West Sussex singer Tommy Dew on brink of Spanish stardom

From recording a song on his phone in his shed in Bognor, he is now living in Barcelona on the brink of fame under his Spanish name Tmy Rugiada.

Tommy, aged 21, has signed a three-year contract with Barcelona-based label Morato Music. His first single Not Coming Home – sung in English and Spanish – is now out on all platforms (Spotify, iTunes etc), and the promo video with dancer Laura Mullor can be viewed on YouTube.

“During lockdown, like everyone, I started playing on social media, doing my music, and I was one of the lucky ones in that I was spotted by these people in Spain. I was doing covers on Instagram. I released one song, and it came to the attention of these people in Spain, and I am now living in Spain.”

It has been an astonishing turn-around: “I know that for a lot of people, it has been a really rubbish year, but for me personally it really has been quite a year. They said to me that they were seeking something different in Spain. They said that they always have the same thing. In their own words, they wanted a blonde guy who can sing in English and in Spanish. There are not many artists over there who are blonde and blue-eyed and can sing in English. They were just wanting something different to what they have usually got.

“It was a bonus that I speak Spanish well. In 2017 I was working in the Canary Islands and I picked it up. Being half-Italian, it was quite easy to pick up the language. My Spanish is not amazing, but I am almost fluent.

“I went out to Spain in August, and I met these people. I signed a contract with them at the beginning of November. Before that, I had already four songs to be released. I went to record them in Granada in October. The first one has been released now. The song has got one and a half million views on TikTok. It has just rocketed.

“We have released one so far and the next one will be released at the beginning of January and then February. By the beginning of March we will have released all four and then we get back to recording the next clump of songs. I think the aim is to release ten to 15 a year and we are also working towards an album.

“It’s weird! For an ordinary guy living in Bognor to now be living in Barcelona with a recording contract! It has been a hell of a year!

Tommy was a pupil at SPH in Barnham and Northbrook College. He was also at the Junior Guildhall School of Music and Drama in London.

Now fame beckons.

“They said to me that I should be prepared for the fame, that you need to be wary, and at first it was a bit overwhelming. You have to think about the fact your personal life is not going to be personal anymore. People will know everything about you. Your life is not going to the same, but then when the first song comes out, you just forget about that. You just keep moving forwards. I have got adjusted to it all. I know what is going to happen. But it has been a long process. It didn’t happen overnight.

“I would say that the fame hasn’t happened yet in Spain, but the fame will come. I have had a million and a half people on TikTok who know who I am and who know what the song is, and you know that with each song it is going to be bigger. I would say I have not had the fame yet, but maybe for the beginning of next year it will be happening.”