The Gritterman

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Along the way he contemplates everything between now and then, the good and bad times. Filled with myths and superstitions of the days leading up to Christmas, an epiphany may finally bring some hope of reconnection with his brother. This story emphasises the power of Christmas and the importance of family in the festive season. Other artists that appear on the record include Heavenly Recordings signee Katy J Pearson, Willie J Healey and Frank Ocean collaborator Ben Reed. Working with other musicians allowed Weeks to hear what he’d been working on with fresh ears. “If someone else is doing it with you, it’s a lot easier to draw a veil over my insecurities,” he explained.

Weeks says the project was partly inspired by the similarity between his own circumstances and his father’s retirement. “I didn’t see my dad retire and think: right, I’m going to write an illustrated book. But I think it definitely played a part, along with beginning to question my own purpose and where my passions lie; thinking about how I fill my time, and seeing how he does. It’s very difficult, if you’ve invested in what you do, to allow yourself the freedom of not doing it any more, of not working all the hours that God sends.” In a tiny, second-floor room in South London, Orlando Weeks has built himself a miniature world. A narrow space at the top of the house he shares with his partner and their son, it has the feel of a particularly creative teenager’s bedroom: posters, books and trinkets line every wall, with pieces of clothing hanging on the door and a small desk providing a studious focal point. This is the place he comes to write, print, stamp, draw and think. The Gritterman was initially conceived, explains Weeks, as a “self-contained project, I wasn’t looking too far ahead.” But, after the huge critical acclaim the book received upon its publication last year, it was clear that the project had a potentially long shelf-life. Orlando Weeks: The megaphone is in the video for ‘Deep Down Way Out’. I guess I premiered ‘Deep Down’ and ‘Big Skies, Silly Faces’ with the BBC Concert Orchestra at the Royal Festival Hall, and I used a megaphone there. I thought it might be just a good prop, but it sounded good. Arcade Fire always use them, and the Flaming Lips; I feel like that’s a good heritage that I hope to follow. Poirot is called when a family reunion goes awry, and the father is murdered, seemingly by one of his sons. Poirot’s Christmas will leave readers aching to unravel the intricate plot and use their detective skills to work out this mystery, making this something for all the crime lovers during the holidays.Orlando Weeks – the former Maccabees frontman-turned-solo artist – is not the type of person who gets caught up in the extravagance and over-indulgence of the festive season. Not that he’s a Scrooge ‘bah humbug’ sort of bloke, mind. The London-born musician simply prefers a gentler, understated version of Christmas – much like his favourite festive children’s stories. Orlando Weeks’ (The Maccabees) heartbreakingly poetic 2017 original score for his book ‘The Gritterman’ becomes our first ever Christmas drop; exclusively pressed to vinyl for the first time and limited to 1,000 copies.

That was the most incredible thing ever,” Weeks gushes. “He sent me a message saying how much he enjoyed the book. Of all the things I've done, for Raymond Briggs to say he liked my book is maybe the proudest I’ve ever felt.” This tale of wonder is a beloved story from most people’s childhoods, remembered for its beautiful magic and a familiar nostalgia that will restore every reader’s childish and nostalgic excitement for festivity and Christmas. E.T.A. Hoffman really created a must-read for the festive season to get absorbed into the Christmas spirit. This is for many reasons, though most readers would agree it is the superior escapism that Christmas offers: sceptic, old, or not, anyone can become a child at heart again with Christmas books. It’s an approach that’s encapsulated in the album’s first single ‘Big Skies Silly Faces’. Its choral, dream-like beauty makes focal points of aspects that might be swamped by a more boisterous production: the otherworldly vocal harmonies courtesy of Katy J Pearson, the heartening piano embellishments, how Ben Reed’s bass grows from a supporting texture to the forefront of the sound.This tale emphasises the importance of kindness and compassion, manifested through ghosts of the past, present, and future that haunt a bitter Scrooge until, on Christmas, he finally decides to change his old ways. There’s something about that that’s always stayed with me,” ponders Weeks, “the very English absurdity of making the most of a situation. The desperation for any potential silver lining. Really though I think Big Skies Silly Faces is about how I can be my own worst enemy - “No stopping that sky high as its wide ... my mind against my better thinking. know the feeling but wonder why...” The most elated moment of a beatific set, ‘Look Who’s Talking Now’ is the most unguarded moment that Weeks has shared with the world. It’s all there in the effortlessly elegant lyric, “Look who’s falling in love again.” “I feel it over and over again and don’t have, or even feel as though i need to have, better words to say it.”

If you do nothing, you will be auto-enrolled in our premium digital monthly subscription plan and retain complete access for 65 € per month. That’s the album that will be the Orlando Weeks classic? “Yeah, just four stinkers and then one opus,” he laughed. It’s a project which has certainly raised a few eyebrows. But, in truth, Orlando Weeks’ transition from indie frontman to children’s book author isn’t as surprising as it might first seem. It’s something I wish I’d done sooner,” he says. “For the last three, four years of touring with The Maccabees, during downtime, I’d write little stories and poems, and work on sketches. The Gritterman basically came out of that. I wanted to tell a seasonal story, but on a small scale. The main character in the story is an old man who goes out to grit roads in winter; it’s pretty unremarkable and unromantic. But there’s a beauty, a real humanity in those small stories. They’re my favourite sort of Christmas stories.” Longer-term, the musician is hoping to hit a milestone when his output is in double digits. “My favourite Bowie record is ‘Low’, which is his 11th record, I think ‘Pet Sounds’ is Beach Boys’ 11th record. So 11 seems to be the magic number. I’ve got to get to 11.”

A story of love, loss, and hope. One More Christmas at The Castle is a heart-warming tale of love found in the most unexpected places as Dido, a party planner, finds herself planning for more than she bargained for with Sabine, an old widow who knows this is her last Christmas. There’s also a castle that unveils secrets and old crushes are brought to light again. Praised for its beautiful writing and plot, this is a great way to escape into the festive spirit of family. For Weeks, a huge fan of the Fast Show star, the chance to work alongside one of his all-time comedy heroes has been a dream come true.