by Adam Tait

Tags: Beech

In Demand: Beech

Former model returns to his first love - Radiohead-inspired rock and roll

 

In Demand: Beech

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Josh Beech. Some of you will recognise the name, but the vast majority will recognise his face. Over the course of his modelling career he has been the face of Levi's, Valentino and H & M, to name a few. He has been on the side of countless buses.

With that in mind, many will cringe at the idea of a model deciding to start a band and have a crack at music.

But wait, all is not as it seems. Josh Beech isn't a model-cum-musician. He's a musician who got very lucky.

"I was actually a musician when I got scouted," he tells us. "I was playing in a punk band called Snish, and we had a gig in Shoreditch, that's how I got spotted.

"I've always been a musician, the whole time I was doing modelling I was writing music as well, so there's never really had to be any transition for me."

As easy as it might be to turn our collective noses up at the modelling industry, there's not many among us who'd turn their noses up and a decent wage for being photographed  Beech among them.

"Being a musician, you struggle man," says Josh. "You want to rehearse, you want to record, and if you're doing those things it's really hard to have a proper job.

"Unlike everybody else I got very lucky and got paid to have my picture taken."

In fact, Josh Beech seems almost the antithesis of what you'd expect from a male model, and is certainly neither air-headed nor overly conditioned. Living in LA has done nothing to diminish his south London accent, and he exudes no sense of entitlement following such a successful modelling career.

Operating in the worlds of fashion and music, you’d be excused for assuming that the 24-year-old has spent his time engulfed in glamour. You'd be wrong.

"Neither modelling nor music are as glamorous as they're made out to be, they both have very dark sides," he says. "But it's about how you want to see it really. You can go and be around all the glamour and shit if that’s what you want, but that really isn't me.

"To be honest, apart from going to the jobs I kept away from that whole world. I'd rather just be real and go down the pub with a mate.

"The thing I hated most about modelling was feeling like I had to be someone I'm not. What I love most about making music is I feel entirely myself."

Watch new single Played The Fool

His latest musical outlet, as the frontman of four-piece Beech, sees him exploring his roots, with new single 'Played The Fool' revelling in a punky chorus and pacey lyrics, almost reminiscent of early Kings Of Leon.

"As a teenager I got in to heavier music," he remembers. "I grew up in a family that was very much into rock and roll. My mum would be playing Led Zeppelin at three in the morning like 'kids, get up and come a listen to this.’

"So as I got older I think it was a natural transition to find something heavier than what my parents liked, that's where the punk thing came along.

"But my influences are a hugely mixed bag. I love the Deftones, and was into Black Flag and alexisonfire as a kid, but Radiohead are also a big influence on me.

"I'm just a music lover, I listen to everything."

Having performed as a solo act as a model for several years, Beech now sees Josh sharing the stage with a full band, and he's revelling in the on stage companionship.

"I like the interaction of playing with other musicians, you push each other on. I love the feeling of having a drum kit behind me."

But even having travelled the world as a model, and now splitting his time between the UK and LA, it's still South London's crown jewel that he's got his eye on.

"Brixton Academy," he answers with a second's hesitation. "If I could play anywhere, it'd be Brixton Academy.

"That'd be pretty cool, man."

'Played The Fool' is released on 10 December and will be available as a free download. Visit www.beechmusic.com for more music.

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