JC STEWART RELEASES DEBUT
ALBUM SPACE HURTS | LISTEN HERE
UK & IRELAND TOUR DATES BEGIN TONIGHT AT DUBLIN’S MALAHIDE CASTLE WITH DURAN DURAN
The debut album Space Hurts by award-winning Irish singer-songwriter JC Stewart is available now via independent record label Stanley Park Records. Tonight, the rising star starts a tour of the UK and Ireland supporting Duran Duran and Nile Rodgers & CHIC.
The album features 14 songs including the single “Space Hurts”, Irish love letter “BT 45”, “Tomorrow”, “Can’t Stop” and 'Hey Babe, I’m A Mess, I’m Sorry”, which won him Song of the Year at the Northern Ireland Music Prize in 2024.
Reflecting upon the album JC states, “Everyone says it, but I truly put everything I had into this record. Every ounce of creativity, soul, pain and drive that I possess is in there. It’s about the last ten years – and some of the most challenging times of my life, from being dropped from a major label, to making the album with zero backing, to convincing people to take a punt on it, and now finally releasing it. It’s about me growing up, losing my identity, finding it again, falling in love, having the best times and having the worst times. I hope, from the bottom of my heart, that people can connect to it and find themselves in little bits of the music. It’s been one of the greatest honours of my life to finish this project and it marks both the end of an incredible chapter, and the start of a new one.”
JC wrote and recorded much of the album in a makeshift studio in the Northern Irish town of Portrush, with producers Mark Schick and Todd Clarke, known for their work with Dermot Kennedy, Dua Lipa, Megan Thee Stallion, and Elton John. The finishing touches were then added in Mark’s studio in Los Angeles, where the record was mixed by Jeff Gunnell.
Filled with heartfelt songs and emotive storytelling “Space Hurts” marks a somewhat new direction for the songwriter as he delves into personal themes, making this his most honest and vulnerable offering yet.
Speaking about the title track, “Space Hurts”, JC reminisces, “I wrote this song a lifetime ago but it’s always been one that I’ve held incredibly close. I don’t really know why, but it just always felt like I was capturing my true essence in song form. It’s about loving someone for the first time and realising that being away from them is torture. I got to write it with two of the best songwriters on the planet, Todd Clarke and Foy Vance and I am so excited to finally have it out in the world.”
The singles from the album have found strong support across the board with 'Tomorrow' added to ‘New To 2’ BBC Radio 2 with plays from Sara Cox on Drivetime and Owain Wyn Evans show. Further to this, ‘Hey Babe I’m A Mess, I’m Sorry’ gained a Mollie King’s first listen on BBC Radio 1 and strong media support in Ireland. The second single ‘BT45’, which is an homage to JC Stewart’s hometown postcode, has become a viral hit in Ireland.
The album is available now on special limited edition Vinyl via Diggers Factory here.
John Callum ‘JC’ Stewart has packed a lot into his 27 years. A self-released single when he was 18. A record deal with Warner Music, signed after an old-fashioned bidding war, when he was 21. A Number One single in the Czech Republic in the teeth of lockdown, underpinned by gold-selling success in Eastern and Northern Europe. A touring and writing partnership with good friend Lewis Capaldi – the Irishman co-wrote ‘Hollywood’ (current Spotify streams: 88 million, give or take) from the Scotsman’s blockbuster debut album, Divinely Inspired to a Hellish Extent. A co-write with Niall Horan on his own 2021 song ‘Break My Heart’. An EP with Tom Odell, one of JC’s North Stars and true heroes. A proper viral moment with his parodic cover of Friends theme ‘I’ll Be There For You’, which went from TikTok to ABC News to an American media storm after Jennifer Aniston reposted it. A deep-seated creative bond with Foy Vance, aka the patron saint of modern Irish songwriters. Now, JC Stewart is back – rebooted, refreshed, realigned and stronger than ever to continue his musical journey.
Fans can catch JC on tour this year, playing multiple dates in the UK and Ireland.
June 30 - Dublin, IE @ Malahide Castle*
July 1 - Cork, IE @ Virgin Media Park*
July 3 - Powderham, UK @ Powderham Castle*
July 5 - Chelmsford, UK @ Chelmsford City Racecourse*
July 18 - Debrecen, HU @ Campus Fesztivál #
October 7 - Dublin, IE @ The Button Factory^
October 8 - Belfast, UK @ Empire^
*Support for Duran Duran and Nile Rodgers & CHIC
^Headline performance
#Festival performance
SPACE HURTS TRACK LISTING
1. Space Hurts
2. Breaking
3. Can’t Stop
4. Tomorrow
5. Used To
6. Play Dead
7. Hey Babe, I’m A Mess, I’m Sorry
8. Mirages
9. Where To Find You
10. BT45
11. Loneliness Came
12. Waste
13. In Her Arms
14. Loving You (Demo) – Bonus Track
The album features 14 songs including the single “Space Hurts”, Irish love letter “BT 45”, “Tomorrow”, “Can’t Stop” and 'Hey Babe, I’m A Mess, I’m Sorry”, which won him Song of the Year at the Northern Ireland Music Prize in 2024.
Reflecting upon the album JC states, “Everyone says it, but I truly put everything I had into this record. Every ounce of creativity, soul, pain and drive that I possess is in there. It’s about the last ten years – and some of the most challenging times of my life, from being dropped from a major label, to making the album with zero backing, to convincing people to take a punt on it, and now finally releasing it. It’s about me growing up, losing my identity, finding it again, falling in love, having the best times and having the worst times. I hope, from the bottom of my heart, that people can connect to it and find themselves in little bits of the music. It’s been one of the greatest honours of my life to finish this project and it marks both the end of an incredible chapter, and the start of a new one.”
JC wrote and recorded much of the album in a makeshift studio in the Northern Irish town of Portrush, with producers Mark Schick and Todd Clarke, known for their work with Dermot Kennedy, Dua Lipa, Megan Thee Stallion, and Elton John. The finishing touches were then added in Mark’s studio in Los Angeles, where the record was mixed by Jeff Gunnell.
Filled with heartfelt songs and emotive storytelling “Space Hurts” marks a somewhat new direction for the songwriter as he delves into personal themes, making this his most honest and vulnerable offering yet.
Speaking about the title track, “Space Hurts”, JC reminisces, “I wrote this song a lifetime ago but it’s always been one that I’ve held incredibly close. I don’t really know why, but it just always felt like I was capturing my true essence in song form. It’s about loving someone for the first time and realising that being away from them is torture. I got to write it with two of the best songwriters on the planet, Todd Clarke and Foy Vance and I am so excited to finally have it out in the world.”
The singles from the album have found strong support across the board with 'Tomorrow' added to ‘New To 2’ BBC Radio 2 with plays from Sara Cox on Drivetime and Owain Wyn Evans show. Further to this, ‘Hey Babe I’m A Mess, I’m Sorry’ gained a Mollie King’s first listen on BBC Radio 1 and strong media support in Ireland. The second single ‘BT45’, which is an homage to JC Stewart’s hometown postcode, has become a viral hit in Ireland.
The album is available now on special limited edition Vinyl via Diggers Factory here.
John Callum ‘JC’ Stewart has packed a lot into his 27 years. A self-released single when he was 18. A record deal with Warner Music, signed after an old-fashioned bidding war, when he was 21. A Number One single in the Czech Republic in the teeth of lockdown, underpinned by gold-selling success in Eastern and Northern Europe. A touring and writing partnership with good friend Lewis Capaldi – the Irishman co-wrote ‘Hollywood’ (current Spotify streams: 88 million, give or take) from the Scotsman’s blockbuster debut album, Divinely Inspired to a Hellish Extent. A co-write with Niall Horan on his own 2021 song ‘Break My Heart’. An EP with Tom Odell, one of JC’s North Stars and true heroes. A proper viral moment with his parodic cover of Friends theme ‘I’ll Be There For You’, which went from TikTok to ABC News to an American media storm after Jennifer Aniston reposted it. A deep-seated creative bond with Foy Vance, aka the patron saint of modern Irish songwriters. Now, JC Stewart is back – rebooted, refreshed, realigned and stronger than ever to continue his musical journey.
Fans can catch JC on tour this year, playing multiple dates in the UK and Ireland.
June 30 - Dublin, IE @ Malahide Castle*
July 1 - Cork, IE @ Virgin Media Park*
July 3 - Powderham, UK @ Powderham Castle*
July 5 - Chelmsford, UK @ Chelmsford City Racecourse*
July 18 - Debrecen, HU @ Campus Fesztivál #
October 7 - Dublin, IE @ The Button Factory^
October 8 - Belfast, UK @ Empire^
*Support for Duran Duran and Nile Rodgers & CHIC
^Headline performance
#Festival performance
SPACE HURTS TRACK LISTING
1. Space Hurts
2. Breaking
3. Can’t Stop
4. Tomorrow
5. Used To
6. Play Dead
7. Hey Babe, I’m A Mess, I’m Sorry
8. Mirages
9. Where To Find You
10. BT45
11. Loneliness Came
12. Waste
13. In Her Arms
14. Loving You (Demo) – Bonus Track