Tom Chaplin tells Linda Jobling how he has managed to turn his career path from dark to light

'FEAR, understanding and resolution – in that order” is former Keane frontman Tom Chaplin’s own summary of his first solo album, The Wave.

Even with his new leaner figure and mature looks complete with facial hair and quiff, there’s just something about former Keane frontman Tom Chaplin that makes us want to give him a hug, like a mug of Ovaltine on a cold night. A former closed-book, Tom is now wearing his heart on his sleeve, as I discovered as I caught up with him to find out more.

“It’s like being reborn in terms of making music,” he says." I had this growing sense of wanting to express this creative part of me and it just felt two or three years ago that this would be the time to do it.”

It’s no secret that Chaplin battled drug addiction some years ago – a startling revelation that was met by a lynch mob, given that his appearance and reputation meant he just did not meet the criteria for such things – and a recent relapse has been the trigger for this debut offering.

“The process in the last two years has been about getting well it’s really the first time that I’ve tackled it head on in my life and now I feel very differently about it. So really the songs are about going from that kind of dark place and finding a sense of personal resolution and also along the way, about the many and various relationships in my life that I’ve had to repair, so the record is telling that story in that order, from dark to light,” he confesses with brutal honesty.

Given that this “ill wind” has ultimately spawned this powerful album, it seemed important to discover whether this made for difficult writing, and how it he feels now, having finally got things publicly off his chest. “I’ve always been a bottler,” he says with a nervous laugh. “You either learn to be a person who is good at expressing their feelings and talking to each other or you develop this kind of crazy defence system, which I certainly have, where you try and deal with all your problems on your own. For me, it’s become clear that that just doesn’t work. I think that’s one of the things that’s been really liberating and a relief, I suppose, in the last two years has been this ability I now have of having the confidence to express what’s going on for me. So I find it easy to express myself emotionally in my songs, and to other people, dare I say it, it feels like a miracle,” he says.

Until now, Chaplin has been known as the singer behind Keane, having been brought up with what were to become his future bandmates in the idyllic Sussex countryside, and has always remained in keyboard player Tim Rice-Oxley’ song-writing shadow. “There’s something about being in a band that’s kind of, 'You know the deal',” he says. “I’m kind of excited about what I don’t know, if that makes sense.”

Chaplin has been well-prepared for this first solo venture, arming himself with the essentials including his travelling music studio, his iphone and.., wait for it, his ten new pairs of pants. “When we’re in America there’ll be lots of long journeys and I’m not sure how easy it’s going to be to get the washing done!” he laughs, giving a flash of his boyish charm and enthusiasm.

Away from music, Chaplin has found fishing to be a therapeutic form of escapism for him. “I’m one of those sad men who sits on a riverbank for hours on end, not really doing much, but actually underneath I’m chewing the fat, taking stock of my life," he says.

Chaplin remains upbeat and optimistic about the future, despite having had more than his fair share of set-backs, beginning with Keane’s long and laborious road to success. “I think perseverance was the thing that stuck with me and was the thing most important for Keane. I suppose what I’ve learnt is you will run into trouble and you will make mistakes. Someone said to me recently that you’ve got to have a very thin skin to create music and a very thick skin to deal with everything that comes with releasing it”. Well said Tom, we do hope this stunning story-of-your-life album will finally silence the cynics and you get the happy ending you deserve.

  • Tom Chaplin – The Sage, Gateshead – May 11. Box Office: ticketmaster.co.uk/