From The Clash to Bob Dylan: A selection of Jamie T’s biggest influences
Throughout his career, Jamie T has opted for a quality over quantity approach, a creative decision that has ultimately awarded him tremendous longevity. While most of his peers in the indie boom have turned to dust, Jamie is going strong as ever with his biggest headline show scheduled for this summer at Finsbury Park.
With his fifth album, The Theory Of Whatever, Jamie T went to number-one for the first time, and his stock has never been higher. Despite not being an artist who chooses reinvention with each release, Jamie has successfully stayed relevant. His songs have continued to connect with audiences for the best of two decades, a testament to his skilled songwriting.
With that, Far Out’s review of the record reads: “After a six-year absence, The Theory Of Whatever is a reminder of Jamie T’s brilliance and why the British music scene is healthier with his presence. On the new record, Treays retrospectively works his way through his demons with unflinching honesty, which makes it his strongest offering since Panic Prevention. Fingers crossed, he doesn’t keep us waiting until 2028 for album number six.”
When Jamie Treays is going through one of his silent periods, the guitarist seemingly drops off the face of the earth. Thankfully, currently, he’s back playing shows and the ‘Artist In Residence’ for BBC 6 Music, which explores the Wimbledon wonder’s record collection. One specific episode of the series dives into his main influences. At the beginning of the programme, Treays explained after playing This Mortal Coil’s ‘Kangaroo’: “Today, I’m going to talk about songs that inspired and influenced me, my music, and the way I think, and feel about stuff. The song you just heard was actually sampled on my new album, The Theory Of Whatever, nice plug.”
Another track was played on the broadcast soon after, an effort which was also sampled on his latest album – ‘London Dungeon’ by Misfits. Jamie T took snippets from the punk track and used them to help him build ‘British Hell’, which also features Frank Carter. Treays also declared The Clash’s ‘(White Man) In Hammersmith Palais’ as his “favourite song of all-time” and said that “some songs you just know, and this song, I just feel like I know.”
There’s a quintessentially British theme that runs through Treays’ selections, including the Britpop anthems ‘Champagne Supernova’ by Oasis and Blur’s ‘You’re So Great’. Furthermore, he also gave love to Squeeze, The Specials, and The Jam. Jamie said of Oasis: “I can’t remember the first time I heard Oasis, but they are just in the psyche of people my age. I just grew up listening to them all the time, so their songs feel like they are linked to so many things in my life. Even now, when I drive around on the radio, I hear them like five times a day. How amazing is that? They haven’t been together for years, and that’s a testament to how good Oasis are. I think all people my age are a little bit inspired by Oasis. I love them.”
Listen below to a playlist comprised of Jamie T’s selections.
Jamie T’s favourite songs and influences
- This Mortal Coil – ‘Kangaroo’
- Misfits – ‘London Dungeon’
- The Clash – ‘(White Man) In Hammersmith Palais’
- Oasis – ‘Champagne Supernova’
- Blur – ‘You’re So Great’
- Bob Dylan – ‘Bob Dylan’s Blues’
- The Jam – ‘That’s Entertainment’
- Squeeze – ‘Cool For Cats’
- Eagles – ‘Take It Easy’
- The Specials – ‘Nite Klub’
- Television – ‘Marquee Moon’
- Cat Power – ‘Bully’ *not on Spotify
- Them – ‘Baby, Please Don’t Go’
Although Jamie T largely stuck to homegrown sounds, he did make an exception to accommodate ‘Bob Dylan’s Blues’ by Bob Dylan. Explaining his selection, Treays said: “I feel a little embarrassed to do this, but at the same time, I couldn’t do a radio show about influences without mentioning Bob Dylan. I feel like whenever I talk about Bob Dylan, I’m boring everyone because, y’know, people who talk about Bob Dylan all the time are really annoying, but this is a radio show about influences, so I can’t not mention him.”
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