"Paolo was the first person where I was like 'fuck, this is cool'."

Lewis Capaldi has described how Paolo Nutini proved to be a defining voice in his early career.

Ahead of a sold out show at London’s Shepherds Bush Empire tomorrow, the hotly-tipped Scottish singer songwriter explained how the ‘Iron Sky’ star was one of the first solo artists that he truly connected with.

“[He] was the first solo artist that I was ever really into. I was always into guitar bands, like Queens Of The Stone Age and Kings of Leon,” Capaldi explained to NME. “But Paolo was the first person where I was like ‘fuck, this is cool’. I remember listening to ‘Iron Sky’ and thinking ‘fuck me this is incredible.’ Before that, I was writing shite Arctic Monkeys songs and it just wasn’t happening because I wasn’t those bands.

“But with Paolo, I just kind of got it. It’s a good thing, you can kinda tell that I grew up listening to it.”

With Capaldi’s thick West Lothian accent shining through on his own songs, he also says that Nutini made him feel comfortable in bringing a Scottish twang to his music.

“It’s just weird when it’s not there. It’s nice to hear and it adds character if you’ve got an accent,” he explains.

“Surely that should be the norm? It’s weird when its ironed out. For me, there’s bands like Frightened Rabbit and The View and they’ve all had that Scottish accent. It’s just class to hear it. It’s fucking great to hear someone like you that has created these fucking amazing albums. Seeing how far they’ve taken it, it makes you think ‘I want to try and do it’.”

And as he continues on his biggest tour to date, Capaldi says that Twitter has been a saving grace in letting him keep in touch with fans – as well as reflecting his own personality. A recent tweet, for instance, saw him discussing an alternative theory on the reality of giving birth.

“It’s just me being myself and some people do it where they’re definitely not themselves,” he jokes. “It’s such a weird thing nowadays too when people are fans of the songs and not the bands. For me, getting my personality across is so important in getting that connection for people that enjoy my music. It’s my fucking career.

“I wanna be as transparent as possible, I’m not a serious guy. It’s also just a good laugh.”

He added: “The label are also great too, they’re like do whatever you like! The label’s never stopped me from being myself. Really, It’s like ‘if you want to talk about your pubes or something, then fucking crack on’.”

Lewis Capaldi plays O2 Shepherds Bush Empire tomorrow night. Visit here for tickets and more information.

He’ll also be on tour with Bastille in February 2019. Visit here for tickets and more information.