FOR MAVERICK Sabre, it all began with a journey from London to Wexford and hearing Ben E King’s soul classic ‘Stand By Me’ for the first time.
Maverick (real name Michael Stafford )'s musical escapade began when, aged four, his parents decided to leave their home in Stoke Newington, London, for Wexford.
It was while growing up in the ‘sunny southeast’ that the young Michael heard ‘Stand By Me’ and fell in love with music. He began learning guitar and accompanying his dad to performances. At eight, he wrote his first song. His sister’s love of R&B and hip-hop only encouraged him further, and he became fascinated by the music of Tupac and Dizzee Rascal.
“Tupac bought a really key element to music for me, he made me want to write and write better,” says Maverick.
By his teenage years Maverick began performing on the Irish hip-hop scene, eventually winning support slots for The Game, Lethal Bizzle, and Plan B. He also appeared on the album Sense The Terror by Irish rappers Terawrizt and Nu-Centz.
Plan B, on hearing Maverick sing, suggested he move to London. Maverick began gigging on the city’s acoustic circuit in order to hone his vocal skills. This move also allowed him to combine his interest in folk music/singer-songwriters with hip hop and R&B.
The move to London and the contact with Plan B opened doors for the artist, and he appeared on Later…with Jools Holland and Chris Moyles’ BBC Radio 1 Comic Relief show. He also earned a support slot on The Script’s Science & Faith Tour.
In February Maverick released his debut single ‘Look What I Done’, taken from his EP The Lost Words. He scored a Top 20 hit in July with ‘Let Me Go’. His debut album Lonely Are The Brave will be released in January.
“What I’ve got to do for my album is capture that live element of what I do, but unite it with my love of dubstep and a soulful undertone. I don’t want my album to get lost, I want it to be something that’s picked up in years to come,” he says.
“I want to be that artist people come together for, connecting audiences and genres. I want to show all young people, especially young Irish people it doesn’t matter where you’re from, how small the place, or how little the opportunity, you can only be kept down by a small mentality.”
Maverick Sabre plays the Róisín Dubh on Friday November 11 at 9pm. For tickets contact the Róisín Dubh or see www.roisin gdubh.net
