If it’s true that good things come to those who wait then Willie J Healey is due for greatness. The indie-funk artist has quietly been chipping away at the music industry for the past decade. But now, with all his ducks in a row, Healey is ready for recognition. At this present moment, though, he and I are trying to wangle our way into a private dining room in a London restaurant for some peace and quiet. One white lie from the sympathetic waitress to her manager and we’re in. Luckily, Healey is dressed the part. The Oxfordshire-born artist is wearing a smart jacket and black trousers; his red hair is slicked back. Shiny black cowboy boots peek out from underneath his hem.
The indie-funk artist is no newbie. Healey, 28, has two records already under his belt and his third forthcoming album is his most refined yet. Due in August, Bunny merges his juicy, 1970s-style guitar music with his previously unexplored love of funk. In a few weeks, Healey will complete his support slots at the O2 with Florence + The Machine, and this summer, he will accompany the Arctic Monkeys on the European leg of their tour. Finally, it feels like the hype is catching him up. “I think I’m at my best now.”
Healey wasn’t always confident. That sense of self took a while to find, he tells me. Before music, he tried boxing. “I looked like Annie the orphan,” he laughs. “I was really shy and emotional, it kicked me right out of my comfort zone.” Regardless, Healey became serious about the sport and only dabbled in music on the side – and in secret. It was only after a conversation with his career officer that he reconsidered what truly made him happy. The answer was clear: music. Instead of keeping up with boxing as a hobby, he decided to quit it altogether because as he puts it, “If you’re not really in it anymore, the outcome is quite savage”. It’s been over 10 years since he stepped into the ring, but the lessons he learnt have proven useful in the sometimes brutal music industry. “I don’t get stage fright or get nervous, because nothing is scary as getting beaten up,” he says.
Healey broke onto the scene with his 2017 indie-rock debut album People and Their Dogs. Then came album number two: the road trip infused Twin Heavy in 2020. The music has been consistently first-rate. The process, however, hasn’t always been smooth. “I’ve learnt to lose well,” Healey says, taking a sip from his coffee. He’s gentle and positive, and not afraid to laugh at himself. After releasing his debut album, Healey was dropped from Columbia Records. “I have nothing bad to say about Colombia,” he insists. Anyway, his new label, the independent Yala Records (run by Maccabees’ Felix White), is a much better fit. “It’s a smaller group of people who really believe in what I do – as opposed to a sweepstake of what they think is good and then we’ll see what does well.”
Healey’s story of perseverance is refreshing. He’s an artist that has retained his authenticity and trusted his gut, even when it cost him labels and inevitably, money. “Dreams,” he sings on the forthcoming track by the same name. “They don’t come easy and they don’t come free.” Where does the tenacity come from? “I’ve got a fire in my belly,” Healey flashes a cheeky grin. “I’m really determined and stubborn. I might mess up along the way and things might not always go well, but I don’t care,” he says. “I think if you’re honest and you work hard, you have nothing to be ashamed of. I don’t have an ulterior motive, I just love music.”
Arriving in August, Bunny will be summer’s perfect companion. Across 13 tracks, Healey’s “guitar-based funk music” spans everything from Outkast and T. Rex to Sly and the Family Stone and the Beatles. “Woke Up Smiling” sets the tone for a new soulful era for Healey, all while retaining his playful Mac DeMarco-esque indie. There’s a new vulnerability in these songs, too. Healey sings what he can’t say. “I’m being more honest than I would be in a conversation with a friend,” he says. On “Black Camaro”, he recites words his father once said to him: “Don’t you know when the sun shines on you, it shines on me.” The track has a nostalgic soothing quality, reminiscent of the Commodores’ “Easy”, bookended with War On Drugs-style reversed guitars which glimmer and squeal off into the horizon. Pressing play on Bunny is like opening the curtains and letting the sunshine in. “I think there’s a bit of an idea that you have to be tortured as an artist to write great music,” he says. “But I always feel like I write better when I’m happy and doing things that are good for me”.
All the times I’ve doubted myself in the past – I’ve come over the hill— Willie J Healey
Healey’s move into a more funk-based sound came during lockdown when he borrowed a drum machine from his close friend Jamie T, with whom he collaborated on his latest track “Thank You”. The song began as a thanks to Jamie, but veered into an appreciation of Healey himself. “I wanna thank you,” sings Healey to those around him, “for absolutely nothing at all”. It’s a catchy “f*** you” anthem that feels reminiscent of “Roses” by Outkast. He definitely did have Jamie to thank, though, for the drum machine – and the sense of liberation it brought him. All day, Healey would try out “funky songs” on the machine just for fun. “I had no pressure. No shows. No expectations. Nobody cared. I just did it all for me.” Lyrically, the tracks are ambitious manifestations of dreams and success, laced with self belief and existential defiance. “If you’re not living how you want to/you’re just as good as dead,” sings Healey in the spirited “Little Sister”. “I get these great moments of feeling empowered. Like none of this s*** matters. We’re all gonna die, so just do what you want to do,” he says. “All the times I’ve doubted myself in the past – I’ve come over the hill.”
No one is totally immune to nerves, however, and when Healey found himself playing to 20,000 people supporting Florence + the Machine at the O2 Arena, he felt a tad lost. “I was like, God, what am I doing here? This is actually really big.” It’s not the first time that life felt surreal. Arctic Monkey frontman Alex Turner once made an appearance at one of his gigs. They met in the smoking area where the Sheffield legend sang Healey’s demos back to him. “It blows my mind,” he says. “To get recognition from someone who you look up to is a powerful thing.” Recognition is one thing, but supporting the band on tour is something else entirely. “If that had happened a few years ago, I wouldn’t have been ready for it,” says Healey. “Some things are just worth waiting for.”
Willie J Healey’s new single ‘Thank You’ ft Jamie T is out now. ‘Bunny’ is due for release on 25 August. His full tour dates including support slots for Florence + The Machine and Arctic Monkeys are available here
