Tommy Smith is stepping into a new era, and it already feels like one built on honesty, emotion, and real purpose. Best known as the former frontman of The Haciendas, Tommy spent years making his name across the UK indie scene, bringing anthemic energy, powerful songwriting, and commanding live performances to stages up and down the country. But now, after a period of reflection and personal change, he returns under his own name with a project that feels deeply personal, creatively open, and impossible to place inside one single box.
His new single, ‘Take Me Away’, released on Wednesday 8th July, marks the next step in that journey. Blending acoustic guitar, atmospheric synths and keys, and Tommy’s unmistakable rock vocal, the track lands as an emotionally charged acoustic-rock ballad. It carries the experience and confidence of his indie-rock past, while moving into a more cinematic and intimate space. At its heart, ‘Take Me Away’ is a song about love, escape, and emotional renewal – finding light in another person when life feels heavy.
This new chapter follows Tommy’s debut solo release, ‘Lullaby in the Sky’, a song written during one of the most difficult periods of his life. Following a devastating personal loss during pregnancy, Tommy turned to music not as a career move, but as a way to process grief, honour a life lost too soon, and raise awareness and funds for Twins Trust.
The response was remarkable. ‘Lullaby in the Sky’ reached number one on the iTunes Singer/Songwriter Chart and entered the iTunes Top 40 across all genres, showing the power of music written from a place of truth. More than chart positions, the release became a focal point for awareness, connection, and support – proving that Tommy’s voice carries far beyond the boundaries of a traditional indie release.
With ‘Take Me Away’, Tommy is not simply starting again. He is beginning again with purpose. The new Tommy Smith project feels like a creative umbrella – a home for songs shaped by heart, story, and lived experience. Rather than being tied to one sound or one scene, this is music built from a lifetime of influences, a “living library” of ideas, emotion, and reflection. It is an artist allowing himself the space to evolve, while staying true to the thing that matters most: writing from the heart.
Speaking about the single, Tommy says:
“Take Me Away is a song I wrote last year, and it probably defines the kind of song I enjoy writing and performing the most. It has an acoustic feel, with synths and keys bringing atmosphere around it, but still carries that rock-style vocal that feels natural to me. Lyrically, it’s a love story – someone asking their new love to take them away from the darker place they’re in.”
There is a clear sense of emotional release running through the track. It feels personal without being closed off, intimate without being small. Recorded at Dusk Til Dawn Studios in Manchester, and mixed and mastered by Luke Owens, the single captures Tommy at a defining point in his journey – carrying the strength of his past, but stepping forward into something more open, honest, and emotionally driven.
Before the release, we caught up with Tommy to talk about what brought him back to music, how this new project compares to what came before, and what listeners can expect from this next chapter.
What has brought you back into music following a short hiatus?
When my son was born, my life just totally changed. Becoming a dad was a new experience, amongst some less sleep and generally just soaking in all the new responsibilities, I didn’t have the time that I used to have and I am more of an all or nothing guy so I decided taking a step back was the right thing to do at that time. However, music will always be a passion of mine and I continued to write and sing regardless if I was putting it on a platform or not, I think that small break actually allowed me to realise who I wanted to be as an artist and that then led to me getting a few songs together and here we are…
What are the aims for this new project compared to previous ones?
In the past, I had a lot of dreams as any musician has, but I also had a ticklist of things I wanted to achieve in music… which for me is my list of ‘making it’. ‘Making it’ is a term that people label with if they think you have made it or not, but we should all judge our own journey on whether we have done so, and my list consisted of releasing a song, releasing a music video, bringing out an EP, getting a vinyl made, playing a big festival, playing abroad… I managed to tick all of them apart from one, which was to release an album. This is still something I would like to do one day but this time around is different, I am not doing it to chase stuff on a ticklist. I just want to get my thoughts and feelings out there, so they are not sat in my voice notes forever. Anything that comes with that will be taken with both hands, but I just love writing music and getting it out there, the whole process can be very stressful and time consuming but when you love something so much, without the journey it would be pointless.
Is there a difference in the way your songs are now developed?
With no disrespect to my past, I have obviously matured as a writer, a singer and just generally as a person. So I know a lot more now than I once did, but I am no finished article and I still know I have much more to learn. But the main thing that has changed would be keeping the music to what it should be, in the past some times have ended up different that I imagine, which sometimes really worked, however for songs that have a meaning and a purpose for me, then I feel these should be kept true to themselves and not just changed for the sake of it.
If someone hears this song while going through a difficult time, what do you hope they take away from it?
I think every song I have ever wrote has come from an experience within my life, some have been positive and some have been negative, but the reason I put so much emotion into my songs is so that people can resonate with them, not just listen to a song, but can really feel it too. This song is more of a happy song I would say, as it was my way of expressing being taken from a dark place into a much happier place. The answer to the question though would simply be, there is light at the end of the tunnel, it will come when the time is right.
What can we expect going forward from yourself — new music, gigs, or anything else in the pipeline?
I have already been very busy with Luke Owens in the studio and we have a nice amount of tracks already recorded. My aim is to release a 4 track EP this year for sure. As for gigs, I have a couple of shows in the pipeline which will be announced very shortly, obviously playing my headline debut show in Manchester is a given so really looking forward to that one.
With ‘Take Me Away’, Tommy Smith delivers a single full of feeling, atmosphere, and intent. It is the sound of an artist reconnecting with his purpose, embracing a new direction, and turning real life into something others can hold onto.
Everyone at SoundMate wishes Tommy the very best with the release of ‘Take Me Away’, and we look forward to hearing where this powerful new chapter takes him next.
‘Take Me Away’ is released on Wednesday 8th July. Pre-save ‘Take Me Away’ on Spotify here: https://distrokid.com/hyperfollow/tommysmith2/take-me-away