S4E3: Joshua Idehen - Spinning Grief Into Joy

Happy Christmas! We are joined by Joshua Idehen, AKA the man of the moment AKA the multiverse African Taylor Swift for a festive special that I am absolutely fine with coming out in February. 

This was recorded on a very good day for Josh and I am sure whenever you choose to listen to it will be a very good day for you as it is an excellent time. Me and Josh go way back and we talk about our origins, Josh's move to Sweden, the art of making poetry house music, and a hearty amount of dad content thrown in the mix. There are poems on fatherhood, swimming, popcorn and Christmas and much, much more.

Filmed in London at the Bloomsbury theatre, this was our first recording on the road and hopefully not the last, let me know where you'd like to see us come next !

You can find more of Josh's stuff here and my latest adventures here

*At the time of recording the intro I truly believed Shrewsbury was in Wales and I now know that is not the case.

Episode Transcript

Harry Baker (00:00):
Good morning or evening, or indeed afternoon or
night, whatever time it is,wherever you are listening, if
you believe in the concept oftime, I know I do.
I am recording this intro fromShrewsbury in Wales, a lovely,
quaint town with a surprisinglybusy road running through it,

(00:21):
and this episode was recorded inLondon, no less.
We departed from Margate tovery much the Shrewsbury of
England, londinium, and what acorker it is.
We had a massive studioaudience, as you can tell from
the big, big laughs, althoughI'd like to think we'd have such
big laughs anywhere we went.
I've now stood under what seemsto be a dinosaur carcass.

(00:44):
We have Joshua Idehen this monthflown over from Sweden
especially, and very much worthit.
From the second he walks in theroom you can feel the energy,
and I hope that comes across onthe podcast as well.
We talk about his new book, hisrecent musical fame, the graft
of years and years of doing thescene together before one of us

(01:06):
moved to Sweden, and that's alot of dad content, which I'm
aware is very much my want atthe moment.
But just to anyone who hatesthat, I want to let you know
I've recently started a poemthat isn't about being a dad,
which is pretty huge for me andfor you.
So I hope you enjoy this.
Special shout out to BuddyPeace, who is doing his magic on
the audio, who said that of allthe ones he's worked on, he

(01:28):
enjoyed this particularly, and Ithink I'm biased because I love
them all.
So to have someone else saythat will hopefully break your
interest.
I will be back at the back,back at the back, back at the
end, back at the back end ofthis, just to ruin the magic.
This was recorded in de.
It takes a couple months to getthem ready for you.
So we're starting with aChristmas poem, but it's always

(01:49):
Christmas somewhere.
Again, if you believe in time Iknow I do I believe in you, I
believe in this.
Welcome to Something Borrowed,something Borrowed by Harry
Baker.
To all of my friends who arewatching right now, thank you so
much for being here.
I'm in a good mood and youcan't guarantee that these days.
I'm going to start off withsomething old of my own, and

(02:12):
that is a poem I wrote when Iwas 24.
So yesterday and I was asked towrite a poem about Christmas
and I realised that at thatpoint my age coincided with an
advent calendar.
So I tried to do my whole lifeas an advent calendar with a
memory from each year, and thatwas about 50 minutes long, so
I've sort of condensed it down abit and this is the sort of

(02:33):
selected highlights of my life.
One it's not realising it andyet being the centre of
attention.
Two it's being more excitedabout the wrapping paper than
the presents.
It is a box, it is a rocket, itis a thought, it is the thought
that counts.
Three, it's just about graspingthe concept of December.

(02:54):
Four it is loving it at thetime but still being too young
to remember.
Five it is the school nativity,but you don't have to be the
star to be the star of the show,where a tea towel on your head
and a dressing gown combo willsomehow define you as wise.
Six it's writing Christmascards for everybody in the class
because they sell them in packsof 30.

(03:16):
Why wouldn't you want to befriends with everyone?
Eight, it's a joint Christmasand birthday present for you and
your brother.
That is four presents worth ofpresent in one in the form of a
PlayStation 2.
Twice your current lifetimeaway.
You will ask Joel about presentsgrowing up and this will still
be the one that you bothremember.
Nine it's discussing whenyou're allowed to get up instead

(03:37):
of when you have to sleep.
Can we come in at six?
How about seven, settlingsomewhere between the two,
arriving at 6.01.
Stockings in arms at the end ofmum and dad's bed it is a bit
of a squeeze.
Now you are both bigger thanyou used to be.
11 it is year seven, takingsnowball fights to a whole new
level.
Two pairs of gloves, one forwarmth, one for craftsmanship.

(04:00):
14 is having to get to churchearly.
Mum's been asked to do theChristmas morning sermon, to go
out live on the BBC Five minutesbefore broadcast.
You're asked if you wouldn'tmind moving from the front row.
Your new Napoleon Dynamite votefor Pedro t-shirt could be
interpreted as a politicalmessage.
Fifteen Is doing your paperround on foot when it is too icy

(04:23):
to go by bike.
Is Chris telling you that ifyou post a note through each
door in early December you'remore likely to get a Christmas
tip?
Photocopying a handwrittenmessage and filling in the gaps
for a personal touch To therecipients of the at number.
Thank you For the honour ofletting me deliver your papers

(04:44):
each morning all year round.
In these cold winter months itis nice to have something to get
out of bed for.
Lots of love, your faithfulservant and daily bringer of
news, harry.
16.
It's going to midnight masstonight before, so you can have
a lie-in on Christmas morningChecking the order of service

(05:05):
with carols as soon as you satdown, fingers crossed for oh
come all ye fateful, becausethat is an absolute belter, and
hoping for anything other thanonce in royal david city because
, one, it does not complementyour vocal range and two, you
and mom refuse to sing that.
All christian children shouldbe mild and obedient.
Nine Nine it is doing Christmastogether for the first time as

(05:27):
a couple.
She bought you a t-shirt with adinosaur on it because you have
a poem about dinosaurs.
You bought her a large tub ofpeanuts because her brother is
allergic to peanuts.
She once said she can't havethem at home, so when she goes
out it's always a bit of a treat.
You have no idea how well youwill eventually get to know each

(05:47):
other, especially given thatyou will break up one month
later.
You will not be able to stopwearing that T-shirt.
You will question whether ornot the peanuts were a good idea
.
21.
It's living in Germany andrealising they do Christmas so
much better than we do.
Learning that glue vine reallydoes make your insides glow.
Feuer Sangen Bohle is the same,with extra rum and fire

(06:08):
involved.
He will try to bring this lasttradition home with you.
Misinterpreting the ratios willleave great-auntie Pauline
passed out in front of the fire.
This Christmas, you will speakmore words to her in German than
you have in English for thelast three combined.
The next year, her gift to youwill speak more words to her in
German than you have in Englishfor the last three combined.
The next year, her gift to youwill be a suitcase for your
travels that will keep going onadventures even longer than she

(06:31):
does.
Twenty-two, it's a second chanceto do Christmas together, for
the first time as a couple.
She buys you somedinosaur-shaped chocolates
because she knows how much itwinds you up still being given
themed gifts.
Ropami wrote five years ago.
You buy her anything butpeanuts.
23.
It's volunteering to cook veganChristmas dinner this year.

(06:51):
Because of mum's treatment,you've never cooked a regular
Christmas dinner before, so youmay as well give it a go.
It's paper hats and Christmascrackers, and there is no turkey
in sight Celebrating on the23rd this year.
You tell yourself it is okay tobreak some traditions 24.
It is taking the time to goback through every Christmas
you've ever had, realising, inamongst everything else changed

(07:12):
and there has been a constantthroughout that you remember the
presence of individuals morethan individual presents, except
for the PlayStation 2 you andyour brother got when you were
eight.
It is one year since mum's beengiven the all clear.
It is still dairy free, butmaybe the occasional pig in
blanket.
It's asking Grace if sheremembers the peanuts the same

(07:32):
way you do.
It is no comment.
It's your niece not realisingit and yet being the centre of
attention.
Knowing as she turned one thisyear, she still has everything
ahead of her.
Knowing as you turn 24 this year, you still have everything
ahead of you.
It is praying that she won'tgrow up to be mild and obedient.
It's still keeping your fingerscrossed for O Come All Ye

(07:53):
Faithful on Christmas Day, butpacking your headphones in your
bag for the journey home, justin case.
It's being grateful for yourblessings.
Just as Chance the Rapper said,you've made it through this far
.
Are you ready for what's next?
Thank you so much.
Can you please welcome to thestage one of my favourite people

(08:14):
, one of my favourite poets.
He's currently having the bestday of his life.
Let's not ruin it.
Welcome to the stage, thefantastic Joshua Ederhan.

Joshua Idehen (08:22):
How are we doing?
I just want to say, like harrysaid, this has been the best day
of my life and I have to admitthe welcome you guys have given
me is a solid six out of ten.
I just feel like you know,normally I'd come on and I'd be
like hi, my name is josh, I'mgonna do some poetry because it
would be fine, but I've had sucha good day today we're gonna

(08:45):
have to level it up.
So I'm gonna, I'm gonna do youa favor, I'm gonna walk back
there and when I come out,seeing as I'm not good enough, I
want you all to imagine I amTaylor Swift.
I know what you're thinking.
I look nothing like TaylorSwift.
For one, I I am too tall.
But this is where we're usingour imagination, because I am

(09:07):
not any Taylor Swift.
I am the multiverse TaylorSwift, the African Taylor Swift.
Hello, it's me, I am theproblem.
It's me, and you are TaylorSwift fans, and I shall be
greeted as you are expected.
Yeah, shake it off, shake itall off.

(09:31):
It's Christmas.
Thank you, brothers, sistersand everyone in between and
beyond.
My name is Joshua Idehen, akaTaylor Swift, and I have a
problem.
I have two poems I can performfor my something old.

(09:52):
I asked Harry, but he said hedidn't want to choose for me.
So I'm going to ask you I cando a poem about love or a poem
about my dad.
Wow, okay, love got nothing.
Man, man, your 2024 has beendark.
Okay, this is all on you anyway.

(10:14):
Um, are there any Nigerians inthe audience?
One, this is me and you, me andyou, this is us, this is just
us.
Uh, for the rest of you, ifyou're Nigerian, then you
automatically have pushy parents, so you can imagine, like my,
my parents, they, they wanted meto be a doctor, lawyer,
engineer, anyone, something thatequals money, right.

(10:36):
And so I.
I told my dad at some point thatI was going to become a poet.
And he said are you gay?
And I was like no, it's not howit works, right.
And I was going to become apoet.
And he said, are you gay?
And I was like no, it's not howit works, right.
And I was explaining it to him,right, like you know, it's
poetry, it's like hip-hop, it'slike rap.
And my dad was like, oh, likePuff Daddy.

(10:57):
I was like no, no, not like him, not like him.
See, I had premonition backthen.
I was like it's the wrongcomparison.
And so every day I would tellhim, every time something good
happened in my life.
I'd tell him I'm performingwith the South Bank, I'm working
with a jazz artist, blah, blah,blah, this and that, and my dad
would always say the same thingthat's very good.
When are you going to send memoney?

(11:20):
I wrote this piece and it's apiece that Harry really likes.
I know he likes and I hope youlike it too.
I've actually memorized thepoem, but I'm holding up the
book because this is First ofall.
It looks cool and also it'smarketing.
This one's about me and my dad.
A few years ago, the bonds wehad began to sag.

(11:42):
I mean, unfortunately he livedacross the sea, so naturally the
conversation had a bit of lag,but recently he's been cross
Reason being I took a course ina fad Poetry.
You clean your mouth after yousay something dirty.
You see, children are more thanchildren.

(12:04):
They're investments.
Investments suggest a path toprofit.
So I tell him I'm divertingfrom it.
From now on I'll be chasingsonnets.
His response is sudden, swift,and you want to teach any
Nigerian patience?
Have him argue with his parents.
You want to know if my dad ismad, yet He'll be stuck
repeating that one same sentenceyou want to waste your life,

(12:27):
you want to wait, you want towait, you want to you, this boy.
You want to waste your life.
Daddy, I'm not going to wastemy life, shut up.
Sorry, dad, this one's about mydad and me.
He lived across the sea, but atleast an evening a month we had
a family meet.
Now these, I rememberly theybegan with a family treat.
Dinner was fried rice, friedplantain, very big portions of

(12:49):
beans and very big pieces ofvery fried chicken.
Telly off me and my brother satat the living room.
Mother walked in like theharbinger of doom and in her
hand was father on the phoneloudspeaker and she placed him
in the middle.
Mate, forget Lewis Carroll.
Five minutes with my dad wouldturn any Alice Little.
You've never heard a belittling, you've never seen a belittling

(13:11):
.
Five minutes with my dad make aslap to the face, feel like a
dose of vitamins.
Meanwhile, while I'm reveling inthe bollock game, my brother's
by the side spread wise eyes,tired, look on his face like oh
well, my brother keeps a mystery.
Like roswell, he should workfor the government.
He's all talk, talk, no tellinganything.
They ask is quick on theselling.

(13:32):
Like what does roland do?
Sound engineering?
He's a pop dj.
He walks down the pub playingbritney spears for five pound
fifty an hour.
At least.
He's making money.
You are going to die poor.
I'm not going to die poor.
Shut up, sorry, dad.
Low self-esteem is a viciousdish made of a most malicious
recipe.

(13:52):
The dismissal of a parent Iwouldn't wish on even my worst
enemy.
I know he thinks in his own wayhe's doing me a favor.
You see, I know my dad.
I know him well he's.
He's carried on his own weight.
Sure, a lot of mistakes, a lotof risks taken, can't say he's
too pleased with his own fateand I think in me he sees a
scheme to set things straight.

(14:13):
You see the speakerphone istrembling Treble from my dad's
voice because he's so bloodyirate, trying to hijack my dream
like a bloody pirate.
And my mom don't say much hushon the lips.
In her t-shirt, leggings andslips she nods away to whatever
my dad would say, and the moreviolent his voice, the more her
head shakes.
That's how they used to relate.

(14:34):
Now don't get me wrong.
Me and my dad we did get on.
I'll give you an example.
Remember that song from wayback when the Eminem one my name
is, my name is, my name is it'sthe dawn.
I played it to my dad.
Look what he's done.
He goes through his recordcollection.
He plays the track that thattrack was sampled from.
My father used to have a sayingI was your age before you.

(14:56):
You would never be my agebefore me, because that's me and
my dad.
Remix meets original Sequelmeets origin.
And even though I grew taller,I could never overshadow him.
But you see, I'm on my own lanenow.
I'm whole grain.
Now I'm trying to explain tohim that the path I've chosen
may not be clear to him, but forme it leads to a new thing, a

(15:17):
true thing.
Shut up, sorry, dad.
He says there's no money.
In poetry it's alright having afancy vocabulary, but that will
never get you an audience.
With the bank or the tummyYou're underestimating steady
cash in hand.
It's the best rock manybackbones stand.
You can't build a family onbackward plans, I say he doesn't
understand.

(15:38):
He says shut up.
I say sorry.
Six months, six evenings, nobudging.
It's like we're playing tenniswith muffins.
Goodness comes at me with fullforce.
I don't want it.
I send it back to the source,it disintegrates everywhere.
No one is speaking.
Christmas evening no chicken,no rice, no phone.
The relatives have gathered, andrelatives only gather when

(15:59):
things really matter.
Times are great and times aregrave.
My mum is head to toe in thecolor of raven, my brother's in
the bedroom, locked door,welling Topic of the day.
Who's going to pay for theburial, the ceremony, the party
in the wake?
Oh yes, he has two sons.
They'll provide.
What careers are they in?

(16:19):
Shit?
My heart has a tonic, but mypocket has no gin.
Ever was a moment.
This is the moment of no win.
All my dad shut ups arespinning around and around in my
noggin till I get a tap on myshoulder.
It's my uncle.
I can't look him in the faceand stare at his sandals.
You are the writer, son, aren'tyou?
Yes, uncle, every time I metyour father he would always

(16:43):
mention you, and I didn't knowhow to respond to that.
But then he followed it up.
You should write somethingabout your dad, something long,
something good.
This one's about me and my dad.
Thank you very much.

Harry Baker (17:03):
Josh, you need a hand.
Taylor Swift could never.

Joshua Idehen (17:07):
Yeah, I don't know.
I saw her for three hours andshe did Sure For three hours
straight Something old.

Harry Baker (17:16):
We go way back, Way way back the first time I saw
you perform was at a club nightthat my brother put on in
Whitechapel, and you did a songabout the Northern Line.
Yes, that is in my head everytime I go on the Northern Line
yes, that was the.

Joshua Idehen (17:34):
You know, when you write an entire album about
your depression and your sadnessand the way you want the world
to be better and you being blackand male and proud, and all of
that stuff, and then theproducer tells you would you
like to write one more?
And then you, half, as a joke,go why don't I write a song
about the northern line, get onthe northern line, get on the

(17:56):
northern line, get on thenorthern.
And that's the song everyonelikes, nothing else.
That's what people remember,people.
That's what people remember Idid a whole set about.
You know I'm dark.
I'm dark and proud and you knowI'm so loud.
I'm an african.
I got scars on my face like thescars of my soul.
Northern get on Northern Line.

(18:18):
What do you know about?
Back, I put all my money in theback Cheers.
Thanks for that.
Thank you for that.

Harry Baker (18:26):
But also then you were doing poetry gigs, music
gigs.
You now live in Sweden Sweden,yes.

Joshua Idehen (18:33):
Stockholm, stockholm, yeah, I got out.

Harry Baker (18:39):
When you moved there, did it feel like starting
?
Because I feel like I've beendoing this for years and there
are people who have discoveredme very recently and I love that
, but they're people.
It feels like it slowly buildsand then every now and then
there's a spike and then itcarries on and I feel like
you've you'd invested so much inpoetry and in the scene.
And then I mean, since you'vegone, it feels like it's better

(19:00):
than ever, but I don't know ifthat was always on the cards.
Not like the uk is not betterthan ever.
We are aching in our loss, butI feel like you're thriving yeah
, yeah, I, I I've been lucky.

Joshua Idehen (19:15):
Uh, I'm blessed that I went to sweden and they
took me me in like a little lost, wet puppy in the rain.
By the time when I left the UKI'd had a divorce.
It was all my fault.
It was 99% my fault and 1% theweather.
So, yeah, don't come to portfrom us.

(19:39):
And, as I guess anyone in theaudience who's ever been through
a divorce, you kind of there'sa set way that things happen.
You have your decree, absoluteon easy.
Everything gets split down themiddle.
Her friends stay her friends,and then your friends become her
friends, which leaves you withno friends.
And then you move to stockholm,right, which is yeah.
At the time when I left, I kindof felt a particular darkness

(20:02):
around the UK and I felt veryalone, and so the idea of moving
was the most appealing.
Then it's like, yeah, let me gosomewhere where everyone kind
of speaks English, right, andthey can talk behind my back, to
my face.
But the good thing about goingto Stockholm was that everybody

(20:22):
there does speak English, but noone writes poetry in English.
They all write in Swedish, butthey all understand English.
So the only poet like me doingpoetry in English was just me
right, which it?
I mean, sweden is a big place,it's huge.
So, kind of well, at the timewhen I started doing music and I

(20:45):
got management or whatever,like it just turns out that I'll
take, for example, they weredoing this thing called the
polar prize, where they weregiving an award to, uh, chris
blackwell, who's the head ofisland Records, and they were
also giving it to Angelic Kijo,and Angelic Kijo did a cover of
Talking Heads you know, stopMaking Sense album, right, and

(21:08):
the Polar Prize, which is anaward on national television in
Sweden, in front of the King ofSweden.
They wanted to do somethingthat kind of linked Chris
Blackwell, who was a good friend, to David Byrne, and it was at
Chris Blackwell's house thatthey recorded that album.
So it's like kill two birds withone stone.
Let's get someone to do Once ina Lifetime.
Now they were like oh, sanjayLikidjo, we should probably get

(21:30):
someone black and male and apoet who is like that it's just
me.
I was the only one.
You know, know, in the ukthere's like 10 people, but in
sweden it's just me.
That is my market.
So, yeah, the lady who saw me,she was like I want him, I want
him to do talking heads, I wantand also it really helped that

(21:53):
at the time when I was doingthat project I had completely
separate from this.
I was dressing like david byrne, I was wearing an odd suit and
and performing poetry on top ofhouse music.
So, yeah, I have been luckythat like stuff like that keeps
happening.
But it just so happens thatthere, when something comes into

(22:13):
my niche, I'm literally theonly one.
Don't come to sweden.
It's a terrible place if you're.
If you're a poet no, don't,it's horrible.
It's a terrible place if you're.
If you're a poet no, don't,it's horrible.

Harry Baker (22:22):
It's cold like seven months, you won't like it.
The closest I had to that waswhen my prime number poem went
viral on ted.
I started getting booked and Ifor specific sort of maths
things and I became the poetlaureate of the National Cypher
Challenge, which is acode-breaking competition for

(22:44):
teenagers that took place atBletchley Park.
And they were like, oh, can youdo half an hour of your sort of
maths poetry?
And I've never done a poem soslowly in my life.
And I had like occasional mathsreferences in other poems.
I was like, oh, I'll do those.
But one of those was about mejoining pole dancing society at

(23:07):
uni and, like, 90% of the poemis not about maths or
appropriate for code-breakingteenagers.

Joshua Idehen (23:13):
And it was just.

Harry Baker (23:15):
But I was maths poet for a while and I was
dinosaur poet for a while and Isort of feel like I've gone
through these various stages theeras, as a Taylor Swift fan
would say yeah exactly, You'vebeen through the eras.

Joshua Idehen (23:26):
Yeah, exactly.

Harry Baker (23:28):
And how is it now coming back and performing here
versus performing back in Sweden?

Joshua Idehen (23:33):
For my well, first off released a book, so
that's great, and then 1099 overthere.
First off released a book, sothat's great, and then 10.99
over there.
Yeah, um, but um, in swedenit's good because people speak
english, but around europe wefind that because I, I do stuff
with dance music there, they'remore into the dance than they're
into the poetry because englishis not their first language.
And I find that, like in the uk, when we do gigs here, people

(23:58):
really get the in jokes, likeall the in jokesjokes and all
the references, because I talkabout London a lot.
You know, it's thatex-girlfriend I can't get over.
Even though I broke up with her, I'm still texting and, you
know, asking if she's okay and Iwant to be friends, and she
doesn't respond to any of mytext messages but I keep texting
and I have to live with thefact that I am the weirdo in her
life.

(24:18):
But yeah, I find that in the UKpeople who like my stuff really
like it and they really get itand it's like top to bottom and
they quote lyrics and stuff likethat.
So there is that connection,there's that affinity.

Harry Baker (24:32):
Because also in Germany they don't have the
Northern line.

Joshua Idehen (24:35):
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
Like I don't do that songanymore, I've moved on on.
Why won't?

Harry Baker (24:43):
you?
Um, I want to talk about yournew book and your new sort of ep
, but can I do something newfirst?

Joshua Idehen (24:49):
yeah, yeah, of course, of course, smash it.
Do the one about prime numbers.
See, seeing, we're talkingabout old stuff.
Do the one about prime numbers.
I like that one so much.

Harry Baker (24:56):
We're on to our new now, josh.
Unsurprisingly, something newfor me is Baby, and this is one
I wrote on day 39.
I do not know exactly whatpopcorn is, how it can exist in
one of two states, small andfull of potential, or jumped out
of its skin.
The only food audacious enoughto announce its own arrival with

(25:20):
a bang, a coming out party instarchy form, most determined of
snacks.
Get your teeth stuck into it.
It gets stuck in your teethright back.
I do not fully trust that it isrelated to other types of corn
or that it was indeed cultivatedover a thousand years ago, long
before microwaves or stripypaper bags.

(25:41):
I do know how to make one sweetand one salted and then mix
them together like they do inthe cinema.
How to eat my dinner firstwhile your mum is feeding you.
How to place you sleeping on mychest so she can feed herself
too.
Popcorn and a drink, carefullybalanced either side everything
I could possibly need withinreach.
I do not know how to suppress asneeze.

(26:03):
I do know now that trying tohold it in only causes it to
come out more abruptly.
My chest erupts and you arelaunched with such force that
for a moment, your whole bodybecomes airborne.
Eyes flash open at the apex ofyour flight, arms splayed full

(26:23):
starfish before coming into land.
You look so startled that Icannot stop my chest heaving
with laughter.
Yet somehow you settle backexactly into the same sleeping
position, breathing just asdeeply as before, small and warm
and full of potential, my heartentirely ready to explode nice

(26:48):
thank you.
So something new, but I alsoguess something old, if it's got
me and my dad poem in there.
This book of your poems, yes,how did that come about?
How did you choose what to goin it?
It?

Joshua Idehen (26:59):
started actually from a mutual acquaintance,
vanessa Kisule, saying we shareda ride home and she was very
surprised that I had not writtena book and I'd been doing
spoken word for like 10 notaround eight, nine years at the
time.
And she was like you just putyour poems in a book.
Because I had loads of poemsthat I had written on different
occasions, when I was for music,when I was upset, when I was

(27:22):
angry, when I was in love, andthey were never part of a
collection or with the idea of acollection.
And she was like just put themin a pamphlet.
And around the same time, uh,jake, the publisher from Bad
Betty, had been approaching me,going give me your book, give me
something.
So I thought, okay, I'll givehim these poems as a pamphlet.
Also, I had like serious lowself-esteem around my own work.

(27:43):
I felt like maybe they didn'twork that well on page and so I
sent him all of my pieces likehere you go.
And he was like, uh, these arevery nice, can you send me more?
And so I kept on sending themand then we ended up with like
about 40 poems and, um, I didn'tknow how they fit as a book.
I just felt like there were abunch of poems that are all just

(28:04):
kind of like like a bunch ofcats that you had forced into a
bath and they've all decided youknow we're gonna stay here but
we don't like it and we're notgonna talk to each other, we're
just gonna stare at you and makeyou, make you look at what
you've done right.
But thankfully, uh, amy acre,who is jake's partner and an
amazing, amazing editor, shecame in, she took a look at all

(28:24):
my pieces and she was likeyou're talking about the same
three, three things you'retalking about, you know, your
personal stuff london andpolitics and those became the
three sections and, yeah, thebook kind of found its life
through there.
And, uh, I think the firstinterview I did for the book,
someone was like it's such aperfect, natural narrative that

(28:45):
goes through the entire book,how did you make it?
I'm like, well, when I wasyoung.
no, it was Amy who crafted itand made it what it is.

Harry Baker (28:54):
I remember that same feeling in terms of
everything I've written, prettymuch has been with an name to
share it on stage, yes, and soso much of it is in the
performance.
And I think, especially when Istarted out I was doing these
poetry slams where you havethree minutes and then people
give you a score out of ten forthat performance usually four
for me but thinking I don't knowhow these fit on the page or if

(29:17):
they work.
And it was speaking to someonewho said it's as much a way of
you keeping a hold of thesepoems and making sure they don't
get lost, because I think, as aperformer, there are poems that
feel relevant and come in andout of relevance and there are
other ones that sit there for amoment and then kind of get put
on the back burner, Whereas Ithink once it is in print it
feels solid.

(29:38):
It feels like something that canexist beyond the room that
you're in, and I think for a lotof my work people will get my
book after seeing me perform,whether that is live or online,
and so there's a sense of myvoice coming through it.
But then it's when it is givento someone as a gift who's never
come across your work before.
That felt like a real thing ofgiving up that control, because

(30:02):
I think when you're performing apoem, you can let people know
how you want them to feel duringyeah, you can change it page.
It's solid and it's permanent.
So I think I love your poemsand I'm very excited to to get
one and read it.
But I completely feel thatsense of knowing that it works
out loud and thinking how can itwork on the page?

Joshua Idehen (30:20):
Yeah, because it's probably.
You know, robert Frost said apoem is never finished, it's
just abandoned.
And I think for a spoken wordartist, the page is the final
abandonment, because not onlyare you committing to a version
of the poem, because when youperform it, you know, once you
get it on the muscle memory andyou might learn a different way
to say something, so you'realways constantly changing, it's

(30:42):
always evolving, but on thepage that's it, that's the line.
If you said something stupid,it's there, right, you know you
can change it when you performit, but when people read it
they're not going to hear it inyour voice.
I mean, I've done really thisis where I get to talk about my
book again I've done a reallycheeky thing because all of my

(31:03):
pieces, they've all become asong, because I've either
performed it with a band or I'veturned it into a song.
So we put QR codes at thebottom of every poem so you can
scan the QR codes and whilstyou're reading the poem, I am

(31:23):
there with you On Spotify.
You listen to me read a poem,so you will never hear it in
your voice, just mine.
But naturally, no people hearit in their own voice and they
hear it in their own time andthey read at their own pace.
You know they don't have yourcadence, they don't have your
pauses and they bring their ownexperiences.
They are in collaboration withyou in the piece, so you know
they can read a line that youintended to mean something
completely different, but itwill mean something for them.

(31:44):
That might be a way that youdidn't intend and you have to
make peace with that, right, andthat's the beauty and the
horror, unless you put QR codesat the bottom of every poem,
because you will not be sorry,I'm joking.
Would you share something new?
Yes, yes, I absolutely.
You will not be Sorry, I'mjoking.
Would you share something new?
Yes, yes, I absolutely willshare something new.
I'm a bit annoyed with youbecause when we started, I went

(32:07):
up to Harry and I told him mysomething old will be that poem
or my something new will be apoem about being a dad.
Right, because I wrote a bunchof poems about being a dad and
this guy he was like like that'sa really good idea, and then
you've just been murdering thestage with your dad pieces,

(32:28):
thanks.
Well, I too have written poemsabout being a dad.
They're not as long as his.
So don't worry, basic it's.
I think it's the same with him.
Like I have a three-year-old,her name is bird song yes, I am
a hippie, her name is bird song.
And you know, when a child istwo and the two of you have an

(32:49):
argument, like you argue withyour kid, full blown, you know
they fold your hands, you foldyour hands and you don't speak
to each other for like fiveminutes or however long, maybe a
year, and then that's not whatI did.
And then they, they, they growup and they become three and
when they're three, you, you,they do something that makes you
realize how young and innocentthey are.

(33:09):
And then you remember, whenthey were two, you had a
full-blown argument with themand her excuse was that she was
two at the time.
What's my excuse?
I was that she was two at thetime.
What's my excuse?
So, yeah, in Stockholm I takeher to school.
There's a ramp at the end ofour council estate flat and when
we get to the ramp she doesn'tlike to hold my hand that much,

(33:33):
but at the ramp, just at the topof it, she will grab my hand
and she will yell three, two,one go.
And then we'll both run downthe ramp and then she gets to
the bottom.
She's like, oh my God, wasn'tthat great.
And I'll be like, yeah, okay,let's go to school.
And then there was this one daywhen we had had an argument on
our way down.
She wanted to take her dinosaurto school and I was like no.
And she folded her hand and shegoes three, two, one go and we

(34:06):
run down and then we get to thebottom.
We're both panting andeverything is forgiven.
And as we're walking I realizethere's going to be a day when
it will be the last time sheoffers me her hand and I will
not even know it.
And from that point on Istarted writing poems about
every moment.
Right, completely separate fromHarry Baker, started writing

(34:26):
poems about every moment Ithought was important, and these
are a collection of the first15.
They might be longer than 15,they might be 18, I don't know.
So a bunch of poems on birdsong.
Number one hallucination due tosleep deprivation.
I woke up in the middle of thenight and shook my partner

(34:48):
rigorously.
I demanded.
I sternly and coldly demanded.
I said Julia, give our daughterthe milk, don't save any of it
for the queen.
Earlier that night I had bingewatched season two of the Crown.
Two hallucination due to sleepdeprivation.

(35:09):
My partner spilled out of bed,handed the baby to me she put on
her bathrobe, said she is offto return her breasts for a new
pair.
These ones don't work right andthat is not fair.
I stood in the doorway, birdsong in hand, pleading with her
saying stay.
Saying you don't even have thereceipts anymore, do you?

(35:32):
Three breast pumping noisesounding like the experimental
score of an A24 prestige horrormovie set in a cave.
Four it is past midnight.
I am am on google.
Her breathing is loud andsqueaky.
A rusty bicycle what does thismean?
I'm scared she's going to die.

(35:52):
Five it is past past midnight.
I am on google.
She is quiet.
What does this mean?
I think she may be dead.
Six I would murder every dolphinalive for an hour of sleep.
We are aligned, harry.

(36:13):
Seven A thousand curses on theGod of overtired babies.
What is your purpose?
You have no purpose.
Purpose I hope all your fartsare loud.
I hope the holding music ofyour afterlife is nickelback.
I hope you fall out of love orall your favorite music.

(36:35):
I hate you.
Eight dear lord, give me thestrength to evict bad energies
from my life with the convictionof my daughter evicting baby
formula from her mouth.
Nine my child projectilevomited on the midwife.
I am ashamed and proud.
Ten a reference for all myfellow gaming dads and moms the

(37:00):
first month of a baby is a darksouls of parenting.
11.
Actually, the second month is adark souls of parenting.
12.
Scratch that when they learn towalk is the blood bond of
poetry.
I can tell only the gaming dadsget that.
Everyone else game dads andmoms get that.
Everyone else is like bloodbond, Okay.

(37:22):
13.
No sound under heaven is ascalming as a baby's burp.
14 honestly, some days I justwant to be held and told my
daughter isn't going to diebecause I didn't wash a bottle
at 100 degrees celsius that onetime.
15, once you accept neversleeping and your clothes always

(37:45):
smelling of old milk.
Being a new father is kind ofawesome.
16.
Why is the answer to everynewborn health issue on Google
oh, that's perfectly normal.
But once you're an adult theanswer is oh, no, my G, you're
gonna die, my G, you betterwrite a.
Will my G die my G?

(38:08):
You better write a will my G.
17.
The first time my daughter hadhypnotized by Notorious BIG.
We were on the living room sofa.
She lay flat on my lap.
I tried to move her to the beat.
Instead she held my fingers,still with her tiny hands, like
a captain on the oars of arestless boat, held me captive
in her cross-eyed stare.
We were the only two peoplealive that time.

(38:31):
I doubt she will remember this.
She is only a 12 day old child.
I doubt I will ever forget.
I am a 12 day old dad.
18, birdsong is not saying I'msorry.
I kept you up with my screamingand back arching and refused to
be touched.
That got so bad.
You almost took me to thehospital, but then I went

(38:53):
straight back to bed in the uberat 2 am like no big deal.
But you know what she'ssleeping on my chest.
I will take my wins.
19 true self-forgiveness, likeall my mistakes and missteps all
make sense now becauseeverything I've ever done has
led to her.

Harry Baker (39:12):
Thank you come on, stunning.
I mean now I'm annoyed, butstunning cheers.
Thank you so much.
The other something you want toask about is your new EP
because, as you mentioned inyour book, a lot of your poems
you've released as music and Ifound out today I saw the sort

(39:33):
of first outing of this when youcame to Margate to do a work in
progress and at that point itwas more of a theatre show.
So can you just talk about howit became what it is?
Okay, so Divorce.

Joshua Idehen (39:44):
Depression, sweden yeah, show, yeah.
So can you just talk about howit became what it is?
Okay, um so, divorce,depression, sweden yeah.
And then child born and at thatpoint I'd released a lot of
music with a band called sons ofcomet, and another band called
the comet is coming.
That was very angry, very muchabout the politics of the time,
and I I did an album with aproducer called Daedalus which

(40:05):
was, uh, was a lot about mydepression and my sadness out of
that, mixed with politics aswell, and so I got the
opportunity to work on a project.
I got some funding to do it andat that point I realized that I
I didn't want to be sad anymoreand more than that, I didn't
want to put any of that sadnessout there anymore.
I mean, good on people who dothat.

(40:28):
Like you know, misery lovescompany.
But I just kind of felt like Icould look at my daughter and I
want to make the joy that shelives in, and there must be some
way I can spin my grief intojoy.
And also I was thinking well, itkind of feels like the world is
going to end, so I might aswell do what I want, and what I
wanted to do was house music andpoetry.

(40:48):
Right, that's what I wanted todo.
I was like you know.
I'd spent decades constantlygoing why isn't anybody making
house music and poetry?
It's so cool.
Love yourself.

Harry Baker (41:00):
That's very good.

Joshua Idehen (41:01):
Yeah, and a friend of minewig palment who
lived in sweden.
I approached him and I told himI want to make, uh, house music
and poetry.
Would you like to make thebeats?
And he said I think that's asilly idea, but I'll give it a
go.
And and the first thing he sentto me, I sat in my kitchen and
the first line that came out ofmy mouth was don't you give up

(41:23):
on me, don't you dare.
And everything else flowed outand we've been working ever
since.
And, yeah, you were the firstpoet that I knew who actually
saw the project when it was awork in progress, and I was so
terrified because I was like Ibooked this gig in Margit and I
was like it's safe, it's Margit,no one lives there, no one's
going to see it lives there, noone's gonna see it.
I can make all the mistakes Iwant.

(41:43):
And then he turns up with allhis friends going you, alright,
josh, I saw you were performing.
I thought why not?
Yeah, put the fear of God backinto me, yeah, so that's kind of
what we've been doing.
We've been doing it for a fewyears now, lots of support.
It's been working very well.
In Sweden I got to perform infront of the King of Sweden, did

(42:05):
a headline show just a few daysago that sold out.
It's been doing quite well and,strangely, it's the most
esoteric niche thing I've everdone.
Like, I'm not singing, I'm notrapping, I'm doing poetry over
house music.
That's how weird it is and it'sthe one thing I've done that's
connected the most.
Like I, how weird it is andit's the one thing I've done

(42:27):
that's connected the most.
Like I've literally had, youknow, people who are completely
out of my, my remit, my idea ofwhat my audience is.
Right, like I.
I did this performance to likefive people one time and at the
very front, because they werethere to see another band called
lazy habits and I wassupporting and there were like
five people in the audience andtwo of them were these big, huge
, burly meant and I was like youknow what I'm just gonna do?
A performance, I'm fine,whatever.
And I did it.

(42:48):
And these guys came up to meand this man's one hand
swallowed both of my hands don'task me how he did it and he
looked and he said that poem youdid about friends falling out,
that got me.
And that was the moment Irealized like, okay, this has
legs, because 10 years of doingprojects, right, no one had ever
connected to any of the stuff Ihad done, that had been

(43:09):
heartfelt, like when I did stuffabout public service, public
transport this dude right burnsme into his memory.
But here I was doing kind oflike the most honest, the most
open, the most vulnerable stuff,and people were going, yes,
yeah.
And I was like, okay, this,this is what it is.
So, yeah, I'm, yeah, it's beengood so far.

Harry Baker (43:30):
I wrote a poem last year about struggling to have a
baby, partly because no one Iknew was talking about it, and I
just wanted to put that down.
I've heard it and that is thething I've done.
That I think that most peoplehave connected with because it
was so true to me and where Iwas at and and where it was
coming done.
That I think that most peoplehave connected with because it
was so true to me and where Iwas at and where I was coming
from.
So I think when it may feelniche, when you're being fully

(43:51):
yourself in it.
I think people connect withthat yeah, it's, it's.

Joshua Idehen (43:55):
It's strange because there's no real answer.
It's the answer is not.
You know, pour your heart onthe page and say the most
depressing, sad, shameful thingand that connect.
Because sometimes that's notwhat happens, like it hasn't
happened for me for 12, for 10years.
I would do stuff where I wasfeeling like I was the most
honest and it didn't connect.
And sometimes you know, it'snot just be carefree and

(44:18):
frivolous and because Isometimes I do that and no, it's
like it doesn't connect.
There is no real straightanswer.
I think I've had that time ofjust sharpening my tools and
sharpening my skill sets inexpressing myself.
That now, when I do saysomething or put something on

(44:39):
the page that is about me, itdoes reach and I understand how
lucky I am to be in that space.
It's not something that'sguaranteed, it's not something
that is that is promised at theend of a 10 000 hours, right and
so to to be in a place,especially now that my work
seems to have a purpose, is notsomething I take lightly.

(45:02):
And yeah, speaking on that poem, I really like that poem.
I hate you for writing itbecause I wanted to write it.
I wish the genius had come tome to write that piece.
It's such a good piece.
I hate you so much.
I love the piece and hate youThank you.

Harry Baker (45:20):
I want to chat to you forever, but I also want to
give everyone a chance to buy abook afterwards.
So I'm going to do somethingborrowed Go on, go on, go ahead,
go.
So this one of my favouritepoems is the Summer Day by Mary
Oliver, but I also borrowed aline from it from my popcorn
poem.
Who made the world?
Who made the swan and the blackbear?

(45:40):
Who made the grasshopper?
This grasshopper, thisgrasshopper, I mean the one who
has flung herself out of thegrass, the one who is eating
sugar out of my hand, who ismoving her jaws back and forth
instead of up and down, who isgazing around with her enormous
and complicated eyes.
Now she lifts her pale forearmsand thoroughly washes her face

(46:03):
now she snaps her wings open andfloats away.
I don't know exactly what aprayer is.
I do know how to pay attention,how to fall down into the grass
, how to kneel down in the grass, how to be idle and blessed,
how to stroll through the fields, which is what I have been
doing all day.
Tell me, what else should Ihave have done?

(46:24):
Doesn't everything die at last,and too soon?
Tell me, what is it you plan todo with your one wild and
precious life?

Joshua Idehen (46:39):
are you up for desert?
I'm up for doing somethingborrowed.
This is from a poet who I wishI was a better friend with
before he passed away.
His name is uh jacob lewis andthe poem is called suspicion is
warranted.
Found a dead boy in a crater atthe bottom of my garden,

(47:01):
brought him back to life withMozart and affection, called him
Alex after the great conquerortaught him everything I know he
didn't do well at school, showedno signs of superpowers.
I carried him on my back untilhe was 14 because his spine was

(47:21):
weak and he was prone toblackouts, which shook my world
because, I did not know how longthey'd last.
Alex had a breakdown at 21.
I told him where he was from,showed him the exact spot.
By that point I loved him, feltlike he was mine.

(47:42):
So I tried to infuse the storywith the same tenderness that
mothers feel the bellies ofstorks or priests feel the mind,
your buried dreams.
But it was no good.
I couldn't patch him together.
He wanted to know.
I couldn't blame him.
He tore up the garden searchingfor clues, found only memories.

(48:06):
I'd given him A puncturedfootball, hacksaw, blade, coins,
bucket and spade, a cut knee.
That made him hate me, thoughtI was covering up.
He searched the internet forother dead boys and conspiracy
stories, went missing for a week.
I got the shakes.

(48:28):
I couldn't concentrate at all,drank too much, waited for the
police to call, didn't do thelaundry.
When he came back he said heunderstood, wouldn't explain,
but sorry said no more worrieswould ever come our way.
He said it like a prophet, likehe had superpowers.

(48:52):
We lived together for 20 moreyears.
Can't tell you how happy wewere.
Measure it in oceans instead ofstreams, skyscrapers instead of
bungalows.
Not everyone is allowed to love.
Remember that when I died hecried until his eyes became

(49:17):
earth dry.
He howled and screamed untilhis voice left him.
He beat his hands against thewalls of our house, smashed them
into mulch.
That night he dug a giant holein the garden, laid me out,
assembled all my favorite thingsaround me, waited for my return
, but I never did Not once, nomatter how hard I tried.

Harry Baker (49:50):
Thank you so much.
Before we both finish onsomething blue.
If people aren't willing tomake the trip out to Stockholm,
where can they see you perform?

Joshua Idehen (50:01):
Well, I have a headline show happening in April
, end of April, starting withthe 23rd, at the Jazz Cafe.
So I can say now it's going tobe a good show, it's going to be
the best show, but it'll beeven more amazing if you turn up

(50:21):
.
No, it will be good, we'll bedoing.
It's London, bristol, brighton,manchester and Lloyds.
So that's happening and if youbuy a copy of my book or my
vinyl, then you can just take mehome with you.
So, you don't really need to goanywhere.
Think about it.

Harry Baker (50:38):
That's what I'm saying.
Amazing, thank you.
I'm going to do something blue.
This is something blue becausemy wife's granny just knits hats
non-stop and she knits them forlike sailors, and they're
weatherproof, they're invincible.
And she knitted one for my sonand it's like he's very cute,

(51:01):
but when he wears that, hat,everyone loses their minds.
96, we have come to meet your 96year old great granny.
For each day of your life shehas been here for an entire year
.
For your three months on thisplanet, she has seen 1152.
For your 14 weeks in this world, she has managed 5,009.

(51:26):
The front door is open, so weannounce ourselves and by the
time we get to the living room,she's already gone to the
kitchen to make everyone a cupof tea.
After all, she has waited thislong to meet you.
What is a couple more minutes?
After all, she already haspictures of you in frames on the
side and up on the wall.
All she already has pictures ofyou in frames on the side and

(51:48):
up on the wall.
After all, she has alreadyknitted you your favorite hat.
What stronger bond could therepossibly be?
She used to foster babiesstraight out of the hospital.
One of them she even adopted asher son.
When we ask her about it, shegives shorter answers than she
used to, but as she emerges,mugs in hand, a simple three
words is enough.
Her face lights up and sheexclaims what a beauty noise.

(52:15):
I thought I'd put a little bitof maths in there, just in case.

Joshua Idehen (52:20):
Invited back to the conference are you up for
doing something?
Yes, yes, yes, I am okay.
This is my blue poem and it'sblue because it's about swimming
and the ocean is blue, sotenuous.
But that's what you're gettingand it's from my book, which is
I've memorized it.
But no, yeah, when I went tostockholm, because it's really

(52:44):
as a city, it's just a bunch ofislands connected by very, very
big bridges Everybody thereknows how to swim and I didn't,
and I went to a swimming lesson,or everybody there was an
immigrant, apart from theteachers.
And it turns out I actually havevery little fat and also my

(53:05):
bones are very heavy, so I can'tswim in one spot, I just sink.
And I tried really hard andthey tried to teach me and it
didn't work.
And I was also struggling,swimming forward and back.
And then the teachers that wenormally had they, they took a
break one night and instead wehad this very old, very gruff,

(53:26):
very chain-smoking man and hewas like okay, everybody, go in.
You're not using any rubbers,no plastic, no, nothing.
You're just going to swim, justswim, just get it out of your
system.
And I said to him okay, look, Ican't swim.
I'm trying my best but it's notworking.
I've got really heavy bones.
And he just stood there andlooked at me and he goes you're

(53:49):
a shark.
And I was like what he was like?
Yeah, you're a shark.
If you stop swimming, you die.
I'm a shark and that's it.
That cured it for me.
So I can.
If I move forward or I moveback, then I'm fine.
The moment I stop, it's gameover.
I'm a shark, I am Jaws.

(54:14):
I wrote a piece about swimming.
Stay cool, learn to swim.
I only started learning lastyear and now I am 42.
And if you already know how toswim, I only started learning
last year and now I am 42.
And if you already know how toswim, good for you.
This is for all the peoplebehind you Stay cool, learn to

(54:37):
swim.
Nah, mate, you're not too heavy.
Your bones are not too dense.
Pennywise was right In the end,everyone floats.
Stay cool, learn to swim.
Your skin will thank you, yourmind will thank you and if

(54:58):
there's blood in the water,sharks will thank you.
Do not swim in the River Thames.
Nobody asks you to do that.
So, thank you.
Do not swim in the river Thames.
Nobody asks you to do that.
Some things will always be true.
The sun always sets in the westRight now will always be as
good as it gets.
Romeo and Juliet is tragic.
Time is wasted on worry, andevery one of us is made of pure,

(55:21):
unadulterated magic, except forBoris Johnson.
Trans rights is human rights.
Palestinian rights is humanrights.
Some things, by now, should be agiven.
It looks worse when it's online.
Facebook is not researched, nomatter the number of hours you
spent on it.
There are no solutions at thebottom of a doom scroll, and you

(55:44):
are never at your best when youare looking at someone else's
highlight reel.
Time heals all wounds and makesnew ones, but a hot shower will
cure 99% of bad vibes.
Trust me.
You should be nice to yourself.
You should be nice to people,except for Nazis.
No one should ever be nice toNazis.
There are so many ways to beyourself.

(56:05):
Just don't get lost in theoptions.
All the paper straws in theworld won't save a single polar
bear, but making Amazon paytheir proper taxes is good, and
all of your idols will let youdown, except for Keanu Reeves,
because Keanu Reeves is perfect.
You don't have to like PinkFloyd.
You don't have to like PrinceFloyd.

(56:26):
You don't have to like Prince.
None of it is by force andevery elder is a village, but
some villages are full ofracists and aren't worth the
visit.
Protect your peace, cherish yourjoints, eat your fruits and
vegetables and mind your ownbusiness.
Do not be afraid to dress likean idiot.
At least once in your life,embrace your cringe.

(56:49):
Embrace your cringe.
New York is nice, but everyoneshould come to London City.
If they won't let you join aunion, start a mafia.
The means you cannot seize youshould steal.
And if you love doing a thingand you're not in anyone else or
yourself, do the thing.

(57:10):
Don't let anybody stop youdoing the thing.
If you love shoplifting fromdepartment stores, do the thing.
Department stores are notpeople.
Sometimes the answer is to sleepon it.
Sometimes you need to face ithead on and sometimes it's scary
in your head and when you stoprunning you realize the monster
was a shadow all along and yourheart will be broken and you

(57:33):
will break hearts.
And when the dust settles inyour spirit, do not forget to
forgive yourself.
Call all the friends you'vefallen out with, tell them you
missed them.
Dying right is overrated, butthat does not mean you shoot
down a bottle of Melo and textyour former lovers.
Nothing good will come fromthat.
Recognize the difference betweenalone and lonely.

(57:55):
More often than not you won'tresolve all the loose ends in
your life.
You are not that kind of movie.
You're more a rambling soapopera that will eventually run
out of budget.
And I hope you get old.
I hope when you get oldcompassion is cool again and, if
you're lucky, one day you willwake up and you will be out of

(58:17):
the Zyguys' eye and you won'trecognise the music and you'd
rather go to bed at 10 o'clockand your pleasures will be
gentler, your movements slower,your goalpost shifted, your
former burden slightly lifted,and that will be okay because it
happens to the best of us andthe rest of us.

(58:39):
Maybe by then, london, maybe bythen you would have stayed cool
, and maybe by then you wouldhave stayed cool and maybe by
then you can do something elsewith your life, like learn to
swim.

Harry Baker (58:56):
Thank you so so much.
Can we give it up one more timefor Josh Idehen.

Joshua Idehen (59:01):
Happy holidays everyone.

Harry Baker (59:05):
Oh, what a wonderful, wonderful time.
I love josh, I love you, and Ilove getting to bring my two
loves together in the form of anaudio recording.
Thank you to the bloomsbury forhaving us.
This was recorded as part of akind of harry christmas special,
and I have just announced mytour around most of the UK for

(59:25):
the first half of 2025, the yearof our Lord.
So please do look up thosedates.
I am coming to London.
I'm not coming to Shrewsbury,but I wish I was and I'm
hopefully coming somewhere nearyou.
So, if you check those out andI'm hoping that the Christmas
shows can become a tradition aswell maybe venturing out of fair
London so if you live anywhere,then let me know and hopefully

(59:47):
I'm either coming to you on touror will be coming to you in
christmas, you know, or whenever, but mainly that's a uk thing,
but I'm working on it.
If you live outside the uk, Iespecially appreciate listening
to this and one day I'll try andmake it to you as well.
So, as as always, get in touch,leave a review, stay brilliant.
You're amazing.
Goodbye.