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.
At the time, Damian and the band were still in the middle of building what would become the next chapter of his musical journey. During our conversation he talked about his songwriting process, the collaborative way the band develops songs together, the evolution of the live shows, and — most intriguingly — the sound of the second record he was already working on.
He described it as having a different energy from Mission Creep —
more blues-rock driven, a little rougher, a little more indie and new-wave in places.
Two years later, as we now stand on the brink of that second album — with the first single likely arriving very soon — it feels like the perfect time to revisit that conversation. Listening back to it now, you can already hear the seeds of what was coming next.
And, as always, Damian was generous, thoughtful, and wonderfully articulate — even after a 90-minute gig. I am happy to report he called me a very good journalist at the end of our interview. To be honest, I may be a good journalist. That said, first and foremost, I am a walking Damian Lewis encyclopedia and it certainly helps when you interview someone you know really well.
So here it is again: my backstage conversation with Damian Lewis about songwriting, live music, and the road from Mission Creep to the next album.
Watch the interview here: