Words by Rachel June
ASBO sat down with Eddie Brett in a pub garden on a brisk November evening in Brighton. We discussed his new journey in making “Jesus music with a cockney accent”. His latest release, Reno, is out now - listen here. Remarkably, the word Reno was something Eddie wrote without knowing what it meant. He later discovered that the Latin meaning of the word translates to ‘born again’ or ‘reborn’ - a fitting reflection of Eddie's own story. The song features sombre guitar, enchanting harmonies and haunting piano trickling underneath. Words like “I didn’t wanna live like I did before” paired with his story of being saved give Reno a tangible feeling of hope.
When Eddie arrived, joy surrounded him. He introduced himself with a dashing smile and carried an immense excitement for life with him. Since leaving the ‘Loveable Rogues,’ who reached the final of Britain's Got Talent in 2012, Eddie has led a vibrant career, performing headline tours, supporting Olly Murs, and finding himself in the spotlight. “I was a pop star,” he reminisced. The new lifestyle came with new opportunities - money, fame, and all the ‘stuff’ that comes with it. “When you're famous, you just get loads of free stuff,” he laughs. Yet despite all this, he didn’t feel satisfied. As the hype of the band faded, so did his spirit. “I felt like I’d failed, and I was only in my early 20s!” he expressed. The negative opinions of others became his truth, leading him to adopt this title of failure even more deeply. “It became my truth,” he admits. Eventually, Eddie found faith, sobriety, and his voice again.
“I was lost,” he admits, opening up about using alcohol to cope. These habits isolated him from genuine healing - but God had bigger plans. His music now is simply true to who he is. Eddie has always been drawn to song writing, and with a newfound peace and faith, he speaks honestly, using his signature cockney accent to explore what it means to find light in the darkness.
Eddie talks me through his first encounter with God. He was in the mountains of North Wales, amongst nature, breathing in the beauty around him. “For the first time, I felt connected to nature in a way I never had before,” he remembers. Birds flew past, leaves swayed in the breeze, and the painted sky glistened above him. There were no people, just him, his thoughts and the vast, untouched landscape. He recalls a sense of peace washing over him along with overwhelming gratitude. He said aloud, “Thank you”, not knowing who he was speaking to. This moment marked the beginning of his journey to discover more about life. “I wanted to live in that feeling. I wanted to know more,” he tells me. Suddenly, life became interesting again. He began to understand a new truth. Escapism lost its appeal; instead, he wanted to chase the reality and peace of that moment in nature.
Loveable Rogues bandmate and friend Te Qhairo once told him something that stuck: “You know God’s not just some man in the sky?” The comment sparked deeper curiosity, and Eddie began exploring the Bible. Te explained that God lies within the mystery of the world in all that we don’t understand. This set fireworks off in Eddie’s spirit as he continued learning more.
“I wanted to know who God was,” he explains. “And it was on that journey that I fell in love with songwriting again.” In his own way and in his voice, he came to know God through reading the Bible. The words flowed onto the page, and his music began to take flight again. “This felt different”, he told me. “Losing my identity and feeling lost…it just went away! It sounds really cliché, but it's true. I went from darkness to light,” he beams.
Now, Eddie comes as he is. Filled with confidence in God and the plans laid out for him. He is meeting people across the world, finding others on similar journeys, and rejoicing in creating music that carries meaning. Stay tuned for Eddie's album Common Kalos coming out in January 2026! If you’re intrigued by a cockney guy singing songs about Jesus, check out his music. You might just be inspired, too.