Billy Lockett Returns With Deeply Personal New Single “Don’t Be So Hard On Yourself” From Latest LP ‘Abington Grove’

UK singer-songwriter/pop artist Billy Lockett has shared his new single and video, “Don’t Be So Hard On Yourself”. Deeply soulful and personal, the release shines a spotlight on his past and the journey that followed to find himself in the world. An eccentric and troubled youth works as the song’s catalyst, as Billy allows himself to be vulnerable.

“Don’t be so hard on yourself is about muting the constant voice in your head telling you that you’re not good enough. It’s about self-love and realising that doing your best is enough and you are enough. Since writing this song I’ve used this as a mantra for my life, it’s really helped me personally. Hopefully, it helps others too,” confides Billy.

The piano-pop ballad and closing track of his new album Abington Grove, came to be following his return to his childhood home on Abigton Grove after the passing of his father. “It felt right to go back and make the album there,” he notes. “I had a lot of dark times in that house. However, everything on this album is from our home.”

Discussing the deeper parts of inspiration, he shares:

“It’s been a journey. I had an addiction problem with alcohol and cocaine for eight years. When I started recording, I’d just started the process of getting sober in my head. Halfway through, I actually got sober. Making the record filled that hole. I went nine months, and I had a relapse about two weeks after we finished the album for about a month—but I haven’t done anything all of 2022. I’m more focused on being a nice person, caring, and listening to everyone around me more. I was wasted for so long that sober feels like a new drug for me.

“I worry about everything all of the time. Am I eating too much? Am I smoking too much? I think that’s why I was a drug addict for so long; it just numbed it. When I got sober, I realized, ‘Shit, I do worry all of the time. That’s an issue’. Now, I can address it and see it with a clear head. I kept going back to the phrase, ‘Don’t be so hard on yourself’. Everything will be okay. My girlfriend has a lot to do with it. She’s the polar opposite. She doesn’t worry about anything ever. So, it’s a message to stop being a worrier.”

Watch his story unfold in its accompanying music video below: