmen and passers-by have amassed 60 millions of views on the social media platform TikTok.
“It was thanks to my sister who tipped me off about TikTok and encouraged me to post videos up which I did,” says Calum.
12 million views
It was Calum’s cover of the hit song Naive by the English indie band The Kooks that catapulted him into the spotlight.
“The Kooks video was viewed by 12 million people in a week,” says Calum.
“It was just insane and that’s when I realised the power that a social media video can have.”
Calum, who has since amassed nearly half a million followers on TikTok, says it was funny to bump into the band when he played TRNSMT last year.
“I went and stuck my head in their dressing room and said ‘how’s it going’ and they were like ‘oh it’s the window guy’,” laughs Calum.
“They were really lovely.”
Living the dream
It has been a bit of a whirlwind for Calum but his feet remain firmly on the ground as he throws himself into writing and recording his own music with the record label EMI.
“I’m writing way more music than I’ve ever written which is what I enjoy the most,” says Calum.
“It’s always been my dream to write music as a job and it still doesn’t feel like a job which is quite a nice thing.”
Never one to forget his roots, Calum’s debut single ‘We Are The River’ was inspired by Banchory and the River Dee.
“I’ve always been fond of Banchory so it would’ve been rude not to put it in my first song with EMI,” says Calum.
And although he loves the fast-paced city life, Calum loves nothing better than coming home to Banchory to see his family and friends.
“When I’m home, I sleep in for as long as I can and I love going for walks up Scolty Hill or Crathes Castle with my mum,” says Calum.
“I also love walking along the river near Milton of Crathes.
“Most of the stuff I enjoy is by the river funnily enough.”
With his next single Love Lost due to be released on April 5 and a headline slot at this year’s Belladrum festival in the Highlands as well as some festivals abroad Calum has a lot to look forward to.
“This is what I’ve always wanted to do so it’s great to be able to do it day to day now,” says Calum.
Calum’s new single Love Lost is out now and to listen go to calumbowie.lnk.to/LoveLostPR
You can also check out TikTok
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