George Shelley says a stint working shifts in a north London coffee shop has led him to the most fulfilling musical project of his career.
The 32-year-old singer first found fame with boy band Union J after their appearance on The X Factor in 2012, before finishing runner-up on ITV’s I’m a Celebrity… Get Me Out of Here! in 2015, but after leaving Union J in 2016, George spent years struggling with grief, industry rejection and financial difficulties – eventually taking shifts as a barista in Enfield last year.
But it’s now emerged it was there that he met his future bandmates and formed a new group.
He told The Sun about how his latest project came about: “Last year I was just grafting a lot, doing a lot of video editing and coffee shop work. I did four shifts there.
“But during those, Alex was my boss and I did smash a lot because I’m quite high energy. I’m always knocking things over and slipping over. I’d given up on music.”
George’s manager at the café, Alex Pothecary, revealed a background in musical composition, and the pair began writing and recording together.
Shortly afterwards, George met Will Jackson in another café, and the trio formed a band called Lightlines.
They released their debut single Wasted in July, followed by a second track, Animal.
George added: “I wanted to move away from the whole boy band thing. The songs that I write by myself, they’re very introspective and deep.
“And when I realised these boys could play guitar and drums, I was like, ‘This feels really right’.”
On Wasted, George sings about “pills and bars” and “getting wasted”, admitting he went off the rails when he moved to London.
He said: “I was just very naive and when I came to London I got swept up in it.”
His sister, Harriet, was killed in a car accident in 2017, a tragedy that compounded his struggles.
George said about the tragedy: “When my sister passed away, dealing with the grief on top of the rejection of the industry, it was a lot.
“My coping mechanisms were toxic for a long time and I was just in the wrong environments.”
Now George has periods of sobriety and is focused on the band’s debut album, recorded over six months and set for independent release.
He said: “A big part of me doing music again is to make sure I don’t hand over my autonomy, and that I have agency over my own life and my creative choices.”
Reflecting on his years of fame, George added: “There were periods when I couldn’t go out with my friends without loads of people following us. It got quite intrusive and scary. I built up a fear of going out because you’re worried about that.”
Despite his new musical chapter, George said he remains pragmatic about work.
He admitted: “If in a month’s time I need to get some cash in, I’ll just do some night shifts somewhere or do some gardening.
“I’ve not got an ego, thinking that I’m too good for having to work again.”