Lily Holbrook
Set with pearl necklaces, painted nails, and diamond cardigans, you would be forgiven for thinking at first glance that the ever-youthful Thomas Headon could be a younger, Australian version of Harry Styles.
But despite this initial likeness, the British-born Australian heartthrob has managed to cultivate a style that is very much his own. Moving back to London at 18 years old to pursue his music dreams at the start of the pandemic, Headon has defied the odds to make quite a name for himself in recent months (not least owing to many hours spent indoors, a much-loved cardboard cut-out of Harry Styles, and the surging popularity of a little-known platform called TikTok).
@thomasheadon if ur not thinking of them while this plays then something is wrong i’m sorry #foryou #foryoupage #fyp ♬ Victoria – Thomas Headon
The opening line “we broke into a building site to look at the stars” tells you everything you need to know about the feel of Thomas Headon’s brand new single ‘Victoria’. Dreamy, angsty, and full of reflections on what it means to be a teenager, the track (and the 4 tracks it accompanies on his EP of the same name) is a raw representation of those first painful experiences of love and loss.
Fizzing with the promise of late-night drives on secret little rendezvous (1D reference anyone), the song sweetly sums up how spending time doing nothing at all is entirely possible when you’re lost in the company of someone you love.
Chatting to Clara Amfo on Radio 1 at the end of March, Headon himself admits to being a hopeless romantic. Falling in and out of love all the time (approximately twice per quarter), Headon says of ‘Victoria’: “I think I wrote it in Berlin in summer 2020. It’s about a friend of mine…I wish I told them I loved them, but I didn’t really get to.”
Described by Headon as the most depressing line he’s ever written,
‘I’m crying in the backseat as I’m holding her phone, it helps to have some fun but not when you overdose’
is a lucid glimpse into his first time experimenting artistically with personal experience.
Headon’s diary entries have clearly been precious material for this latest EP. Upon the release of Victoria on March 11th, Headon shared some of his reflections on Instagram and Twitter:
— thomas headon ok ! (@thomasheadon) March 11, 2022
Reflective and cheeky in equal measure, it perhaps won’t come as a surprise that Headon himself admits his motivation to start playing guitar when he was 13 or 14 was to ‘get the girls’.
While he may joke about finding his perfect indie skater girl, Headon sings from the heart in the hope of painting a life full of colour, sunshine and fun that is everything he dreams of and more.
Filled with an infectious energy that can’t help but make you smile, behind the happy-go-lucky layers is just a boy who wants to be loved.
@thomasheadonsome would say it’s romantic?♬ original sound – thomas headon
A perfect summery soundtrack to teenage heartache, you can listen to the full Victoria EP on Spotify here.
Featured image courtesy of anja. on Unsplash. Image license found here. No changes were made to this image.
Lily Holbrook
Lily is passionate about combining her environmental values with her love of music, the natural world and culture.