The Beatles, sci-fi, comic books, Conor Oberst, Courtney Barnett, 1960s guitars and infectious pop music – it’s fair to say that Liverpool songwriter Zuzu draws on a unique frame of references. Born on Merseyside and since relocated to London, she was raised on the sounds of the Fab Four, but rates dark-hued indie artist Oberst and Barnett’s incisive social commentary as equally important songwriting influences.
Since signing to Virgin, Zuzu has released a debut EP, Made On Earth By Humans, and a pair of singles – Dark Blue and Can’t Be Alone – while the festive Distant Christmas charted her dizzying rise from working dead-end jobs and struggling for a breakthrough to suddenly becoming a major-label artist. “I was working as an elf in town last Christmas, and by the time Christmas Eve rolled around, I’d been offered a record deal,” she tells Long Live Vinyl. “We’ve just put out a Christmas song that I wrote in 2017 when I was down and out!