A child actor who helped put Grimsby on the international movie map has added a new string to his talent portfolio – graduating from film artist to musical artiste.
Freddie Crowder enjoyed rave reviews as a precocious, foul-mouthed 12-year-old starring alongside a host of famous screen stars in an irreverent, eponymous film ridiculing life in the town.
The laugh-out-loud motion picture, which hit cinemas in 2016, saw the youngster rubbing shoulders with Sacha Baron Cohen, Mark Strong, Rebel Wilson, Ian McShane, Ricky Tomlinson, Johnny Vegas and Oscar-winning actress Penelope Cruz.
Freddie, a former Caistor Grammar School pupil, played Tsunami, one of Cohen’s nine children, with a prominent opening sequence which saw him dragging a mattress up the stairs before launching into a swear fest.
The film was akin to James Bond meets Match of the Day with a scene involving the inside of an elephant that will remain forever unforgettable in moviegoers’ memories.
Fast forward to today and for Freddie – in his third year at Northumbria University, Newcastle, studying for a police studies degree – one direction in the world of entertainment was clearly no time to stand still.
He is now stepping into the illustrious shoes of actors Anthony Newley, Hugh Jackman, Antonio Banderas, Daniel Radcliffe and Eddie Redmayne who have achieved the distinction of starring in movies followed by recording a single or album.
And in the 21-year-old’s case, he has decided to unlock some of his back catalogue of songs he’s previously written over the years – by releasing his first three-track EP entitled ‘Sail Away’.
Being downbeat about his debut Extended Play as well as downplaying his fame to date, Freddie said: “There wasn’t much inspiration really.
“I just picked up my guitar, wrote some tunes and then used lyrics behind them about stuff I still think about from the past. I use music to help me vent about things that upset me enough to think about, but not enough to talk about.”
Freddie’s switch of disciplines from child actor to producing three tracks of musical competence with the ‘Sail Away’ cover song plus ‘Holding On’ and ‘Right or Wrong’ has come about because he admits to having written “loads of songs” in the past as “just a hobby”.
Joined by flatmate Mikey Banks in playing the songs in his living room, Freddie was further encouraged to “get them recorded” by best friend Ben Muir.
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Freddie, who has grown a moustache in support of Movember, added: “Finally I gave it a go with a massive thank you going to Ben and Mikey for listening to all the drafts and grassing me up to do it in the first place.”
He says modestly of his musical achievement: “It won’t be everyone’s cup of tea understandably but I’d appreciate any plays/shares, and hope people enjoy. I am incredibly happy.”
Now his voice and guitar playing will prove a real Crowder pleaser for him, adding: “I hope to achieve a bit of success in music. I don’t necessarily want to be famous but I think the lyrics, although specific to me, can tailor to other people and I believe having the right music at the right time can provide people with a bit of peace,
“If I can offer three minutes of peace to 100 people who like my songs that’s great and if I can do that with 10 that’s great too.”
Freddie’s grandmother, Dianne East said: We are so very proud of what Freddie has achieved and what he is going to achieve.” No CD will be made until he’s able to release some more music and get a larger collection of songs.
‘Sail Away’, is on all music streaming platforms and you can listen to snippets of each song on https://freddiecrowder.hearnow.com/
This post was originally published on here
