Bradley Simpson announces debut solo album The Panic Years: "What's my identity? What do I sound like?"

Bradley Simpson's debut solo album has been a decade in the making. 

Announced today, The Panic Years will release next year, on February 28 and is the culmination of years of hard work and introspection from the singer-songwriter, who first came to attention as the vocalist of pop-rock group The Vamps. 

But make no mistake, the music Brad is making on The Panic Years is very different from the music he's made as part of a band (they are still together, by the way, don't worry), soaked in an indie-rock soundscape that riffs off Queens of the Stone Age and Joy Division as it does The 1975 and Jeff Buckley. 

"I am genuinely so proud of it," Brad tells us, the day before he officially announces when his debut album will arrive in the world. "You work on something for so long and it's always on the horizon...but now it's here. It's real. What the f*ck? How did this happen?!"

Let's find out together. 

What was the first point where you decided that you were going to make a solo record?

I think it was about two years ago. I never consciously made the decision or said 'I'm going to make a solo album now,' it just happened. There were a few songs I started writing that weren't right for the band, or for sending to other people. They were just too personal. 

It just snowballed from there, and it's been such a fun journey. I feel like I've learned a lot about myself! I've written a lot about the last 10 years of my life, all of the ups and downs.

I feel like everyone has their 'panic years' during their 20s...yours just also happened when you became incredibly famous

Yeah, it was wild. [When I joined The Vamps] I was a spotty little teenager! It's been so busy, I haven't had the time to sit down and process a lot of that stuff. But like you say, it's been the most amazing 10 years and I'm not writing about anything in a negative light. But it's good to take stock, right?

Are the panic years specifically about growing up and out of your 20s?

I don't think I've been panicking the entire time, necessarily. But one thing I learned through the writing process was, this is also not a bad thing! Your 'panic years' are where you have the most fun and you grow off the back of them. Honestly, I still feel like I'm in my panic years. 

30 is around the corner for us, Brad...

One of the guys I played the record to, who must have been in his 40s, said that he was still in his panic years. So maybe it never ends!

Being in The Vamps for 10 years, it does become a part of your identity - what was the process in figuring out how Bradley Simpson was different from Brad from The Vamps?

You're bang on that [the band] has become a part of our identity. But that's amazing, and I'm so grateful for it, but there was a light learning curve with some trial and error...what do I sound like? What's my identity? And that took a minute. 

[The starting point] was actually reconnecting the music that got me into playing when I was 11, 12. That's when I first started playing guitar and joining bands in school. Like you say, there is a slight indie-pop, indie-rock lean into this album, and that's because of the music that I grew up with. I really wanted to dive back into that, to reconnect with 13 year old Brad, which was a really fun thing to do.

The executive producer of the album is BOOTS, the experimental producer who worked with Beyoncé on her 2013 self-titled album...please tell me everything about him

I'm actually under contract I can't speak about...I'm joking! Obviously, his work on the Beyoncé album was amazing and I was a huge fan of his work with Run The Jewels. I just really wanted to meet him and see what he was like. He is, genuinely, really lovely and so supportive.

A lot of the songs [on the album] were already written, they were pretty fully-formed, I just took them to him and we just talked. He's a very different producer to the one's I've worked with before, in the sense that he sat back a lot. We were trying to make things a little less intricate... we tried to as much as possible with as little as possible. 

Working with someone so intimately as well is the perfect way to make an album, I think

Right? There was no way I could have done that in London. I just had to focus, everything was stripped back, it was literally just me and Boots. I think there's a culture in music sometimes that when you're a songwriter, you meet a producer and just immediately have to bare your soul to them. "Nice to meet you, where are you from? Here's all my trauma!"

That can be really difficult at times, but being able to lock in with someone who really understands you, and you have an extended period of time working together, is the part I most enjoyed about the process.

What tracks from the album are you looking forward to fans hearing for the first time?

There's a song called The Band's Not Breaking Up, which isn't about the band breaking up at all. I think that will be one people will be interested to hear what it's about. I haven't played that live at all yet. The title track, The Panic Years, as well. I wrote that with Joesef. He's amazing. There's another song called Almost which is a bit of a waltz-y one...

Not you in your Striclty Come Dancing era

Exactly. It's my Strictly moment!

The Panic Years by Bradley Simpson drops February 28 2025 via Insanity/Sony. Brad's new single Holy Grail is out now.