GEORGE SHELLEY was flying high on I’m A Celebrity a decade ago after finding fame in boy band Union J.
But he spent all the cash he made in pop and last year was forced to take shifts as a coffee shop barista.
George with band Union J on X Factor in 2012[/caption]
George appeared on I’m A Celebrity a decade ago after finding fame with Union J[/caption]
While that might be bruising for some celebs, it has led George to the most fulfilling project of his career.
He surprised fans in July by announcing the formation of a new band called Lightlines — and they dropped their first single Wasted, with a rockier sound than his Union J roots.
Today, they have followed it up with second single Animal.
It turns out his shifts behind the counter at Chi Chi’s coffee shop in Enfield, North London, are to thank for introducing him to Lightlines bandmates Alex Pothecary and Will Jackson.
In an exclusive chat, George, who also presented the breakfast show on Capital radio from 2016-17, said: “Last year I was just grafting a lot, doing a lot of social media for other people, video editing and coffee shop work.
“I did four shifts there.
“But during those, Alex was my boss and I did smash a lot because I’m quite high energy.
“I’m always knocking things over and slipping over.
“I’d given up on music.”
When the penny dropped for Alex that his new employee was that George, he revealed he had a Masters in musical composition and they ended up jamming and recording together.
Shortly afterwards, George met Will in another cafe, and they formed a trio.
The Carry You singer, who left Union J in 2016 after they formed on The X Factor in 2012, said: “I wanted to move away from the whole boy band thing.
‘Intrusive and scary’
“The songs that I write by myself, they’re very introspective and deep. And when I realised these boys could play guitar and drums, I was like, ‘This feels really right’.”
On their debut single Wasted, George, who was raised in Somerset, sings about “pills and bars” and “getting wasted”.
He now admits he went off the rails.
He said: “I was just very naive and when I came to London I got swept up in it.”
George, whose sister Harriet was killed in a car accident in 2017, added: “It had control over me for a long time.
“When my sister passed away, dealing with the grief on top of the rejection of the industry, it was a lot.
“My coping mechanisms were toxic for a long time and I was just in the wrong environments.”
Now George has periods of complete sobriety to focus on his work.
The band have recorded their debut album in six months and are preparing to release it independently.
He said: “A big part of me doing music again is to make sure I don’t hand over my autonomy, and that I have agency over my own life and my creative choices.”
George added: “There were periods when I couldn’t go out with my friends without loads of people following us.
“It got quite intrusive and scary.
“I built up a fear of going out because you’re worried about that.”
But he is not against getting a “regular” job again.
George, who has his own flat thanks to the I’m A Celeb earnings, said: “If in a month’s time I need to get some cash in, I’ll just do some night shifts somewhere or do some gardening.
“I’ve not got an ego, thinking that I’m too good for having to work again.”
Good on him.