East Kilbride's Connor McGlave on dream of Barrowlands gig
Connor McGlave, from East Kilbride, has released a new song called Better Man, which is the first glimpse of his new EP.
To listen to his song, go to tinyurl.com/2jc6js3y.
The EP will showcase the latest evolution of the writer and performer, who is still relatively new to the music scene.
Despite this, he has already sold out King Tut's and Saint Luke's.
For Connor, all roads lead to the Barrowlands (Image: Supplied) His debut EP, Heaven's A Place, launched at King Tut's Wah Wah Hut, was the point where his music connected with its audience in real life.
But for Connor, all roads lead to the Barrowlands.
He said: "It is all about the Barrowlands for me.
"I've got a photo in my room of the outside, the sign – it's always there, even when I was away from music for a while.
"I've been on that stage in the Barrowlands many nights lying in my bed, that's it for me.
"And I do believe it will happen, standing on that stage will be the moment that all of this will have been worth it.
"That's it. That's the moment."
When that moment comes, he will likely already be thinking about the next dream because of his drive to write, record, release, perform, and bring his music to more ears.
Connor said that for him, connection and meaning are the things he looks for.
He said: "The commercial side of it, I could not care less about, it's all about the realness of music connecting with people.
"I hate the word fan, it's just reaching another person, and for them to enjoy the music and feel something about words I have written.
"The commercial side of things I genuinely could not care less about.
'The songs are honest and from the heart, it's stories about my life from when I was digging ditches on building sites and stuff.
'I have no idea where the song comes from, that's the truth.
'It's beautiful when people tell me what they connected with and what it meant to them, and then that tells me what it's about.'
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Daily Mail
10 hours ago
- Daily Mail
Love Island's Helena is left FUMING as she misses out on coupling up with her dream man - as fans go wild for brutal dating profile twist
Love Island 2025 kicked off with a bang on Monday night as the new islanders entered the famous villa in their quest to find love. However Helena had a rough start as she insisted she was not interested in rugby players, before awkwardly being left to couple up with hunky pro player Connor. In a new twist, Maya shared the new boys dating profiles before the girls were told to go stand next to the name they would like to couple up with most. In a panic Helena was left with 25-year-old rugby player Connor when she really wanted to couple up with 6ft2 trader Harry, who Sophie stole. Maya looked shocked by her choice and said: 'Helena, you're with Connor, I thought you didn't like rugby players!' From A-list scandals and red carpet mishaps to exclusive pictures and viral moments, subscribe to the Daily Mail's new showbiz newsletter to stay in the loop. In a new twist, Maya shared the new boys dating profiles before the girls were told to go stand next to the name they would like to couple up with most; pictured Connor She replied: 'I know but nobody else wants to swap, does anyone want to swap? I don't want the 22-year-old he's a bit to young though.' Looking at Sophie, she added: 'No you keep Harry, it's fine we can swap later on.' Sophie agreed, 'Yeah we can touch base and maybe have a handover tonight.' Helena added: 'I'll just take it, we'll give it ago. It's a gut instinct let's just get on with it'. Meanwhile as Helena, who is the only blonde bombshell in the villa so far, got to know Connor later, he admitted he doesn't go for blondes. Several fans took to X - formerly known as Twitter - to say they loved the Love Is Blind twist this year and Helena's panicked reaction left them in hysterics. They wrote: 'I love how they are pairing the couples this year! Love is blind but make it love island; 'Love island meets love is blind; Several fans took to X - formerly known as Twitter - to say they loved the Love Is Blind twist this year and Helena's panicked reaction left them in hysterics 'They had them blind pick. How they ran over. Helena lol'. Elsewhere Maya kicked off the new series of Love Island in sensational style as she strutted into the famous villa to greet the new girls. The presenter, 30, kicked off another series of show-stopping looks in a plunging black floral dress as she made her entrance. Maya put on a leggy display as the stunning number, which showed off her amazing figure, featured a floaty skirt which was shorter in the front and longer in the back. Styling her long dark tresses in voluminous waves, the ITV2 star accessorised with a huge pair of coordinated drop earrings. She greeted the girls in the villa for the first time before heading over to the famous fire pit to discuss the girls' types. She introduced 12 brand new Islanders to the Majorca villa who are hoping to find love during the dating show. This year's crop of hopefuls include a Declan Rice body double, fire breather and Maura Higgins lookalike and Maya will once again be at the helm after joining the popular dating series in January 2023. This year, the show celebrates a decade on screens and promises to have 'more twists and turns than ever before' in honour of their 10-year anniversary. The series, which has been streamed over two billion times on ITVX, has seen over 300 Islanders pass through the villa doors over the years, including the likes of Olivia Attwood, Dani Dyer, Chris Hughes, and Molly-Mae Hague. Love Island is set to air on June 9 over on ITV2 and ITVX. NAME: Sophie Lee AGE: 29 FROM: Manchester OCCUPATION: Motivational Speaker and Author WHAT ARE YOU LOOKING FOR? Someone who is fun, spontaneous, who has a lot of jokes and who is attentive. At the moment I'm only finding ones draped in red flags and 'do not cross' signs IF YOU WERE THE CEO OF SOMETHING, WHAT WOULD IT BE? I'm the CEO of empowerment. I want women to feel beautiful and validated in themselves and feel their best self. NAME: Dejon Noel Williams AGE: 26 FROM: London OCCUPATION: Semi-pro footballer and personal trainer WHAT ARE YOU LOOKING FOR? Someone who is beautiful on the inside and out, looks after themselves and is healthy CLAIM TO FAME? My dad being an ex-professional footballer. I've met all kinds of famous people through him. When I was younger it was weird because he was just my dad, but we'd go to a game and fans were asking for photos. I've met David Beckham, he was really nice. NAME: Megan Moore AGE: 25 FROM: Southampton OCCUPATION: Payroll specialist WHAT ARE YOU LOOKING FOR? I'd like to meet someone who is tall, with a nice tan, nice eyes and a nice smile. He needs to have a good fashion sense and a really good, funny personality that I can get on with HOW WOULD YOU DESCRIBE YOUR LOVE LIFE? Bankrupt, right now. But we're going to make sales and get on that corporate ladder and be booming. Profits, profits, profits! NAME: Tommy Bradley AGE: 22 FROM: Hertfordshire OCCUPATION: Landscape Gardener WHAT ARE YOU LOOKING FOR? A girl who is very ambitious, with a big personality, caring, but also someone that doesn't take themselves too seriously. I don't know if that's asking for too much, but I want a bit of everything. I haven't got a specific type in terms of looks, though. WHAT WOULD YOU BE CEO OF? Taking hours to do my hair NAME: Alima Gagio AGE: 23 FROM: Glasgow OCCUPATION: Wealth Management Client Services Executive WHAT ARE YOU LOOKING FOR? A tall man with a handsome face. You know when you just look at a guy and they have that Disney prince look to them? That's it WOULD MAYA HIRE YOU FOR YOUR FLIRTING SKILLS? I think she'd hire me because I'm a good flirt. I always ask guys on a night out to guess which country I'm originally from. If they get it right, they can get my number. But they never guess correctly so it works really well if you don't want to give a guy your number. I'm originally from Guinea Bissau. If they're close and I really fancy them, I'll give them my number anyway. NAME: Ben Holbrough AGE: 23 FROM: Gloucester OCCUPATION: Private Hire Taxi driver WHAT ARE YOU LOOKING FOR? Someone sexy, good looking, good chat, good vibes, nice teeth and good eye contact - they're all the traits I look for. Oh, and also a cute smile, I just look at you and know I can be around you all day, every day. HOW WOULD YOU DESCRIBE YOUR LOVE LIFE? Bankrupt. I'd have been out of business a long time ago. That's exactly why I'm here. NAME: Helena Ford AGE: 29 FROM: London OCCUPATION: Cabin Crew WHAT ARE YOU LOOKING FOR? Somebody funny or Northern. I feel like Northern people have much more banter than Southerners. If you look through my previous dating history, you'll see I clearly go for personality. You can pretty much laugh me into bed. WOULD MAYA HIRE YOU FOR YOUR FLIRTING SKILLS? I would say hire but then quickly fire soon after. It would only be a temporary contract. NAME: Megan Forte Clarke AGE: 24 FROM: Dublin OCCUPATION: Musical theatre performer and energy broker WHAT ARE YOU LOOKING FOR? Someone who doesn't take themselves too seriously and has a sense of humour. If they're not bad looking, that's always a plus. I love a boy that's a bit pasty, like Timothée Chalamet. I don't mind scrawny, or a bit of a 'dad bod'. I'm 5ft1 so any height really. CLAIM TO FAME? Me and my friends made a Derry Girls TikTok for Halloween and it went a bit viral around Brighton. Sometimes I get stopped in the street about it. I've also done Panto. NAME: Blu Chegini AGE: 26 FROM: London OCCUPATION: Construction Project Manager WHAT ARE YOU LOOKING FOR? Someone who is family oriented, has a lot of love to give and a lot of love to receive. Personality goes a long way. WOULD MAYA HIRE YOU FOR YOUR FLIRTING SKILLS? She'd fire me, but I've got the charm to smooth things over with a girl. The fact I speak fluent Spanish comes in handy when it comes to flirting! NAME: Shakira Khan AGE: 26 FROM: London OCCUPATION: Construction Project Manager WHAT ARE YOU LOOKING FOR? Someone who is tall, charming, witty, with big arms, a good smile and just really funny. HOW WOULD YOU DESCRIBE YOUR LOVE LIFE? Booming, but they're all frogs. It's a busy love life but I've not found 'the husband', I'm looking for 'the one'. I'm looking for the ring. NAME: Harry Cooksley AGE: 30 FROM: Guildford OCCUPATION: Gold trader, semi-professional footballer and model WHAT ARE YOU LOOKING FOR? The girl next door that makes me laugh and can hold eye contact with me. I don't think I'd go for the most obvious girl, I like a real sweet girl. CLAIM TO FAME? I'm the body double for Declan Rice. So when he does a shoot, any body close ups will actually be me. You'll never see my face, but you'll see my shoulder or chest, that kind of thing. NAME: Conor Phillips AGE: 23 FROM: Limerick OCCUPATION: Professional rugby player WHAT ARE YOU LOOKING FOR?Someone who is really sure of themselves, ambitious, a bit of a go-getter and good craic. I like dark eyes and I don't mind a dominant woman. WOULD MAYA HIRE YOU FOR YOUR FLIRTING SKILLS? Definitely hire. I ask girls if they want to go halves on a baby. It doesn't work, but it gets them laughing. It's an ice-breaker, not a serious question of course! NAME: Toni Laites AGE: 24 FROM: Connecticut OCCUPATION: Las Vegas Pool Cabana Server WHAT ARE YOU LOOKING FOR? I'm looking for darker hair, definitely muscular but not too muscular. Super fit. Clean hair cut. Someone that can make me laugh - I'm super outgoing. And someone that's quite active. Maybe one day we could start our own family together. I WANT TO DATE A BRITISH GUY BECAUSE... I've lived in three different states and I'm still single. It's time to try something new! I have some British friends and they're pretty charming. I think all Americans love a good accent. British men are just more polite, with better manners. NAME: Kyle Ashman AGE: 23 FROM: Stafford OCCUPATION: Water operative WHAT ARE YOU LOOKING FOR? Someone that's fun, confident and just themselves. I'd say I'd be hired. I just go with it, find something to compliment a girl on and go from there.
The Guardian
a day ago
- The Guardian
Masculinity, mental health, cat food – Robbie Williams's comeback has it all
Few facts feel more perfect than this: Robbie Williams's current stadium and arena tour is sponsored by a cat food. Yes, the Britpop tour, promoting Williams's upcoming album of the same title, is brought to us by Felix (he joins the brand's feline mascot in a new campaign). The show has just spent two nights in residence at London's Emirates Stadium, having previously stopped off in Edinburgh. It will also see dates in Manchester, Bath, Newcastle and Dublin, as well as other cities in Europe, many of which are sold out. I mention the cat food thing because it feels pretty intrinsic to Williams's popular persona, and how he's perceived right now. It is, by anyone's standards, entirely camp in that particularly British, 'hun culture' type of way, where glamour goes hand in hand with ordinariness – and that's exactly where Robbie's appeal lies in 2025, as he experiences what appears to be a cultural comeback. Indeed, over the past year or so, and particularly over the past six months, Williams has experienced a resurgence, something he himself acknowledges: 'Robbie Williams,' he laughed on stage on Friday night. 'Back in stadiums, eh?' That's not the only bit of evidence, however. He's rumoured to be playing a secret slot at this year's Glastonbury; he was recently honoured with the PRS for Music Icon award at the Ivors; and while his biopic Better Man was commercially unsuccessful, it went down pretty well with critics, who praised it for its candour about class and addiction. Williams shows up on cosy TV shows such as Michael McIntyre's The Wheel, not to mention the cat food adverts, but he's also found an audience with generation Z, as the subject of social media posts featuring archive photos of 90s and 00s fashion and celebrity culture. His appeal in 2025 has become widespread; his music still endures (play Angels in any pub in Britain and it'll have the same effect as telling everyone there's a free bar). You could, then, call it a bit of a Robnaissance. This is all happening because Williams occupies a unique position. He's a charisma machine who regularly plays in front of thousands, but he'll also happily divulge to his crowds that he's – and I quote – 'knackered' after playing certain songs, and exchanges concerns about erectile dysfunction with a lip-fillered, AI version of his future self in a between-songs bit. If someone from a younger, more self-serious generation – Sam Fender, Harry Styles – were being sponsored by Pedigree Chum it would probably raise a few eyebrows, but for Williams, stuff like the Felix partnership is entirely on brand. The first person, after all, to nudge and wink at Robbie is Robbie. There is a whole section in his show about how he no longer cares for being cool, while dressed in a hot pink suit. On stage, he delightedly acknowledges that his audience is primarily made up of middle-aged mums – 'and I love it!' He speaks candidly about his poor mental health on Instagram. Interestingly and marvellously, it's in this total abandon that his star is rising again. And this could, it should be acknowledged, very easily not have happened. For a while, he wasn't well received by the public – a video of him singing as his wife Ayda Field gave birth to their child went down online like a ton of bricks, as did a gag where he used hand sanitiser after touching hands with a New Year's Eve audience on TV. It was only in 2022 that he was widely criticised for performing in Qatar at the football World Cup, responding to the feedback thus: 'If we're not condoning human rights abuses anywhere, then it would be the shortest tour the world has ever known: I wouldn't even be able to perform in my own kitchen.' Since then, however, the tide has turned. Williams has publicly shown his softer side again. A 2023 Netflix documentary about his life saw him reviewing photos and footage on his laptop, in bed in his underwear. There's also the aforementioned mental health chat online, and, of course, Better Man was further insight into his struggles at the hands of the press and the music industry. Broadly, the vulnerability that he has always embraced in his music ('I don't wanna die, but I ain't keen on living either') has become more and more in vogue for men and male celebrities, in response to the frightening versions of masculinity spawning online. It seems that the mainstream masculinity of the day has caught up with the man who openly sang in 2002: 'If you don't need me, I don't exist.' Williams will probably always have the ability to put his foot in his mouth spectacularly. But the more he reveals of himself, the more he cements his place as a unique and – let's face it – unparalleled British performer. There is nobody who does what he does, nobody with his legacy or catalogue, nobody who straddles cool and uncool in quite the same way that Brits love so much. From where I am standing, then, Williams's popularity in the current moment is deserved and hard won, for a performer who has the type of gift you cannot teach. When he emerged on stage in front of 60,000 people on Friday night, he introduced himself simply: 'I'm Robbie Williams. This is my band, this is my arse.' He also told us: 'I want to be the king of entertainment.' And at this point, you do have to ask: who else could it be? This is his Robnaissance – we're just living in it. Lauren O'Neill is a culture writer
Scotsman
2 days ago
- Scotsman
Love Island series 12 cast: what are stars ‘biggest icks'?
Love Island will be welcoming a host of new singletons to the famous villa shortly - and plenty of them know exactly what they are looking for. The iconic reality show recently celebrated its 10th birthday. ITV has set the return date and it is just over 24 hours away on Monday (June 9). 12 singletons will soon be jetting off to see if they can find the one in the sun. The action will be returning to the show's traditional villa in Spain - after moving to South Africa for the All-Star spin-off in the winter. Maya Jama is on hosting duties once again. It is set to be broadcast on ITV2 once again - with new episodes six days a week. Ahead of the start of series 12, the new cast have been discussing what they are looking for. One star who was announced for the show but quickly pulled out has broken his silence on his exit. Have you got a story you want to share with our readers? You can now send it to us online via YourWorld at . It's free to use and, once checked, your story will appear on our website and, space allowing, in our newspapers. 1 . Connor - 25, rugby player, Limerick Talking about what he is looking for in the villa, Connor said: 'Someone who is really sure of themselves, ambitious, a bit of a go-getter and good craic. I like dark eyes and I don't mind a dominant woman.' But his 'icks' include: 'Being too needy, or needing to do everything together.' | ITV Photo: ITV Photo Sales 2 . Blu - 26, construction project manager, London Discussing what he is looking for in the villa, Blu said: 'Someone who is family oriented, has a lot of love to give and a lot of love to receive. Personality goes a long way.' But he warned that his biggest icks are: 'When you see toothpaste in the sink. Just turn the tap on right? When it's dried up as well? Gross.' | ITV Photo: ITV Photo Sales 3 . Shakira - 22, marketing, Burnley Shakira is looking for someone who: 'Someone who is tall, charming, witty, with big arms, a good smile and just really funny.' However her biggest 'icks' in the romance department include: 'Bad hygiene, like bad breath. I can't deal with it. Garlic breath or onion breath on a date is a big no-no.' | ITV Photo: ITV Photo Sales 4 . Harry - 30, gold trader, Guildford In the villa, Harry is looking for: 'The girl next door that makes me laugh and can hold eye contact with me. I don't think I'd go for the most obvious girl, I like a real sweet girl.' But when it comes to 'icks' his biggest are: 'Someone DM-ing me first. I don't like that, I think I'm a little bit more old fashioned. I don't slide into DMs if I don't know someone. Also someone that tries too hard and is trying to be who they think I want them to be.' | ITV Photo: ITV Photo Sales
