SINGER-SONGWRITER Michael Weston King has a long history of performance in the field of folk, country and Americana and his songs have also been covered by others including legendary US artists such as Carolyn Hester and Townes Van Zandt.

Released on the famous Cherry Red record label The Struggle was recorded in Spring 2021 in a studio in mid-Wales and consists of 10 original songs which could be said to reflect different aspects of the efforts we have to go through as we proceed through life.

For the past 10 years Weston King has been performing with his wife Lou Dalgleish as part of the country duo My Darling Clementine but decided that the songs for this album were more suited to a solo album although Lou Dalgleish does accompany him on one of the tracks.
 
Your last solo album I Didn’t Raise My Boy to Be a Soldier was quite a political album with some new songs alongside covers of older protest songs from artists like Phil Ochs and Bobby Darin. Would you say the new album was in that tradition?

It’s not a protest album in the same way although the first song Weight of the World which is also reprised in the last track is a political song about the appalling things which happened under the Trump administration.

However, I didn’t want to write the song from the perspective of an English outsider looking at the US so I wrote it from the perspective of a police officer who voted for Trump, probably due to peer pressure, but who then becomes disillusioned in the aftermath of George Floyd and the breaking up of peaceful protests.

Is the title of the album reflective of the struggles we went through in dealing with the pandemic?

Lockdown has given us all an opportunity to reflect on life but the reality is even before lockdown life was a daily struggle for many.

The title does in fact refer to a hill walk in the Lake District called The Struggle and lockdown has made us appreciate the outdoor environment more. But some songs also pertain to the difficulties life throws up. The Hardest Thing of All touches on depression when someone can just struggle to get out of bed.

Some of the songs do seem to be about loss based on personal experience?

Yes. I wrote Valerie’s Coming Home about Lou’s mum who we lost shortly before the pandemic and it’s about her last few days in a care home. Fortunately, we were able to see her before restrictions came in.

The album does have a melancholy feel in parts as it reflects on the loss of people and dreams particularly as we get older. But I do try to inject in hope for a positive outlook as well.

The Old Soft Shoe is about a widower living with his memories but he still dances when he thinks of him and his wife being together.

The Final Reel is a celebration of your friend the late Jackie Leven and you also record Theory of Truthmakers, a song you co-wrote posthumously?

When I was working on a tribute album for Jackie a mutual friend Alan Black was doing the cover art and gave me some handwritten lyrics Jackie had written when they were on a train together but never recorded. So, I set them to music and recorded them for this album in a way that I like to think Jackie would have done the arrangement.

I do actually find both that and The Final Reel very uplifting so would want to make Star readers aware that while this is an album that does reflect themes of loss it can also give a positive message about what we learn from our life experiences.

That is what I have tried to do.

Michael Weston King will be on tour as part of My Darling Clementine over the next few months but will also sing songs from his solo album if you have an opportunity to catch him.

For current tour dates visit michaelwestonking.com.