At the age of just 18, talented singer songwriter Seb Lowe is about to make his debut at the Glastonbury Festival. It's an incredible moment for the Oldham teen who up until a year ago was simply posting his own songs as videos on social media site TikTok.
But it was those TikTok videos that sent Seb viral - with his songs that pick up on politics and how young people feel in modern-day Britain - sparking huge interest with each new post. He caught the eye of record industry bosses as well as music star Billy Bragg who has now invited him to play on his curated stage at Glastonbury on Saturday.
"It was all TikTok to start with," says Seb. "During lockdown everyone was kind of pushing me to do it, after a long time towards the end of lockdown part two I was like 'alright, sack it, I'll make a TikTok'."
Read more : Red Hot Chili Peppers captivate Manchester at Emirates Old Trafford concert
"I started out doing the odd song that I'd written in the past, never intended for it to go anywhere. After posting a few videos, they picked up momentum.
"I created this fast political style of writing, because I know attention spans are short, it was to write something quick. At the time you could only post songs that were a minute long which is where that fast style developed, and it all sort of went from there."
Seb was just 17 at the time, and studying for his A Levels at Oldham Sixth Form College in English, History and Economics. He went on to scoop top A grades and win a place at Birmingham University, but is now on a gap year while he takes the opportunity to explore his music due to the incredible speed at which everything is now happening - he's already played gigs and festivals across the region.
He says: "I thought, well, I'm going to give this year over and see what happens with music, but it's all gone a bit crazy from there. It's really mad to think about what has happened."
His now manager got in touch with him after seeing him on TikTok, and he's fast become the talk of the Manc music biz. Seb says: "It's incredible really that this has all come off TikTok.
"TikTok is driven by the people who watch it and that's just amazing. Members of the public just talking about the songs and conversing about them.
"There was one song that did quite well and I thought oh that's really cool, and then it went huge, I thought what is going on? There are thousands of people who have seen this. You're kind of sick to your stomach but in a really good way.
"Then it got bigger and bigger. By the fourth time I posted a video each one kept getting better. One got a million views, when I saw the letter m, it was completely mind-blowing it was at that point I thought 'ok I should probably take this seriously I've got a following here, people who are interested and care about what I have got to say'."
Seb says the social media platform gave him the confidence to find his voice about the big issues that matter to him and millions of others writing with scathing wit and bracing honesty. He says: "Some people do disagree, but most of the time people want to listen if they agree or disagree. You have to learn that any kind of reaction is a good thing, it's getting people talking - it's the first step to any kind of change."
He first learned to play the guitar as a child, with his mum and dad, both teachers, who he lives with in Saddleworth being very much into their music. Seb says: "My mum and dad are both into music, the people they listen to I listen to, my mum's a massive fan of David Bowie, my dad got me listening to Led Zeppelin in his car.
"My dad in particular is really into his music, he's got quite the CD collection. They're so supportive, they always thought it was something I'd probably end up giving it a go.
"They probably wouldn't have expected it to have gone and happened as quickly as it all has though. I said I'm going to take a year out with music, and then ever since it has been ridiculous."
Seb will play on Saturday at Glastonbury on the Leftfield Stage as part of Billy Bragg's "radical round up". Seb says: "Billy Bragg got in touch, it was really really casual, it wasn't like built up it was a casual mystery about it all, and then when I found out what it was, I was trying to match that energy even though I was freaking out.
"I'm assuming that someone saw my TikTok and that's how I'm on the Leftfield Stage as it's a segment called the radical round up and it's all about the thoughts of young people in the UK, ranging from internal thoughts, and more directly socially-conscious thoughts it's perfect for my music. I'm just looking forward to that to be honest. Yardax is on after me, I'm playing alongside Billy Bragg and some other songwriters.
"It will be my first time ever there at Glastonbury and I will make sure I see Paul McCartney and Robert Plant."
Seb is hoping that music can become a full time career after his fast-paced success. And he reckons TikTok will be the way that many up-and-coming artists get noticed in the future.
He says: "I think TikTok is goign to be the way as the world moves on. It's not the sort of App you go on thinking of making money here, it's a way to promote yourself to levels that can't be matched by radio or anything like that.
"It's a social media app to announce and promote your songs, but the way that the algorithm works it supports people who want to go from nothing to something. You've got to keep trying until something sort of sticks. But I think it's only going to get bigger.
"It would be a dream to have a career in music, it's one of those thigns you say as a kid "oh I want to be a musician" but the fact there's the potential for that to happen now it's just mind-blowing. It would be incredible if I could do this for the rest of my life, there's nothing I'm more passionate about than writing songs, making music."
READ NEXT:
- The best new restaurants to try in Manchester this month
- Inside new piano bar Sonata opening in Manchester
- The Stockport night out that's like going to a festival with live music and food trucks
- I raced against Uber Eats to pick up my McDonald's - this is what happened
- Man says he wasn't allowed to book restaurant without a female in the group
Get the latest What's On news - from food and drink to music and nightlife - straight to your inbox with our daily newsletter
