Hartlepool singer releases first single of 2023 – inspired by his hometown

Teach Me How To Swim is released on Friday, January 20, and has already become a highlight of Michael’s live shows.

Michael has described the song as “gritty” and has said it was inspired by his hometown and the people around him.

The musician, who grew up in the Dyke House area of Hartlepool, said: "I’m excited to see how this song goes down. It’s a lot less bright than a lot of the songs that I’ve released in the past.

"It’s about being from Hartlepool, places like Hartlepool, where there’s not a lot of luck and sometimes people find themselves down, in a bit of a rut, and certain people around you who get you out of that tough situation.”

He added: “Teach Me How To Swim is a song that was written off of the back of seeing many people in my life going through difficulties or struggling with certain things.

"I suppose it’s trying to say as along as we’ve got each other everything will be okay and that there’s always a light at the end of the tunnel."

Michael, 26, has revealed that Teach me How to Swim is the second song of an EP coming out later this year.

The project will feature four songs in total and Michael has said its release will feel like a milestone.

"Whenever I’ve written songs back in the past it’s always been writing song, after song, after song,” he explained.

"Whereas these songs were all written in the same time period, they fit together, so it seemed right for them to be part of the same body of work.”

Last year ended on high for Michael after Hartlepool United walked out to the sound of his rendition of popular fans’ chant Every Saturday We Follow and his gig in the Town Hall sold out.

It was his first show at the Raby Road venue since 2019.

"It was unbelievable. Just phenomenal. It was a really special night,” he said.

Michael is set to kickstart 2023 with a show in Independent, in Holmeside, in Sunderland, on Saturday, February 4.