“I wanted the album to give a sense of a journey to this point, from busking ‘til now. I suddenly had a lot to say. People will judge if it’s any good or not, but for me, it felt entirely natural.” – Damian Lewis
Move over (your favorite band), there is a new musician in town!
Damian Lewis has dropped his first ever single “Down On The Bowery” today! You can use this link to listen and download from several platforms. The music video is right here. You can also pre-order Damian’s debut album Mission Creep due out on June 16, 2023 here! If you pre-order the album on any format before 12pm BST on Tuesday 18th April you will receive an exclusive ticket pre-sale code for Damian’s biggest gig to date at Union Chapel on July 11. The pre-sale will be live on Wednesday 19th April at 10am BST.
Now, you may know that our guy is now on Instagram and his excitement about the single and his upcoming album is evident on his post. Don’t forget to swipe right to see the hand-written note Damian wrote about the album, complete with some hilarious internal dialogue!
And here is the transcription of Damian’s hand-written note – a very kind courtesy of Gingersnap – for those of you who can’t read it:
“Scribbled on some hotel note paper in New York (late). Dear Tik Tok, Insta, Twitter and all you children…I have recorded an album called Mission Creep and it comes out on June 16th. But wait…I’m an actor!? So what!? I’m also a musician! And I loved doing it! But will others love it…?? Who cares?? (Well, I do. A little bit…) Where shall I put it?? On all the social & streaming platforms in the entire universe!!! (twiddle mustache, vampire laugh…) But I’ll start with one song….Down on the Bowery April 13th. (I really hope they love it). Now I make & record my own songs will my internal dialogue always be like this??!! Aagh! Love Damian x”
And now he’s on TikTok, too!
@damianlewis_official Hi TikTok. I’m delighted to announce the launch of a new creative venture… Down On The Bowery is out today! #damianlewis #newmusic #billions #homeland
His upcoming album Mission Creep, to be released on Decca Records, is described as follows:
“A thoughtful collection of rootsy, rock and jazz-tinged songs that reveal a deep love of music and a deep need to communicate.”
Record label co-presidents Tom Lewis and Laura Monks have said:
“We are so delighted that Damian chose Decca. His songwriting is poetic, poignant and deeply personal. The album has a raw and refreshing honesty to it. Damian really opens his heart and invites us in. It is a thing of great beauty.”
And I cannot help put my two cents about Damian’s first single. This is the song Damian opened his last London shows with at the Tabernacle and at Hoxton Hall. The music touches you as do the lyrics. It is a beautiful tune in which one lover invites his other half to curl her tongue around his, climb up him like a vine, join to him like a twin, stop him crying and start him laughing… And when Damian points out, after performing the song at Hoxton Hall, that he wrote this song in New York, my penny drops! I did not talk to anyone about this, and I may be completely off, but I think this song is about Damian’s healing process after the huge loss in his life. So I believe “Down on the Bowery” is Damian’s thank you to Alison for bringing love, joy and laughter into his life again. “Down on the Bowery, you came to me” <3 Bowery is a hint here. Alison always stays at The Bowery Hotel on Bowery Street in New York. And speaking of Alison… here is her celebration of Damian’s first single release day! By the way I love Bar Primi (Damian is in front of Bar Primi on Bowery in the second picture!)
Do you think Damian busked a bit in the neighborhood and collected a few bucks? 🙂
Damianista’s note (April 20, 2023): A week after I published this post, Damian tweeted this video (it was filmed by Alison).
After I left school, before acting took off for me, I motorbiked around Europe busking…Thought I’d try it again, singing some songs from my new album, so I went down to The Bowery in NYC to sing a new song called…well….Down on the Bowery. pic.twitter.com/pyqIlUzo6J
— Damian Lewis (@lewis_damian) April 20, 2023
Damian already played three London gigs and performed at Wilderness Festival in Oxfordshire as well as at the World Economic Forum in Davos. He is scheduled to do an already sold-out gig at Cheltenham Jazz Festival on May 1 and another one at Black Deer Festival on June 16, the day he is releasing his album Mission Creep. Damian’s biggest headline show to date will be at Union Chapel in London on July 11. I have to brag a bit here because I argued that, having conquered the South (Omeara), West, (The Tabernacle), and the East (Hoxton Hall), Damian should play in North London next. VOILA! A good friend calls it “your compass theory.” And given that the man himself liked my “compass theory” post on Instagram… QED (quod erat demonstrandum)! You can get your tickets for the Union Chapel gig here. And the gigs do not stop with Union Chapel, and more live dates are expected to be announced soon. Glastonbury is a possibility! WOW!
And as though this level of excitement is not enough – I have been literally jumping up and down in my living room since we got the news about today’s release – Damian is also releasing a double-sided vinyl of his originals ‘Zaragoza’ and ‘Never Just a Man by His Umbrella’ on Saturday, April 22 for Record Store Day UK! Enjoy! Huge thanks go to my wonderful friend who is grabbing one for me and one for Gingersnap! We owe you big time!
And here’s Damia sharing his excitement about his double-sided single being released on Record Store Day!
Damianista’s update (04/28/2023): We have been all eyes and ears since Damian teased that something was landing this week on social media as he did a bit of busking in front of Music Inn in West Village…
…and lo and behold, the second single from ‘Mission Creep’ has landed. You can now hear it on Spotify, download it on iTunes, or watch the official video on YouTube:
Here’s the tracklisting of the upcoming album.
And if you pre-order the album, “Such A Night” is a bonus track on it. It is the Dr. John cover that we first saw Damian performing with Kansas Smittys. Simply fantastic.
Please visit the *NEW* Damian Lewis music page on the fan site for information about the new single, the upcoming album, live gigs, ticket information, reviews, and what have you! We also have pictures from the studio in our gallery.
I haven’t been able to open the sites listed to hear “Down on The Bowery”. I get notification that it isn’t available in this country. (USA). I know vinyl is making a comeback, although I can’t imagine why. For we oldsters who call them “records”, it is regression, not progress, but never mind my complaints. Hopefully I’ll figure out some way to get the album in June.
It’s available on Spotify at the moment, Connie. The link is in the post. I’ve been listening on loop since midnight! I think there will also be a video, we’ll let you know asap when it is up!
Connie – I have good news! The song is also available on You Tube. I put the link in the post. ENJOY!
Thank you! It’s lovely and I’m glad to be able to hear it. The only pre order of the album I can find is for the UK. Wondering if that will work here or is the format different like it is for DVDs?
No, it’s available for shipping anywhere. I just pre-ordered to be sent to Turkey since I will be there in summer. Please try this link: https://store.damianlewismusic.com/
Thank you ! ♥️♥️♥️ You foretold the next London concert must be in north London 😀 (fingers crossed)
Tsvetie
It’s in North London indeed! I should be a psychic:)