'Dad's death changed my song writing forever' - how grief shaped Foy Vance's music

When singer-songwriter Foy Vance woke up to the news his father Hugh had died, his songwriting changed forever.

He had written music before his father's death but it was all "borrowed knowledge".

"Music before my dad died was a vehicle to get me somewhere - to go off and tour. After he died I realised what it actually was - it was a life raft," he says.

"I had no one to look up to anymore but when I engaged with music I could hear his voice very clearly - it was like having a co-writer."

Since 1998 he has been on seven-album journey dedicated to the memory of his father culminating in his latest album - the seventh of seven - The Wake.

Vance, who is often thought of as an artist's songwriter, counts Ed Sheeran and Sir Elton John, and many others, among his fan base.

When he signed an autograph for a 14-year-old Sheeran in Norwich he made a lasting impression and last year, the Daily Telegraph wrote that Sir Elton "idolises" Vance.

The singer-songwriter, who is originally from Bangor, County Down, rose to prominence in 2013 with his critically-acclaimed album Joy of Nothing, for which he won the inaugural Northern Ireland Music Prize.

While the album the called seventh of seven, it's not a goodbye or a last album, fans will be pleased to hear.

But, when it comes to his grief journey, "it does seem to a certain degree I've put something to bed," Vance told the programme.

His preacher father was a "room lighter".

He insisted that his grave said: 'Here lies the late late Hugh Bailie Vance,' because, Vance says, he was always late.

He was a "massive encouragement" in his career.

"He was like: 'You're really good'. He would enter me into competitions and drive me round to sing Unchain My Heart to win - you know - a spa weekend at La Mon house," Vance says.

"But he didn't know the industry and there was no path laid out for me."

Does song writing come easily?

Vance says it is "easy to write a song" but it's "not easy to write a good one".

"Getting a song that's worth something or resonates with you is more tricky," he adds.

"If songwriting is hard I believe your ego is in the way and making it something you want it to be."