Hugh Grant on singing Radiohead's 'Creep' and Tequila shots with Travis Kelce

NME

Brit-flicks king Hugh Grant has been reincarnated as a terrifying villain in 'Heretic'. He tells us about the hit '90s track he had to master for it – and run-ins with Taylor Swift's American footballer boyfriend.

Transcript

00:00Hi, I'm Alex from NME, and today I'm joined by a true film legend, it's only Hugh Grant.

00:22How you doing Hugh?

00:23Hello.

00:24Let's talk about Heretic, the new film, a psychological thriller, which might be a bit

00:28different to what some of our readers are used to from you, but what they will definitely

00:32be interested in, as are NME, is that you sing Radiohead's Creep in the film.

00:37I don't do it very well.

00:38Well, it's quite good.

00:39As you've probably noticed.

00:40I think it's a very difficult song to sing.

00:42I researched it a bit.

00:44They kind of hate it, Radiohead.

00:46As all bands hate their biggest hit.

00:48Yeah, I imagine.

00:49Yeah.

00:50What was your research then, you said?

00:52Just that.

00:53It was written, one of them just sketched it off and recorded it, and they never really

00:57bothered to put on proper lyrics that they liked, and everyone went mad for it, and called

01:01for it at every Radiohead concert.

01:04So you didn't end up going down a proper Radiohead rabbit hole, listening to all their albums,

01:08it was just focusing on that song?

01:10Correct.

01:11I didn't think Radiohead itself was my character, Mr. Reid, I don't think that was his cup of

01:16tea.

01:17I had him more down as a Bach man.

01:20But he talks about some other big artists.

01:22Yeah, I know.

01:23I think he prides himself on being down with the kids.

01:27I think he was a quite successful, sort of trendy professor at some Midwestern university,

01:33maybe in the late 80s, early 90s, was good at making kid-friendly or young people-friendly

01:40references like that.

01:41The other two songs we should mention, one is by the Hollies, which famously they sued

01:46Radiohead because it sounded very similar to Creep.

01:49Which I can't hear.

01:50Neither can I, really.

01:51And then Lana Del Rey comes up with her.

01:53Yes, she does, yeah.

01:54She got sued.

01:55Yeah.

01:56But I can't hear any similarity between the three songs.

01:58No.

01:59It's really interesting, this sort of history of songs sounding alike.

02:02Did you dive into that a bit?

02:04No, but it is interesting, because you see it in films as well, and in everything.

02:08I mean, when my wife was studying English at university, there was a whole thing of

02:13what's plagiarism and what's homage, and what is completely accidental.

02:19I tried to write a book once, and I thought, this is pretty good.

02:22I wrote half a novel, and I looked at it a year later and realised, oh, that's such a

02:26rip-off.

02:27I shan't tell you which book, but I didn't even realise I was doing it.

02:32Do not be afraid.

02:40You will witness a miracle.

02:46I've got some other Hugh Grant-related music questions I wanted to ask you.

02:50Because I know that you've said previously in interviews that you're not into music like

02:53other people are.

02:54I've been a freak all my life.

02:57When I was sort of 14, 15, 16 at my school, every Thursday morning, New Musical Express

03:03came out.

03:04Yeah.

03:05And every boy in the class had a copy.

03:07You were no one if you didn't.

03:09Either that or Melody Maker.

03:10Anyway, you had to have it, and I never had it.

03:13I tried.

03:14I tried to get interested.

03:15I went to a few concerts.

03:16I remember going to Soft Machine.

03:20I went to that.

03:21I went to Emerson, Lake and Palmer.

03:22I went to an Elton John concert at Watford Football Ground.

03:26His supporting act was Rod Stewart, and the third on the bill was Nazareth.

03:31So it must have been quite early.

03:34Anyway, I couldn't concentrate because I smoked 20 number six, players number six.

03:38Do you remember them?

03:39No.

03:40They were the cheapest vags you could get.

03:41And I just felt so sick.

03:43I was about 14.

03:44Anyway, I never, for some reason, there's something wrong with me.

03:49I don't enjoy that experience.

03:51Quite a big story on NME.com was when you tweeted about attending a Taylor Swift concert.

03:55Well, now that is my cup of tea.

03:57Yeah.

03:58How was that?

04:00It's my daughter who's mad about Taylor Swift.

04:02So you were a very popular dad that day.

04:04I'm an amazing dad.

04:05I'm an amazing person.

04:07I managed, yeah, I put out some feelers, and to my astonishment, they said, yeah, come

04:11along.

04:12And I thoroughly enjoyed it.

04:13She went mad.

04:14My daughter.

04:15She brought a friend.

04:16They were bopping away.

04:17And I hung out with Taylor Swift's boyfriend, who's an American football player.

04:21Travis Kelsey, yeah.

04:22Yeah.

04:23We did tequila shots in the back of this sort of, I don't know, they put up a kind of hut

04:26for us in the middle of Wembley.

04:28And there were a bunch of, I don't know, I think they were rappers.

04:31I don't know what they were.

04:33Anyway, we all got absolutely smashed.

04:35Tequila.

04:36Taylor Swift.

04:37Have you kept in touch with Travis since?

04:39No, I never heard his contact details.

04:42But my new thing anyway is I'm not in contact with anyone.

04:45I have no phone now.

04:46Just tequila shots and then radio silence.

04:50But Taylor Swift actually replied after your tweet.

04:53You must have seen that.

04:54Yeah.

04:55She said, as a longtime Hugh Grant stan, this tweet is very important to my culture.

05:00I mean, that's quite nice, isn't it?

05:03It's extremely nice.

05:04Very hospitable.

05:05And it's a brilliant show.

05:07Another really big story over the summer for NME, probably the second biggest or maybe

05:12the biggest.

05:13I'll let the fans decide compared to the year's tour, was the Oasis of Reuniting.

05:19And as a king of sort of 90s films, Hugh Grant, you must have come across the Gallagher brothers

05:25at some point.

05:26Yes.

05:27My 90s girlfriend, Elizabeth Hurley, was best friends with Patsy Kenseth, who was going

05:33out with Liam Gallagher.

05:35We did end up having some strange evenings out.

05:39What an odd foursome.

05:40And actually, I've sort of done you over a bit there, because I did know about that one,

05:44because I've got the picture.

05:45Oh, well, there you go.

05:46I thought I might jog your memory a bit on that night.

05:50Well, we all look lovely.

05:52You do, yeah.

05:53Thanks so much for speaking to me, Hugh.

05:54It's been a pleasure.

05:55All right.

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