Colm Fitzpatrick
Nathan Carter Colm Fitzpatrick speaks with acclaimed singer and musician Nathan Carter
It might be easy to think that a national celebrity who has even sang in front of two Popes might be tempted to have a decked out and lavish Christmas, but for well-known country singer Nathan Carter, the true luxuries of this festive day are his family.
Although now living in Ireland, the Liverpool-born star – whose parents originate from Newry – says that Christmas is a time for him to take a step back from his busy music schedule and catch up with his family in the UK.
“I absolutely love Christmas – I have done since I was a kid. I don’t get to see the family much, my mum and dad and my sister. I live with my brother Jake so I get to see him quite often.
“Christmas is about spending time with them and you know the wider family as well – seeing cousins and my nan and grandad. I think we have about 15 for dinner between my nan and grandad and cousins and aunties and uncles,” Nathan tells The Irish Catholic.
While fifteen people around the dinner table might seem like a lot, this number is nothing compared to the amount of people Nathan sings to across the country yearly. He shot to fame in 2012, with his famous rendition of ‘Wagon Wheel’ and his album of the same name made it to the Top 3 in the Irish Album Chart. Since then, he has been captivating audiences in their thousands with his musical charm and charisma.
However, Nathan’s journey to stardom didn’t start with a surprised interest in music lessons at school but began much earlier with a life-changing gift on Christmas day.
“I was mad into music and I got an accordion for Christmas at the age of five which was the best Christmas present I ever got. I was just fascinated by the accordion. I always loved it. I think the year before that I got a karaoke machine – no doubt did I do my mum and dad’s head in by singing at 7am every morning on this machine for God knows how many years,” he recalls.
Nathan adds that back then, he probably didn’t sound anything like he does now, noting that while most kids preferred receiving toys at Christmas, he was obsessed with all things music be it microphones, karaoke machines or instruments. These gifts were undoubtedly the first steps in his journey to the musical spotlight but Nathan stresses that he wouldn’t be where he is today without the encouragement from his family who supported him in this career.
“I wouldn’t be here today without the push from the family, especially my nan and grandad, they really kind of pushed me to get into this kind of stuff. My nan drove me to all my gigs whenever I was 15 and 16 because I couldn’t drive so she drove me everywhere. So, they’ve been instrumental in getting me to where I want to be.”
Next song
While Nathan was focused on a music career from a very young age, Christmas for him as a boy wasn’t just a day of trying to tune guitars and perfecting his next song but also spending quality time with his siblings.
“I remember myself and my brother and sister, we got a trampoline in about 2004 maybe and for Christmas this was our present between all of us and it had only snowed the night before…it was freezing cold. That’s one of the standout memories,” he says.
At age 28, however, Nathan explains that Christmas has changed a lot since he was a boy, given that now there are no more children in the house celebrating the day and an interest in receiving presents has taken a backseat.
“I think with age it gradually gets a little bit sadder in the fact that you need kids in the house for it to be []…for me that’s where the excitement comes in at Christmas. But don’t get me wrong, it’s great to get together with the family and spend a couple of days eating too much and drinking too much.”
Despite the house being absent of children, Nathan’s description of his normal Christmas day certainly sounds like his responsibilities as an adult disappear for a few hours as he relives fond traditions from his past and eagerly awaits his Christmas dinner.
“Well, generally myself, my brother, my dad, and my grandad and a couple of the uncles would all go on Christmas morning – around 11 or 12 o’clock – to our local parish centre in Liverpool and we would all go for a few pints there while the ladies, they generally try and get us out of the way, so they can concentrate on getting everything prepared. They reckon were more of a nuisance than a help so they normally chuck all the men out,” he says.
After dinner the whole family congregate together and have “a bit of session” where everyone sings and plays songs, the star adds, although is usually upstaged by his grandad who leads and endears ears with his renditions of old Elvis songs. Indeed, such are the talents of the Carter family that they might be celebrating Christmas in Ireland this year because Nathan’s brother Jake is playing the character Aladdin in the Olympia Theatre until early January.
Comfortable
Being so comfortable at home, Nathan doesn’t feel the nerves when singing in front of his family but he’s not so forgiving on himself when performing for bigger audiences. This year in Dublin for the World Meeting of Families, he was gifted with the opportunity of singing in front of Pope Francis for an estimated 75,000 people at Croke Park. Performing the soul-touching R.E.M hit ‘Everybody Hurts’, the singer moved the hearts and minds of an Irish people who have been deeply affected and hurt by the clerical abuse scandals. On RTÉ2, the concert saw 379,000 viewers on average watch the full four-hour programme, which reached a peak of around 570,000 viewers. With the knowledge that a majority of the Irish population would have their eyes on the singer for a brief period, Nathan says that he really felt the pressure.
“To be honest it was the highlight of last year for me without a doubt. It was such an enormous event and I was just so honoured to be asked to be a part of it to be alongside Riverdance and Daniel O’Donnell and Andrea Bocelli who I was just in complete awe of.
“I was very nervous – that would have been the biggest crowd I’ve ever performed to – singing in Croke park was a big deal for me but to sing while the Pope was there was just an unbelievable honour,” he says.
The singer also jokes that perhaps someday he’ll score a hat trick in papal performances given that he previously sang for Pope John Paul II aged 11 with the school choir.
Until then, Nathan is joyful to be performing for his fans across the island and making sure that alongside creating “happy memories” with his loved ones at Christmas, he reflects on the true meaning of the Christian holiday with his songs.
“For me it’s about family and the people you love but it’s also a time to reflect as well and I mean even in our Christmas concerts I do a lot of Christmas music and a lot of hymns. I would do ‘Silent Night’ and ‘Oh Holy Night’ – I feature a lot of songs that mean a lot to people with faith. It’s important to keep that message going still through the music.”
Faith element
The faith element of the singer’s persona isn’t remotely contrived to keep up appearances, but is an important aspect of his personal life. He says that every year his family make it a tradition to get to midnight Mass, noting that religious belief is still going strong in Ireland especially compared to its UK counterpart.
“I think it’s still there – I would even go as far to say that the faith aspect is a lot more prominent in Ireland than it is in England and in the UK. I noticed in Liverpool at our local church, there used to be 100 people outside whereas nowadays it would just nearly be full. But then a lot of that is to do with fire regulations as well; people can’t crowd and they don’t allow too many people in.”
With a well-deserved rest during the festive season, Nathan says he doesn’t feel the slump and is eager to get back to doing the thing he loves most. The singing icon will be playing at Dublin’s Helix Theatre on January 31 and February 1, 2019, while other performance dates can be found on his website.
“I’ve got about five days off this year which is great and I am really looking forward to that. I kind of find that four or five days is enough for me at Christmas as I’m itching then to get back gigging.”
With a family who is encouraging him, and adoring fans who are supporting him, it seems like this singer must feel like it’s Christmas every day.