Interview with Ben Burke: ‘The Life I Left Behind is about enjoying living and not being tied down by fears or regrets’

Liverpool-based singer-songwriter Ben Burke has brought out an absolute belter of a single today, ‘The Life I left Behind’, an upbeat, Beatles-tinged yet folky, hook-laden track about moving on.

For Burke, the song is about us ‘all being human at the end of the day, we all make mistakes and learn from them’: ‘Growing up in the inner city, we’ve got friends who’ve made silly mistakes, so the song’s also about moving on from things, it’s a universal theme that people can relate to.’

Life and death are also at the centre of the song, as the lyrics highlight: ‘Said I’ve been here, I’ve been there, I’ve been bound, I’ve been bare, I’ve been lost, I’ve been found, without a trace. Said I’ve lived and I’ve loved, and I’ve gambled and I’ve bluffed, and I’ve told myself, darling, that’s enough.
And all that’s left is to die, and I hope I’m by your side, then they’ll toast to the life I left behind. Make a toast to the life I left behind, we can toast to the life I left behind, make a toast to the life I left behind.’

As Burke says: ‘Life is for living and death is just another pathway to go down. I think the message is actually very positive. It’s about enjoying living and not being tied down by fears or regrets.’

Although he actually wrote it before lockdown, he acknowledges that the song seems fitting for our current situation. ‘These are difficult times for everyone, aren’t they? I hope that people listening to the song will hear the message of hope, especially if they are experiencing personal fears and anxieties.’

‘The Life I Left Behind’ takes inspiration from classic folk and country and from artists such as Paul Simon, Robbie Robertson and George Harrison. The track was recorded in Whitewood Studios in Liverpool with drums provided by local drummer Ben Wall (formerly of The Gear).

‘The type of style I was going for was Johnny Cash on lead guitar,’ he laughed. ‘There’s a band from the 70’s, actually called The Band (a Canadian-American rock group), they’re a massive influence of mine. Their guitarist Robbie Robertson is a big inspiration for me. The Beatles’ album Rubber Soul has also influenced my music.’ I tell him that there’s definitely a Beatles feel to ‘The Life I Left Behind’. ‘I don’t mind being compared to The Beatles because they’re glorious,’ he said, laughing.

After the split of his former band, The Stamp, Burke embarked upon a solo career, writing, recording and co-producing all aspects of his music. Since August last year, he has independently released three singles ‘Leaving Tomorrow’, ‘Wait’ and ‘The Winds Of Change’.

‘Leaving Tomorrow’, which came out in August last year, is a very personal song for him. ‘It was inspired by my brother going travelling round Europe for a month but leaving his girlfriend behind. Last year, I did a lot of travelling and left my own girlfriend behind, which was sad, so it’s about that as well.’

‘Wait’ is about deep friendship ‘that has parted ways’

‘Wait’, on the other hand, is about deep friendship ‘that has parted ways’. ‘It’s about one of my best friends who I was in The Stamp with,’ he said. ‘We went our separate ways, it’s about how things can turn bitter. When you’ve known someone for a long time, they still matter to you, though. They’ll always matter to you.’

His preferred style of writing is the one he used in ‘The Winds of Change’: ‘It’s more politically driven, it’s about the mess that society is in and a dream of utopia once the winds of change have come.’ In terms of its message, it’s his favourite out of his songs.

One new track in the pipeline is ‘The Celebration’, which he describes as ‘like a waltzy sea shanty, being from Liverpool and having a port, a lot of scousers love the old dockers’ sea shanty vibe’: ‘It’s reminscent of the sea and the docks, the Liverpool heritage, it’s part of my heart, I absolutely love it.’

He’s impressed with Liverpool’s music scene today, describing it as ‘bursting with inspiration’. He mentions Mason Owens and Jamie Webster, whose impressive debut album, We Get By, came out last month and how his love of his home town shines through in his track ‘This Place’. ‘That’s universal, isn’t it? Everyone can relate to that, wherever you are, your home town will always be your home town, you can’t get away from that.’

Burke and Webster are friends, doing a tour of Ireland together last year, as well as playing to a crowd of 50,000 in Madrid.

Ultimately, all over the world, there are bursts of inspiration at any one time, according to Burke. ‘Whether it’s the Paris art scene in the 1920’s or the Renaissance or Laurel Canyon in the 60’s (a suburb in LA, which became famous for being home to many bands at the time), that’s what it’s like with music today. Obviously, I’m not comparing Liverpool to the Renaissance [laughs] but there are so many great bands emerging here. We’ve always had great lads coming out of Scotland, too, or Geordies like Sam Fender.’

He is a big fan of Bob Marley, American blues singer Muddy Waters and Van Morrison. However, ‘out of pure respect for his songwriting and because people say I look like him [laughs]’, he would like to collaborate with Paul McCartney: ‘If I could just sit and play along with him and take something from him. Paul’s the greatest living musician, he’s got that working class attitude, he’s so down to earth. Wherever he goes out in Liverpool, people shout out to him, everyone loves him, don’t they?’