Wolverhampton's Scott Matthews on fatherhood, fame and celebrity fans

Lauded by legends such as Robert Plant, singer-songwriter Scott Matthews has never been short of celebrity endorsements. Hollywood actor Guy Pearce stars in the video for his new single, while Radiohead's Ed O'Brien has described his latest album as "another beautiful piece of work".

The Ivor Novello award winner from Wolverhampton spoke to the BBC about his new music, tour and striking up a friendship with a celebrity superfan.

As the father of a five-year-old boy, touring was a bit of a "balancing act" these days, according to Scott Matthews.

UK and European dates promoting his eighth and latest album, Restless Lullabies, have been spread across the year to take family commitments into consideration.

"Live dates can just completely envelop you and overtake your world," he explained.

"As a parent you have to just kind of try your best to bridge the gap and just strike a balance with touring."

But, he added, this tour had felt "really special, for many reasons".

His latest album release is an acoustic reincarnation of his 2020 album New Skin.

"After making it, intrigue and curiosity was gnawing away at me and I decided to try my hand at a more stripped back version of the same album, and Restless Lullabies was born," he said.

The new version is also a bit of a family affair, with the cover featuring a painting by his little boy.

Matthews' current tour showcases the new songs but also features other favourites "in order to not do a disservice to my back catalogue," he said.

His 2006 debut album Passing Stranger earned radio airplay and critical acclaim, netting him an Ivor Novello Award for his first single Elusive.

"We got lucky with some radio exposure quite early on," he said, and it "snowballed from there".

"It did put my music out there into the world and really stretched it far and wide," he said, but described today's industry as more "challenging".

"It's difficult as there's a lot of music out there now," he said.

Other music-sharing platforms - "love them or hate them" - made his music "travel a lot further as well," he said, but added "I just wish they kind of paid fairly."

After being forced to work on his own during the Covid-19 pandemic he said he was "thrust back into the limelight" when former Led Zeppelin frontman and fellow Wolverhampton Wanderers fan Robert Plant asked him to open for his band Saving Grace.

"He's been a real champion of the music over the years," he said.

"I remember going to his 60th birthday at Wolverley Queen's Head pub, the most surreal experience I've ever been part of.

"Steve Bull walks in with a signed football and just behind him Lenny Kravitz walks in - to a little pub in Wolverley - and then Frank Carson. Expletives everywhere - it was absolutely bonkers."

Momento actor Guy Pearce had also been a "massive champion" of his work.

Initially getting in touch via his record label as a fan, the actor had now become a friend, Matthews explained.

"In about 2016/2017 I got to start some conversations with him - a very, very strange situation," he added.

"At the start of this year my director friend Damien Hyde just kind of joked, 'do you think we could get Guy in one of your videos?'

"And I was like, shall we just text him, and 10 minutes later he replies back 'ah yeah mate, where do you want me?'."

The video to the single Wait in the Car was shot over 24 hours on location in Devon.

"Guy was absolutely phenomenal. His performance really portrays the emotion of the character in the song," Matthews added.

"He was just full of smiles for the whole process, there's definitely a mutual respect in there, he's really a top, top fella."

The video was nominated for three awards at Birmingham Film Festival and on Saturday won best music video.

Live dates continue for the rest of the year, with gigs in Kenilworth on Thursday, Shrewsbury on 7 December and Lichfield on 9 December.

The shows had been like "riding on some different emotional plane," he explained.

"People just seem to be grateful to be present at almost this reverential experience.

"It's great to be part of it and to be able to contribute in my way through playing my songs. It's a lovely feeling."

During the gigs he describes how he will "just stand with everyone in the middle of the room and play my guitar unplugged, which is a lovely thing to do.

"And I think maybe it's because I'm a parent.

"The worries and anxiety I maybe used to get before are nothing compared to just making sure my little boy's health is okay, and he's okay at school, and just generally his upbringing.

"So I see the music as a carefree, expressive avenue."