George Houston: Donegal man to support Paul Weller on US tour

George credits his parents for his musical upbringing.

“It’s always been part of my life,” he said. “My parents wanted us to have the gift of music.”

George’s introduction to music took the form of some of the most highly regarded songwriters of the twentieth century: he grew up listening to David Bowie, Kate Bush, Fleetwood Mac and Leonard Cohen.

However, the Donegal man says that the first song he ever learned was from a bit closer to home.

“The first song I ever learned the lyrics to was ‘Dr Fell’ by Juliet Turner”, says George.

As George grew older, his love of music grew too.

“When I was 13, my father suggested that I would be a good songwriter. And, in secret, I thought about that long and hard.”

George began to write his own songs. At 16, George’s parents gifted him a day pass to a local recording studio, where the musician finally got the opportunity to record the music he had secretly been writing for years.

“I’ve never had such a high as recording my own songs. I knew then that this is what I was going to do for the rest of my life, that as soon as I left school I was gong to record something, and that I was going to give it everything.”

George released his first single in September 2020 and began performing live the following year.