Bugzy Malone releases video for ‘Memory Lane’

After his new EP ‘King of The North’ debuted at #4, Manchester grime icon Bugzy Malone has released a new video for the EP track ‘Memory Lane’ which features his friend Tom Grennan and was produced by Shift K3Y. The track features a line from the 1995 Oasis classic ‘Wonderwall’, which is the first time that Noel Gallagher has personally granted permission for that song’s lyrics to be used in such a way.

Bugzy & Tom Grennan first met when Bugzy achieved a long-term personal goal when he performed on Later… with Jools Holland. Not only was it a huge opportunity, but it’s also his mother’s favourite TV show and the moment took him back to when they used to watch the Hootenanny together every New Year’s Eve.

“It overwhelmed me and I was getting quite emotional,” he admits. “Tom Grennan was rehearsing in the background, and I attached those emotions to the song that he made with Chase & Status, so that instantly made me a massive fan of his.”

‘Memory Lane’ features Bugzy paying homage to Oasis by opening with a line from ‘Wonderwall’. Bugzy approached Noel Gallagher for permission to use his lyrics in the track, but knew that it was a long shot as such requests were always turned down. As the release of the EP and its accompanying video approached, Bugzy realised it wasn’t going to happen, so he worked hard to rewrite the lyrics and reshoot the video without them.

Bugzy continues the story: “Two or three days later after spending all of my own money on the video, I get the call: ‘By the way Noel Gallagher said you can use the lyrics.’ It was massive so we had to change it back, and we had to tweak it to use some of the new video content. It was a case of taking what we had in the first video and making a tribute to the Oasis video so we tied the two together, just so I didn’t end up wasting a load of money. But it worked perfectly, and I just couldn’t believe that he said yes.”

Bugzy Malone is grime’s outsider – a Mancunian who has flourished far away from the genre’s London-centric epicentre to take on the big hitters at their own game.

Armed with little more than a gift for dexterous wordplay, a steely sense of self-belief and a willing work ethic, his first big break came after almost five years of graft and independently released mixtapes. His incendiary Fire In The Booth became the defining moment of the series, and grew to become the first to pass 10 million views at YouTube. Suddenly Bugzy was big business, and his first two EPs – ‘Walk With Me’ and ‘Facing Time’ – both catapulted him headfirst into the Top 10.

Meanwhile, recent gigs have included headline sets at the BBC Radio 1Xtra Stage at the Reading and Leeds Festivals, as well as an emotional hometown performance at the We Are Manchester benefit show.

Bugzy Malone has recently been confirmed as part of Spotify’s huge Who We Be Live event at London’s Alexandra Palace on November 30th. The line-up also includes Cardi B, Dizzee Rascal, Giggs, J Hus and Stefflon Don. In addition, tickets for Bugzy’s own ‘King of the North’ headline tour are also selling quickly. The dates are:

October

22nd – Belfast, The Limelight
24th – Dublin, The Academy (SOLD OUT)
25th – Newcastle, O2 Academy
27th – Bristol, Motion (SOLD OUT)
28th – Birmingham, O2 Institute (SOLD OUT)

November

2nd – London, The O2 Forum Kentish Town
3rd – Manchester, O2 Apollo (SOLD OUT)
5th – Glasgow, O2 ABC
16th – Manchester, O2 Apollo (ADDED DATE)

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