Tom Cridland is a half Portuguese, half English singer songwriter, podcaster and fashion designer on a mission to somehow enjoy life without beer. Following a childhood obsession with The Beatles and spells in two bands with friends at school, Tom arrived at University in Bristol where he divivided his time between boozing, eating Domino’s and singing in karaoke bars, developing a gargantuan passion for Elton John’s music and persona that resulted in him taking out Wonga loans to afford shiny shoes and sparkly sunglasses.
Not deterred by the litany of noise complaints he had already received from housemates and neighbours for constantly blasting out “The Bitch Is Back”, Tom was inspired by a new friendship with Nigel Olsson to buy a drum kit and learn to play. Despite his expanding waistline and dependence on tablets to combat hair loss, Tom somehow managed to enter into a relationship with Deborah Marx, together with whom he started designing 30 Year Clothing - durable garments backed with a three decade guarantee.
Tom's work as a sustainable fashion designer put a stop to a disgraceful but thankfully short-lived tenure as trainee accountant. Free of a 9 to 5 job, he devoted his time to attending Elton John concerts and forming The Tomicks with his friend Nick Whitehead, inspired by their shared fandom of the bespectacled superstar. Writing and recording three albums, they worked with Simply Red’s Kenji Suzuki at The Village Recorder in Los Angeles and David Bowie’s longtime lead guitarist Earl Slick at Abbey Road.
In 2019 he began his solo career and Tom Cridland, the artist (or the vanity project, depending on how you look at it), was born properly. Manically writing and recording over 100 songs in just a few months, he began releasing a single every week. After putting out the first, Falling off the Rails, he embarked on a tour of all 48 contiguous states of America in 80 days. This promotional endeavour involved television and radio appearances during the day, followed by concerts in the evening, mostly in squalid dive bars to audiences unfamiliar with his music. Now teetotal, Tom’s new music was accompanied by social media storytelling that delved into his many years of excessive alcohol consumption as well as several satirical music videos.
Thanks to his unorthodox marketing, Tom’s first songs, which form the album Falling off the Rails, led to the legendary '70s soul band The Stylistics inviting him to tour with them, starting in 2021. This year Tom has also launched a podcast, Greatest Music of All Time, in which he talks to the greatest artists and bands about their music, and to celebrities about their favourite records. Tom's guests also give key tips for success and their take on the week's news. Episodes have featured the likes of Chance the Rapper, Smokey Robinson, David Guetta, Annie Lennox and David Crosby.
