Q.So to KICK it all off who is Andy Ruddy in three words only. Songwriter, Singer, Bradfordian
Q.Who did you grow up listening to and what are you listening to right now? I grew up listening to lots of 80s pop music- earliest record I remember was Peter Gabriel’s ‘So’ album.
Right now, really enjoying Ryan Adams’ take on ‘1989’ by T-Swift. Haters gonna hate but can’t ignore the songwriting on that album.
Q.Your signature chilled out indie sound is one of your standout features now-how important is keeping it real to you? would you for example switch to EDM or house music for the right fee? I would dabble with Electronic music anyway. I’m working on demos right now with the drummer in my live band, Sam Wade, that have EDM influences because I like that type of music. I think keeping it ‘real’ is about still packing a punch in the songwriting- it doesn’t necessarily mean limiting yourself to an acoustic guitar.
Q. If you could work with any Singer/Producer or band on a record who would it be and why?Ryan Tedder of One Republic- so many hits written and produced for so many artists. I’d be fascinated to see a normal day in the office for that guy.
Q. Pick two Celebrities to be your parents- Who. No one beats Tom and Paula Ruddy. But for the question: Noel Gallagher and JK Rowling?! Both no nonsense creative geniuses…..both are too young, though. And they’d be a weird couple…this wasn’t something I was expecting to think about today.
Q.Rate yourself(s) on a scale of 1-10? Today? Solid 5. Album’s just come out and it’s been a very admin-filled week. But normally a 9, obviously…
Q. If Hollywood made a movie about your life who would you like to see play the lead role as you? A young Ewan McGregor. So that’s not going to happen. He can sing which I recently found out- have you seen Moulin Rouge? He’s got pipes.
Q.If You could trade places with another person for a week- famous or non famous/living or dead / real or fictional who would it be? The guys who make South Park-Trey Parker and Matt Stone. That has got to be the greatest job in the world.
Q. Whats the longest time you’ve gone without- A shower/brushing your teeth on the road?Me and my collaborators place a high premium on cleanliness. I insist every member of my band showers twice a day and washes their hands at least 5 times a day. And we have 4 teeth-brushing breaks. I’m kidding. I don’t have any tour hygiene stories.
Q.What have you got in store for XMAS and New Years? I plan to be in Scotland with the family. I might have some time to work on new songs on my parents’ piano which I wrote a lot of this album on. Maybe I could just give everyone in the family my album as their present this year- that’s not narcissistic is it?
Andy is currently number 7 in the singer/songwriter album chart
Album ‘Everything Is In Order’ out NOW on Itunes:
https://itun.es/gb/uCEx-