When Jamie Treays made his triumphant live comeback at Glastonbury in June after a five-year absence he, somewhat misanthropically, thanked a packed John Peel tent by pronouncing that he “couldn’t give a fuck” if anyone comes to see him any more. “I’d play to an empty room,” he said. “I don’t care.”
There’s not much chance of that happening anytime soon. Every date on the 36-year-old’s upcoming UK tour – in support of his fifth album and first No 1, The Theory of Whatever – is sold out. Next summer, the Londoner will play his biggest headline show at the 45,000 capacity Finsbury Park. Not bad for a singer-songwriter whose well-documented struggles with anxiety (Treays’ 2007 Mercury prize nominated debut was titled Panic Prevention) have caused him to disappear for long spells and generally seek the harsh light of exposure with all the enthusiasm of an expensive mushroom.
