Sonny The Strong arrives in the middle of a reunion tour with his band Supergrass, and focuses on the story of a semi-fictional post-war British boxer. It unfurls around elegant piano, rising guitars, elements of Americana, and mid-tempo, subdued percussion. Coombes commented:
"This track was always going to have a biographical story arc to it. For me, it was just a case of finding the inspiration. I developed an interest in forgotten heroes and human stories of struggle, those who triumphed over adversity. Also, the idea of someone being drafted into war while at the top of their game and how insane that would’ve been to deal with and process.
"I came across the story of 'forgotten' British world championship boxer, Randy Turpin, who, in his heyday, fought and defeated the great Sugar Ray Robinson. That was some life, incredibly tough beginnings, success, fame, crime, apparent dealings with the mob and a tragic end. A fascinating rise and fall story.
"Randy became the seed of the story about my character Sonny The Strong and it just evolved from there."
Coombes' last solo LP was 2018's 'World's Strongest Man'. Supergrass, meanwhile, will continue their run of tour dates in Stoke tomorrow (June 9).
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