Union J’s George Shelley reveals he worked as a barista after band split made him ‘give up on music’
The former Union J member, who has spent over a year working in a coffee shop, is now returning to the music scene after leaving the band in 2016
By Aaron Sugg
George Shelley, former Union J member and I’m a Celebrity… Get Me Out of Here! runner-up, has revealed he worked in a coffee shop after ‘”giving up on music”.
The group rose to fame on the 2012 series of The X Factor, where Louis Walsh formed the group. After finishing fourth, they signed with RCA Records.
After leaving Union J in 2016, Shelley spent years struggling with grief following the death of his sister Harriet in a car accident in 2017. Eventually, he began taking shifts as a barista in Enfield last year.
“The last 6 months have been mental” – George Shelley on forming a new band whilst working at a coffee shop
It was during this period, however, that he met his future bandmates and formed a new group entitled, Lightlines.
Shelley, who came out as gay in 2016, told The Sun: “Last year I was just grafting a lot, doing a lot of video editing and coffee shop work. I did four shifts there… I’d given up on music.”
Announcing the band on Instagram in July, the 32-year-old wrote: “The last 6 months have been mental. I am so excited to announce Lightlines, my new band!”
He confirmed that the band had spent six months working on their debut single ‘Wasted’, and most recently released their second single, ‘Animal’, on 9 September.
“The most healing and cathartic creative experience” – Shelley on his new music career
On the release of the new music, Shelley added: “This process has been the most healing and cathartic creative experience of my life. Self-expression and self-discovery through music, I believe, is core in finding freedom and communicating emotions in healthy, artistic ways.”
His café manager, Alex Pothecary, who has a background in musical composition, began writing and recording with Shelley. Shortly afterwards, Shelley met musician Will Jackson in another café, and the trio formed the band.
On ‘Wasted’, Shelley sings about “pills and bars” and “getting wasted,” admitting he struggled after moving to London. “I was just very naive and when I came to London I got swept up in it,” he said.
About the release of Animal, the lead vocalist said: “[I] wanted to move away from the whole boy band thing. The songs that I write by myself, they’re very introspective and deep. And when I realised these boys could play guitar and drums, I was like, ‘This feels really right.’”
Despite his TV fame and music career, Shelley stays grounded. On past financial struggles, he said if things get tough again, he would happily do night shifts or gardening: “I’ve not got an ego.”
‘Animal’ is now available to stream across platforms.