I love Lawson, The Wanted, Marina and the Diamonds, Ed Sheeran, Rizzle Kicks, Misfits, The Hunger Games, Harry Potter, Mean Girls, Florence and the Machine, Jessie J, One Direction, Eliza Doolittle, Coldplay and Parade.
Can you tell?

WE7 recently enjoyed a chat with Andy, Joel, Ryan and Adam from the hotly-tipped band Lawson. The enthusiastic lads, who are on the verge of big things, chat about their shared love of John Mayer, The Wanted - and meeting Gordon Ramsey, who it turns out is a fan!

Things must be manic for you at the moment. How’s it going?
Joel (guitarist): Yeah, it’s crunch time now, really. We’ve been doing lots of cool stuff. My mum keeps ringing me to say she’s seen me in the paper.

She must be very proud of you, right?
Joel: Yeah, I think she is. She’s a musician herself, so I think she’s likes that I’m doing the same sort of thing. She plays clarinet, flute and saxophone among other instruments so I guess it runs in the family. She’s quite a big inspiration to be honest. But she can’t play guitar, bless her, though she does try.

What music did you listen to growing up and what are your favourite songs?
Andy (lead singer): For me it was The Beatles, my favourite band of all time. My dad played them to me as I was growing up in Liverpool, and he also taught me some chords on the guitar, which kick started my songwriting. In terms of favourite Beatles songs there are so many. “Eleanor Rigby” is certainly one - I love songs that tell a good story. “She’s Leaving Home” is another one. I absolutely love “Gravity” by John Mayer, and another favourite is “More Than Words” by Extreme.

Joel: Growing up, my dad used to play a lot of Motown and Stevie Wonder, while my mum liked pop music, and she got me into John Mayer, which has to be my biggest influence ever and got me interested in playing guitar. “No Such Thing” off his debut album ‘Room for Squares’ in particular got me hooked, and all I wanted to do was play that.

Ryan: I think Guns N’ Roses are my favourite band of all time so something like “Sweet Child O’ Mine” or “Welcome To The Jungle” would be mine.

Adam (drummer): A couple of mine would be from the first Maroon 5 album - “She Will Be Loved”, which was a great one, and “Fix You” by Coldplay. Another Coldplay track that has always stuck with me is “Shiver”, and “All My Life” by Foo Fighters. Dave Grohl, as Nirvana’s drummer, had a lot to do with me taking up the drums, and more recently Taylor Hawkins the Foo Fighters’ drummer because he doesn’t just play drums - he really performs. The first drummer I saw that made me want to do it was Robbie Williams’ drummer, back in the day. He had a massive drum kit and looked so cool.

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