Sam Clark (Neighbours' Ringo) Interview

22-year-old Sam Clark joined Neighbours in 2007 as Erinsborough High student Ringo Brown after auditioning for a nationwide Dolly Magazine competition. As he nears the completion of his debut album, with his debut single ‘Broken’ released next month, LastBroadcast caught up with Sam for a chat...

> Find out the latest Neighbours spoilers.


How’s the album going?

The album is going great! I started working on it almost a year and ago soon after signing with PLW. I spent my spare hours away from Neighbours writing, co-writing, playing gigs when I could and also getting the band together. The debut single ‘Broken’ should be hitting radio in the coming weeks in Australia and if you’ll have me in the UK over there soon too!

Will ‘Broken’ be released as a single in the UK?

That’s the plan! We don’t have a date set yet, but I can’t wait to make my first trip to the UK either before or soon after it hits the shelves.

How would you sum up your music?

This is always a hard question to answer because music for me is an ever-changing thing, but I think where I am at now would fit into a category of “Edgy Pop Rock” or something similar.

Will we see you performing any of your music on Neighbours, as Delta Goodrem (Nina) and Dean Geyer (Ty) did?

Anything’s possible!

Are the reports true that you’re leaving the show later this year when your contract expires?

I have not even heard these rumours yet?!!!

What will you miss most about working on the show when you do leave?

If I were to leave the show I would miss it a lot. It has been the biggest part of my life alongside music for the past 3 years and there would definitely be a big empty spot in my days. The people out there are just unreal. I think that is what I would miss the most!

Which bands/singers would you say have influenced you most?

I am influenced by so many, from Slipknot to Simon & Garfunkle and everything in between. I grew up with my parents listening to Billie Holiday and Van Morrison and the likes. As an early teenager I got into stuff like the Chilli Peppers album ‘Californication’, but from the time I started playing guitar at age 15 I got right into folk pop like Jack Johnson and the awesome Ben Harper. Since then I have gone through many musical listening phases including metal such as System Of A Down, Sunk Loto and Korn. I have definitely fallen in love with bands like Nirvana, Incubus and others for longer periods of time and more recently The Kooks, Phoenix, The Temper Trap, Karnivool and The Whitest Boy Alive have been playing on my iPod a lot. But I have also been heavily into hip-hop and R&B at stages, with artists like Common and John Legend leaving impressions. John Mayer, definitely Jeff Buckley, Fuel, The Fray, The Getaway Plan, Elbow, definitely Coldplay, Angus & Julia Stone; the list is never ending now and will never be complete while music is still being created.

What’s been your favourite moment filming on Neighbours since you joined?

My favourite storyline so far has definitely been the AFL storyline where I got to hang out in mansions, party and drive a Hummer. Meeting Lily Allen and her band was pretty mad!

And your most embarrassing moment?

Having to do what seemed like endless scenes in Speedos with Matt [Werkmeister] and James [Sorensen].

Have you had any memorable fan mail?

I often receive fan mail from an organisation called WAAAAGH [Worldwide Association for the Assessment, Appreciation and Advancement of Gorgeousness and Hunkiness] which is always memorable.

Can you give us any hints about what’s coming up for Ringo?

There’s always romance for the young lad, but there is going to be a few ups and downs in the future.

Apart from acting and music, what other hobbies and passions do you have?

I quite like cooking. I have also just taken up yoga and always love some form of exercise.

Last film you saw at the cinema:

The Hangover - I was pleasantly surprised at how much I laughed! I thought Zach Galifianakis was hilarious.

Last TV show you watched:

True Blood - awesome show. I want to be in a show or film about vampires now!

Last album you bought:

Vampire Weekend: ‘Vampire Weekend’.


Watch the video for 'Broken'...



myspace.com/samjclarkmusic
samclarkmusic.com

23rd July 2009.

Written by Will Martin.