Pouvez-vous nous parler de votre premier contact avec le piano ?

J’étais tout petit, je devais avoir quatre ans. Mes parents m’avaient offert un « piano », qui était en réalité un jouet, et ça m’a tout de suite plu. Je m’amusais beaucoup à reproduire les musiques que j’entendais à la radio et c’est d’ailleurs comme ça que mes parents se sont aperçus que j’avais l’oreille absolue.

Mais je me souviens très bien de mon tout premier piano – mon premier vrai piano. Ma mère rêvait d’avoir un piano droit blanc à la maison. Par chance, nous avions réussi à en dégoter un qui avait fait son temps, dans les tumultes d’un bar. Je me souviens des brûlures de cigarettes sur la peinture. Pourtant, j’adorais cet instrument parce que j’avais l’impression qu’il était habité par une histoire. Lorsque je m’entraînais dessus, enfant, j’essayais d’inventer la vie passée de ce piano dans cet univers auquel je n’avais pas accès. Il avait ce petit parfum d’interdit.

Quels ont été les moments clés qui ont façonné votre carrière ?

Il y en a eu beaucoup. Une carrière, ça se joue sur les obstacles que l’on parvient à franchir, ça se construit par étapes.

Je pense que je peux citer la première fois que je me suis produit en récital et que j’ai senti qu’il se passait quelque chose dans le public, que ma prestation plaisait. J’étais encore petit, mais c’est un goût que je n’ai jamais oublié. Avoir été le premier pianiste de l’histoire à remplir l’Accord Arena de Paris pour un concert de piano solo, c’est un autre point marquant de mon parcours. J’adore les moments historiques comme celui-là. J’ai également été le premier pianiste à jouer en live sous les aurores boréales ; je me souviens que j’avais les doigts complètement gelés, mais quel spectacle ! La cérémonie d’ouverture des Jeux Olympiques de Paris a été elle aussi un moment particulièrement fort, avec ce piano enflammé sur la Seine. J’ai encore beaucoup d’événements en mémoire, des évènements qui ont changé le cours de ma carrière, mais je pense que l’on peut d’abord citer ceux-là.

Quels grands défis se sont présentés à vous ?

Le plus difficile, c’est de commencer. Je voulais faire comprendre que j’avais des choses à raconter en tant qu’artiste, en tant que pianiste solo, au même titre qu’un chanteur. Je ne voulais pas faire de la musique pour accompagner les autres et qu’on me relègue au second plan. Je souhaitais redéfinir les codes de ce qu’était un pianiste et réinventer une manière d’exister en tant que tel.

Au stade où j’en suis aujourd’hui, le grand défi est avant tout de renouveler mon langage musical. D’une part, avec mon piano, je cherche à préserver cette signature qui m’est propre, à l’étoffer. D’autre part, je veux emmener mes auditeurs dans de nouveaux voyages.

On vous définit souvent comme un pianiste « classique ». Pourtant, vous n’hésitez pas à jouer avec les codes, quitte à les casser. Comment définiriez-vous votre approche musicale ?

En vérité, j’aime bien la figure du pianiste classique. Plus que de changer sa définition, j’aimerais la renouveler, lui donner un peu plus d’ampleur. Pour moi, le piano, c’est l’instrument classique par essence. Quand je suis au clavier, je sais que j’ai sous les doigts tout le répertoire de Chopin, de Ravel, de Debussy… Et quand bien même je voudrais composer un morceau d’une modernité folle, c’est l’Histoire qui dictera ce qui deviendra classique et ce qui ne le deviendra pas.

Je crois qu’en fin de compte, je ne me pose pas trop de questions. Je suis pianiste, c’est tout ; c’est un statut qui, pour moi, englobe toute la musique, tous ses styles, toutes ses variations. Si certains me considèrent comme un pianiste classique, ça me convient très bien. D’autres me rapprochent davantage du pianiste de jazz, et ça me va également – même que je n’ai pas l’impression d’en cocher toutes les cases. Et puis enfin, on parle de moi comme d’un pianiste populaire, et je trouve que c’est un très beau compliment.

Quelles sont vos influences musicales et artistiques ? Qui sont les figures qui vous inspirent ? 

Je suis un grand fan de John Williams. Je pense qu’il n’y a pas meilleur que lui en matière de musique pour le cinéma. Il doit sans doute avoir plus de 90 ans maintenant, et pourtant, il est encore complètement habité. C’est quelqu’un qui, toute sa vie, est parvenu à composer de très grands thèmes, d’une richesse formidable, qui en même temps font partie intégrante de la culture populaire. Sa musique parle à tout le monde sans pourtant faire de concession sur la pureté de la mélodie. Si je ne devais citer qu’une seule de mes sources d’inspiration, ce serait lui.

Y a-t-il encore des rêves que vous n’avez pas encore réalisés ? 

Énormément, oui ! Des rêves, j’en ai sans cesse des nouveaux. Je me sens vraiment attiré par les expériences en pleine nature, comme ce concert sous les aurores boréales. Il y a quelque chose de très fort là-dedans, de vertigineux ; je trouve la nature en règle générale très impressionnante. Je suis d’ailleurs en train de me demander dans quelle mesure je pourrais donner un concert dans une sorte de capsule sous-marine. Ça pourrait être une expérience intéressante, qui sait ?

Je m’imagine beaucoup de choses dans ce genre-là, et parfois, j’ai la chance d’aller au bout de mes idées. D’un seul coup, un projet qui paraissait impossible, qui n’était qu’un exercice d’imagination, devient concret ; c’est toujours incroyable.

Que pouvez-vous nous dire de vos projets en cours ?

Je suis actuellement en train de travailler sur un quatrième album très ambitieux. Je ne peux malheureusement pas vous en dire beaucoup à ce sujet, il faudra faire preuve d’un peu de patience !  Aujourd’hui, je suis installé à Los Angeles et je pense que cet album sera teinté des couleurs que je trouve là-bas. Je suis allé chercher de l’inspiration ailleurs. Je suis dans la continuation de ce voyage dont je parlais précédemment.

Par Eduardo Costerg
Photos: Johann Sauty

John Lennon once said that The Beatles were bigger than Jesus. Aside from a route towards potentially alienating a decent chunk of a fanbase, the perception wasn’t altogether untrue.

And yes, okay, a good proportion of the devoutly religious population of the United States of America were far from elated with the icon’s comments – so much so that they made a bonfire out of the group’s albums and set it ablaze. 

Aside from a fervent liberal stance whereby she has criticised Republican candidate for attempting to regain his Presidential status, Donald Trump, it’s fair to say Taylor Swift has held back from proclaiming herself as the Second Coming. In this day and age, with social media and 24/7 wall-to-wall news, plus the ability for a comment to hang around for perpetuity, that’s probably wise.

The other thing is that the singer scarcely needs to bestow on a fanbase the scale of her own presence. In simple terms, they’ll do that themselves.

Take Swift’s 18-MONTH-LONG Eras tour, which kicked off in March 2023 in Glendale, Arizona. Comprising a colossal 149 shows, it was played out across six continents, generating ticket sales that surpassed $1bn. 

Not even The Beatles, in their pomp, could have played out a project of such longevity and scale. Yet it wasn’t always like this.

“Oh, I had a real big crowd for the Nashville Rubber Duck Race when I was 14 years old,” begins Swift, laughing, when quizzed on the sheer magnitude of promoting her music live. “I’d rather put behind me now as I’m obviously something of a big deal, now, apparently. There were only a handful of people there and there were there for the ducks!

“In all seriousness, if anyone tells you they’ve only ever played in front of big crowds, they’re lying,” she adds. “No matter what part of the entertainment industry anyone is in, a lot of us start from nothing. We go through the times of performing in front of nearly empty rooms, but then, hopefully, it gets better, and we build confidence… and a fanbase!” 

Taylor Swift, for all her scale – as a musician, a style icon, an influencer – often comes across as impossibly grounded. She is as much about helping out those behind her in the queue (and it’s a long queue) as she is preening and posturing her way to even greater riches, both financial and metaphorical.

“I look on my role as someone who can entertain, sure; but also a person who can lead out and advise the next generation of singer, or songwriter, or whatever.

“So much of what people achieve in this industry is down to self-belief and confidence. It’s a very simple formula to follow, but also so easy to find yourself overpowered by the challenges.

“When anyone asks me what advice I have for anyone who wants to try and make it in this industry, I always say the same thing,” the 13-times Grammy winner states. “You have to be strong, tough and resilient, no matter how talented you are. If you can’t work against adversity, it’s difficult, if not impossible. Believe in yourself.”

From teenage country music prodigy to a global pop sensation, Swift was born in Reading, Pennsylvania. Her early life was steeped in music and she began performing in local venues at a young age, being inspired by country legends like Shania Twain and Dixie Chicks. Recognising her talent, the family relocated to Nashville when she was just 14, in order to help her pursue a career in country music. 

It wasn’t long before she caught the attention of industry professionals, signing with Big Machine Records. Her eponymous debut album, Taylor Swift, was released in 2006 when she was only 16, with lead single Tim McGraw resonated across both country and mainstream audiences, as well as showcasing an incredible gift for storytelling.

Two years later, second album Fearless marked a significant breakthrough with hits Love Story and You Belong with Me underlining the singer’s qualities as a crossover star.

The long-player won four Grammy Awards, including Album of the Year, making her the youngest artist to ever receive that honour at the time. It also signalled the beginning of a career marked by continual evolution, and a connection with her audience that few others could rival.

That includes several notable film appearances, showcasing versatility outside of music – from her acting debut in Valentine’s Day in 2010, playing a bubbly high school student, voicing Audrey in the 2012 animated film The Lorax, taking on the serious Rosemary in 2014’s The Giver, through to playing Bombalurina in 2019, in the movie adaptation of Cats. 

“Interacting with fans through music, film or conversation is my way of doing things,” she admits, referencing her so-called Swifties. “It’s me paying back, via whatever medium I can, in order to show just how much I appreciate them.

“In the early days when, on social media, I saw my face on murals, or I witnessed elaborate fan tributes for me, it was perhaps a little disconcerting. It is strange to go from a very simple world – and no matter how big the country music market is, it’s still a very earthy genre with a lot of groundedness and humility – into something that’s so big and so exposed.”

Nine albums have followed since 2008, including two during lockdown, and with that, the almost constant media speculation of her love life, her wellbeing, and even her commercial demise.

“It all sells magazines and gets people visiting websites,” she says. “I get how it works and it doesn’t offend me.

“Rumours of my demise are always greatly exaggerated, because the last time I checked I’m still here! For as long as people aren’t bored of me, I’ll still be here!”

Swift’s appeal across multiple demographics perhaps come back to her ability to talk to audiences in many and varied ways. From the music-led fervent early-teen market, right up into those in adulthood who connect with the star through her philanthropy, political advocacy and activism, her cross-pollination of global culture is astonishingly good.

Then there’s her position as a style icon.

She is an exemplar who mixing vintage with modern, throwaway with designer, sympathetic with challenging. “I’m glad we live in an era now where anything goes,” offers Swift. “When I was growing up I remember the echoes of the Seventies and Eighties where, in essence, if you didn’t conform to normal fashion, you would be marked out as belonging to a certain genre or sector. If you didn’t wear what everyone else was wearing, you might be a goth, or a metal head, or an indie kid, or an emo, or something else. 

“Those tags aren’t really a problem by themselves, because they promote difference and individuality; until you realise that by labelling people like that it became very different for them to then flip and be someone or something else. There was no real fluidity between different ideas and looks, so people got put into holes and to a large extent left there.”

Swift says today’s society is much more malleable, and that versatility of look is something she tries to bring through in who she is and how she operates.

“Being known isn’t about showing off – it’s about showing you can be many different things, and we should all feel like that.

“I find both high and low fashion equally exciting – sometimes I want chic lines, other times loose waves. I want exemplary in some looks and disrupted in others.

“Fashion is about what makes you feel good, not about the price tag. I’m just as happy in a cosy jumper from a mall as I am in a designer piece. 

“Style should be about self-expression, not status. At the end of the day, it’s about feeling comfortable and confident in what you’re wearing, not how much you spent on it.”

That’s not to say Swift has always got the look right. She is the first to bemoan the past looks which haven’t quite hit the right notes, admitting that to look back and laugh is the best route to acceptance!

“My style choices and my songs often resonate the everyday challenges of a shy teenager. I may have moved on in life and I may be many things to many different people, but I think deep down I am still that shy teenager – a musician with deep emotions.”

An icon of style and soccer, the cliché of lighting up a room is perhaps not more applicable than to David Beckham.

The former Manchester United, Real Madrid, Paris Saint-Germain, AC Milan and LA Galaxy star has proved that as one career ends, another can begin; and yet from the very early days of his elevation into a global football fanbase’s minds and hearts, it was clear this was someone equipped to become an exemplar of quality and class in more than one space.

The Inter Miami president turns 50 in 2025 and, as ever, the question is the same. “I will always ask what comes next,” he begins. “I need to be focusing on the step ahead, rather than the path back – it’s the way I’ve operated since I was a young boy and I don’t see that ever changing, nor would I want it to.”

For all his success, adulation and wealth – the Beckhams, combined, are thought to be worth $750million at the last count – perhaps what wows most about David is the humility that he carries with him. He remains as softly spoken now as he did when undergoing early days of media training as one of the so-called Class of 92, whose achievements for Manchester United elevated the club to unprecedented levels, as well as securing an impossibly talented group a route into superstardom.

Of course none have excelled in a greater way than Beckham, though for all his drive, determination and dedication, he attributes a lot along the way to luck.

“I honestly think I’ve been incredibly fortunate with the opportunities I have had,” he says. “I am an athlete at heart, and even though I’ve been retired for a long time now, I still see myself as a sportsperson more than anything else.

“To have been able to reinvent myself and branch out into other areas is an unexpected addition to a life that has already given me so much, and I do genuinely feel fortunate for that.”

While he may downplay his achievements, clearly it has been an almost implausible investment of effort that has got him there.

“I could never be the type of person who just sits back and does nothing,” says Beckham. “The idea of that frightens me – probably because my upbringing and career in football always pushed me to focus on bigger and newer challenges.”

If perception is to become reality, in his second half-century Beckham the businessman is most likely to come to the fore. As co-founder at Inter Miami, this chapter has already opened, with Lionel Messi and co. expected to move into the club’s new Miami Freedom Park facility in 2025. 

Since their inaugural season in 2020, Miami have playing at DRV PNK Stadium in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, so a new chapter awaits. “It’s been a long-term dream of mine and it is incredible to see it become reality. This stadium is a crucial part of my vision for the club and the city, and while the delays have been challenging, we’re pushing forward.”

If perception is to become reality, in his second half-century Beckham the businessman is most likely to come to the fore. As co-founder at Inter Miami, this chapter has already opened, with Lionel Messi and co. expected to move into the club’s new Miami Freedom Park facility in 2025. 

Since their inaugural season in 2020, Miami have playing at DRV PNK Stadium in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, so a new chapter awaits. “It’s been a long-term dream of mine and it is incredible to see it become reality. This stadium is a crucial part of my vision for the club and the city, and while the delays have been challenging, we’re pushing forward.”

And if he requires further support in the vagaries of production lines, Beckham need only turn to wife Victoria, whose eponymous fashion brand has grown in value exponentially over the past three year, arrowing its way towards the $100million mark.

“Victoria has been a fantastic support for me – we fire off one another and there have been times when I’ve really needed her.

“She has reminded me in the past that although this type of business world is new to me it’s really just another form of problem-solving – the sort of stuff I’ve been doing for years. It’s all about the sense of scoping out a plan and a process in order to find a solution,” he offers. “From my first ever football training session it was drilled into me the task – to move the ball from one end of the pitch to the other, and to close the deal by putting it in the goal.

“I guess,” he pauses, “not much has really changed from that in almost 50 years, has it?!”

It was the power couple’s move to the US in 2007 that marked the official launch of ‘Brand Beckham’, created with Simon Fuller, who managed Victoria’s career from her Spice Girls days and, until recently, handled most of the pair’s profitable brand deals.

In the years that followed, David signed a lifetime deal with Adidas worth $160million and has since secured endorsement deals with luxury brands like Armani and Breitling, fashion labels such as Calvin Klein and Tommy Hilfiger, as well as tech giants Samsung and EA Sports’ FIFA franchise.

In addition, he’s brand ambassador for Tudor watches, Tempur mattresses, Unicef and Nespresso coffee machines, and also held the same honour for Haig Club whisky until 2023. He’s since switched to Stella Artois. 

When the couple first teamed up with Fuller, the promoter boldly claimed they could become a billion-dollar brand, stating, “The combination of Victoria’s glamour and David’s sex appeal and sporting talent could, over time, create a $1billion brand.”

The Beckhams are, seemingly, well on their way, yet without the ill effects that accompany so many other high-status families. Their four children – Brooklyn, 25, Romeo, 22, Cruz, 19, and Harper Seven, 13 – have grown up in the public eye and are always well-adjusted and polite, often seen out with their parents.

It all amounts to the perception of a man who, it appears, can do little wrong; yet the truth is this is someone who embraces disappointment and setbacks, using them as stimuli for future action. From extreme negative sporting challenges to media speculation over his personal affairs, Beckham is an exemplar of someone capable of resetting and readjusting to life’s events, good and bad.

“I won’t deny that I reflect on my achievements,” he admits, “though not as often as I’d like. It’s important to acknowledge what you’ve accomplished and to remember the journey that got you there, but the truth is, life moves so quickly that you sometimes forget how far you’ve come or how special those experiences were.

“I probably reflect more on the things that haven’t gone to plan, as it’s those that actually push me forward and encourage me to be better and to do more.”

That desire to do more, to go further than his peers, permeated into a young Beckham. At a time when, as a teenager, his mates were discovering the joys of socialising, alcohol and the opposite sex, Becks would stay in, either playing or studying football. To him, it was a natural sacrifice, and one where he didn’t feel he was missing out.

“My inspiration wasn’t mates getting girlfriends, it was older footballers whose journeys I had read about and whose route towards achieving that was abstinence from things that didn’t move the boat forward, so to speak.

“So in turning away from those temptations, I felt like I was pushing forward anyway. I never felt like I was losing out on something.”

Now, for a man who seemingly has everything, there are still many elements of David Beckham’s life that he sees imperfection in. Back in 2006, he admitted to suffering from Obsessive Compulsive Disorder, and has often brought the subject of his mental wellbeing into conversations.

“I don’t think anyone finds life easy, not really,” he says. “With kids, a busy schedule and a refusal to take the easy route, I’ve often felt the pressure of keeping everything together. But that’s just how it is – even with the best support system, it still requires real effort, real courage and a lot of understanding.

“I’m incredibly proud of what we’ve achieved over the last three decades of my life. Victoria means everything to me and I’m proud of my children every day.

“At times we all need to give ourselves a break and look at what we have achieved, not scrutinise over the things we’re yet to do, or have failed at.”

Beckham surely gained a timely reminder of those past achievements when making the recent self-titled Netflix documentary, and will have the chance to look back again when his star is added to the Hollywood Walk of Fame. “Being alongside legends like Muhammad Ali and Marlon Brando is a true honour.

“Do I think I’m worthy? No. But if someone else does, that’s good enough for me. I’ll take that, and I’m very grateful.”