The Big Topic: Musicians and the importance of prioritising mental health
This week, Sam Fender bravely announced he needed a break from the road and to put his mental health first. In his statement, Fender explained how he’d been struggling for a lengthy period and said: “It seems completely hypocritical of me to advocate discussion on mental health and write songs about it,” he said. “If I don’t take the time to look after my own mental health.”
Over the hectic past twelve months, Fender had to finish touring his debut album, 2019’s Hypersonic Missiles, which was postponed due to illness and the pandemic. When restrictions ended, he threw himself straight into an intense touring schedule for his follow-up release, Seventeen Going Under, and has barely stopped to take a breath.
From the outside looking in, it seems as if Fender is currently at the top of the world. He recently announced two dates at Newcastle United’s St. James’ Park for next summer, but the 28-year-old has worked himself to the bone and is now suffering from burnout. He told fans: “I’ve neglected myself for over a year now and haven’t dealt with things that have deeply affected me. It’s impossible to do this work on myself while on the road, and it’s exhausting feigning happiness and wellness for the sake of business.”
It would have been easy for Fender to wheel out an “unforeseen circumstances” excuse for the cancellation of his US dates, including supporting Florence & The Machine at Madison Square Garden. Refreshingly, he instead chose to go with the truth. Despite being one of Britain’s biggest artists, Fender is relatively unknown in America. He was likely under intense pressure to ‘crack the market’ — thankfully, he’s realised that’s not as important as his wellbeing.
The reaction to Fender’s announcement has been welcoming to see, and the musician has been met with thousands full of well-wishes from people understanding his position, which shows how far the world’s stance on mental health has come in recent years. Fans can accept that despite the success he’s achieved and selling-out stadiums, it doesn’t necessarily translate to being in a good place mentally.
However, it can still be challenging for artists like Fender to admit they are struggling because, from the outside looking in, they appear to be living their dreams. It’s important to remember the glimpses we see on social media and on stage don’t portray the full picture. Ultimately, the affection of strangers and a robust bank account count for nothing as far as mental health is concerned.
Prior to Fender’s announcement, Shawn Mendes cancelled his 80-date world tour after speaking to health professionals and saying he’s “not at all ready for how difficult touring would be”. Additionally, Yard Act cancelled festival appearances in Europe this summer for similar reasons to Fender. They explained: “We haven’t stopped touring since our album came out in January and we have finally hit a wall.”
Wet Leg also took to social media on Tuesday to explain they cancelled performances in the United States last weekend because “it all got a bit on top of us and we just couldn’t quite manage to get back on that plane.”
Fender, Wet Leg and Yard Act have all been living on the road for the last 12 months, which comes at a personal sacrifice. Thankfully, these three artists have been honest, and hopefully, their openness will allow others to follow suit. We’ve witnessed far too many tragedies in music, and the unnatural lifestyle of waking up in a different city every day is undoubtedly a contributing factor.
Fontaines D.C. frontman Grian Chatten spoke to MusicWeek in 2020 about the effect of relentlessly touring their debut album, Dogrel, on him. “It’s dangerous, you know, even without the drugs,” he explained. “The big killer for us was a lack of sleep. We’d have a flight in between gigs as our allocated sleep time. So that was rough and made us very bitter about the whole thing, and we started to see each other and everyone we worked with as the devil.”
“It wasn’t even the rise of the band that was head-spinning,” Chatten added. “It was the pace and the relentlessness of it. I really did feel like we were put into a chamber that spins around and you come out the other side.”
It’s no coincidence that all three artists on the list have grown hugely in stature over the last twelve months. It’s 2022, why should it be necessary for musicians to drive themselves to mental exhaustion in order to ‘make it’?
We all need to stop glorifying the idea of a ‘tortured artist’ and understand they are humans, not robots. I’ve spoken to many musicians who look back blissfully at lockdown because their schedules were free for the first time, and they could finally take a step back. Surely, it shouldn’t take a global pandemic for artists to recuperate?
The overarching positive conclusion to take out of the recent touring cancellations is that it shows that the stigma on mental health in the music business is no longer a taboo subject. It’s the labels and management’s responsibility to watch their talent to ensure welfare is in place before it’s too late rather than squeeze out every penny on an album campaign. After all, this isn’t the financial industry, and they are responsible for dealing with artists rather than insentient commodities.
