The man built by robots and caught by a dream: Newton Faulkner talks ahead of Birmingham show

Each subsequent album allowed Newton to adapt to the changing times, developing both as a musician and a songwriter. And now, with the release of his career-spanning seventh album, The Very Best Of Newton Faulkner, he is reflecting on the past while also taking fans into his future with three brand new tracks.

His newest work is a breath-taking, rule-breaking, genre-hopping collection of songs that will grip fans from the very first listen and continue to grow with each and every repeated play. The new album includes fan favourites such as Dream Catch Me, Write It On Your Skin and Clouds as well as his new tracks.

In addition, Newton’s renowned cover versions will be presented on a second disc including newly recorded live versions of iconic songs Bohemian Rhapsody and Send Me On My Way, which fans have been requesting for years.

He didn’t think he’d be around long enough to release a greatest hits – nor to hit the road in support of it: he headlines Birmingham Institute tonight.

“The Best Of album feels like a real milestone, I’m so proud of it as a body of work and the second disc was so much fun to make,” says the singer known for his distinctive dreadlocks and percussive guitar playing. “I love the challenge of covering songs, which probably is reflected in my choices. For people that have seen me live before, there are some old favourites and there’s also some tracks no one has ever heard me play.”

After a decade on major labels, scoring four Top 10 albums – two of them number ones – Newton made his last album, Hit The Ground Running entirely under his own steam and has done the same with his forthcoming Best Of, where you’ll hear harp, zither, penny whistle, melodica, bass, piano and electric and acoustic guitar. They were all played by Newton, who also programmed and produced the album.

The record is a testament to going with the flow; a DIY effort that bristles with invention and shimmers with success.

“A Best Of wasn’t in my thought process at all.

“The thing that took up most of my time was that any new stuff needed writing and producing and spending a lot of time on it. Then there was the second disc, which was like a whole album again. I think I’ve learned more about production doing that than I did the last album. I had no preconceptions about what it should be.

“It’s so strange looking back. I had to get all the cds together and I was holding these six cds. Wow, that’s my life’s work. It doesn’t seem like much. So the whole thing was nostalgic. I also went through each album in detail. There’s all the stuff I talk about when I’m normally doing press about it but with this it was about how it felt and the inner journey of it, I suppose.

“This time around, it was more about looking at what each track had done and what would go together. A huge part of what I do is the quieter acoustic songs.”

He doesn’t remember everything he went through – some parts of his career moved so quickly that he was barely keeping his head above water.

“I don’t remember any of the Hand Built By Robots era; it was a whirlwind of insanity. I was sucked in and spat out about five years later. I tried not to take it in. I made a conscious decision that most of the things that were going on were probably hokum. It was all good but I wouldn’t believe in any of it. I’ve seen people get sucked into their own thing and it doesn’t end well. So I decided I was going to treat it as a job and do my job to the best of my ability. I was going to put as much time as was humanly possible and try to get better. I have kept that. I didn’t want to get sucked in. That’s been important for my mental health.

“It’s funny though. Some people want you to have more of an ego because it’s a better story.”

As well as his recording career, Newton has also transferred successfully to stage to feature in Jeff Wayne’s The War Of The Worlds. Jeff asked me directly himself. The whole crew was amazing.”

In 2016, Faulkner was cast as Johnny in the musical American Idiot, based on songs from the band Green Day. He played the role on the UK Tour, and continued in the role when the show returned to the West End at the Arts Theatre in July 2016.

“By the end of a seven-month run, I was dying. It was brutal. For me, it was a new thing. The part was quite heavy on the acting. It was a bigger acting role than anything else. That was eight shows a week and we once did six shows in three days. Physically, it was incredibly draining. Putting your brain in the place of a suicidal heroin addict that many times a week was quite psychologically draining and I lost three stones during that time.”