Category: Musings

Damian Lewis’ Song of the Week: Pentonville Prison

“I was riding home one night on my motorbike. I was in North London. I was on Caledonian Road. I was outside Pentonville Prison. Next thing I knew was I was flying through the air and going straight to the windscreen of a car. This is called Pentonville Prison.” – Damian Lewis

Damian Lewis performing “Pentonville Prison” at St John’s Church in Kingston, UK

Damian Lewis’ second album, Sweet Chaos, is finally here, and with it comes one of the songs fans have been waiting years to hear officially: Pentonville Prison. After making its live debut as “Fate” at Union Chapel in 2023 and becoming a regular highlight of Damian’s concerts, the song has finally found its home on the album.

You can stream or buy Sweet Chaos here. If you want to hear Pentonville Prison and the rest of the album performed live, Damian heads out on his UK tour this October. Tour dates and tickets are available here. And before we dive into the remarkable true story behind the song, if you missed any of our previous Song of the Week features, you can catch up with them all here.

Now, Pentonville is an actual prison on Caledonian Road in Barnsbury, North London. But don’t worry—the track isn’t about Damian doing time there. Instead, it’s inspired by a motorbike accident he had right outside the prison many years ago. Continue reading “Damian Lewis’ Song of the Week: Pentonville Prison”

From Dick Winters to Steve McQueen: The “American” Damian Lewis

“This sounds absurdly pretentious, but the American Damian, I’m sort of oddly comfortable with him.” – Damian Lewis

A Guardian article from July 2015 talks about Brits versus Yanks in Hollywood:

“The invasion of British and Irish leading men in Hollywood has now gone beyond a joke for many in the American entertainment industry. First noticed some time in 2011, the trend was initially dismissed as a novelty: an interesting phase that would pass, rather than as a threat. But this summer actors and directors are calling for action to mobilise American drama teachers and schools to counter it.”

So Hollywood has finally taken notice and is now somehow mobilizing to defend its territory against the British invasion 😀 Well, maybe it is too little too late at this point? I mean, it is not that the Brits are coming, but they have already arrived. Besides, Vanity Fair says “victory is assured” in the video clip below, with fabulous ginger alert at 0:29, about which I blogged about earlier here! Continue reading “From Dick Winters to Steve McQueen: The “American” Damian Lewis”

We Celebrate Damian Lewis as a Dad on Father’s Day

Damian Lewis with children Gulliver McCrory-Lewis and Manon McCrory-Lewis at the Burberry Winter 2025 show during London Fashion Week on February 24, 2025 in London, England. (Photo by Jed Cullen/Dave Benett/Getty Images for Burberry)

Damian Lewis is a fantastic actor. A talented musician. A generous philanthropist. He is a skilled player on the football field. But, among all different hats he wears, that of fatherhood stands out as the most precious one. And how beautiful the stories we read and the images we get of Damian as a father. And on this Fathers’ Day, we’re celebrating the kind of father Damian has been — caring, funny, and full of love for both Gully and Manon. Happy Fathers Day, Damian! 

Continue reading “We Celebrate Damian Lewis as a Dad on Father’s Day”

Damian Lewis as an Onscreen Dad

Dad is a word which can evoke a minefield of emotions simply because the word is personal to each of us and our personal circumstances will affect whether the word evokes positive or negative emotions.

Being a Dad (in real life) can be all kinds of difficult and rewarding. With Father’s Day approaching we take a look at Damian Lewis as an onscreen Dad.

Damianista

“Love is the strongest power there is.” – J.K. Rowling

Probably because I lost my dad at a very young age, I am a true sucker for loving father-daughter relationships in fiction. So here goes a few of my favorite moments with Damian Lewis as an onscreen dad. Even though the characters in each relationship are quite different, there is an overarching theme: A lost soul who finds meaning in life through his love for his daughter.

Continue reading “Damian Lewis as an Onscreen Dad”

Two Years Before Album Two: My Backstage Interview with Damian Lewis

We’re twinning with our vests

Two years ago, during the second leg of the Mission Creep UK tour, I had the chance to sit down with Damian Lewis for a conversation about his music.

We spoke backstage at Epic Studios in Norwich after the gig, with a glass of the band’s signature “D Lew” drink in hand. It was the first time I had been able to arrange a proper interview in advance — a real sit-down conversation instead of the quick chats we had managed in the past between rehearsals, interviews, and sound checks. Continue reading “Two Years Before Album Two: My Backstage Interview with Damian Lewis”