Music

Jake Bugg X Jamal Edwards in Nottingham: 'Younger people are suffering'

Filmmaker Jamal Edwards took chart-topping star Jake Bugg back to the council estate in Nottingham where he grew up.

“There’s a lot of good people here, it’s just sometimes difficult for working class people,” says singer-songwriter Jake Bugg, as he looks out the car window at the Nottingham neighbourhood of Clifton. 

For the new film series he’s made with his friend, SB.TV founder Jamal Edwards, Bugg returned to his childhood stomping grounds in the Midlands. The YouTube documentaries shine a light on the place that’s been repeatedly branded “the UK’s poorest city” by government data. 

Growing up on a council estate with his mum was tough. Bugg – then known as Jake Kennedy – remembers eating cold beans out of a tin for dinner. Returning to Nottingham, post-pandemic, he says that experiences like his seem to be getting more common.

“It’s hard not to get political, isn’t it? With the government now, it does definitely feel that it’s the younger people and the poorer people that are suffering more and more,” he says.

“Some people can’t even afford to keep the house warm. We’re seeing more and more use of foodbanks in poorer places in the UK. That’s a problem.”

Food bank usage in Nottingham surged during the Covid-19 outbreak. According to the city council, demand was 33 per cent above normal. 

“It [food poverty] was something that I definitely felt impacted by when I was younger,” says Bugg. “The sad part is, it’s becoming more and more common. Something’s not quite right. It can be tough, especially for young people.”

Bugg was still a teenager when he exploded onto the music scene. His 2012 eponymous debut album shot to the top of the charts with a Lightning Bolt. Now 27, he still remembers the sense of being ignored that haunted his life prior to that moment. 

“A lot of a lot of young people where I’m from, they feel frustrated,” he says. “I know that I felt very angry myself growing up. Because we feel like we’re not being heard, we’re not being listened to.”

And things are not improving.

He adds: “We’re seeing more and more facilities being taken away. Obviously when you take away things for young people to do, then they resort to things that probably they shouldn’t be doing. It can lead to crime. I know that when I was growing up, one of the reasons we’d be hanging around shops and things is because we had nothing else to do.”

For episode four of Jake Bugg x Jamal Edwards – which The Big Issue is premiering above – the pair visited one of the places that still offers an alternative for young Nottinghamians. 

Based in St Ann’s, the second worst area of the city for crime, the Community Recording Studio [CRS] offers a nurturing atmosphere for local people to create music, film, photography and more. Bugg brought his guitar to record a collaboration with them.

“This place has saved a lot of lives,” says rapper Jah Digga. “It’s a hub for anyone who’s creative.” In 2002, Jah Digga’s brother died after being stabbed in a local pub. He now works at CRS, moving young people away from violence. 

“It was very inspiring to see those young people and hear the words they write about their own struggles,” says Bugg. “It’s very important that young people have an alternative to the streets.

“I spent many, many hours in my bedroom practising music. It was definitely the one time, growing up, when I didn’t have to be aware of my surroundings or some of the bad stuff that was going on.”

For the future, Bugg says he’d like to see more investment in education for young people. “That’s where everything starts,” he says. “It’s really sad, especially with Brexit and some of this government’s policies, that opportunities are just being taken from young people. They’re losing their freedom of movement, and it’s just getting more and more difficult. 

“Personally, I would have appreciated a better education when I was growing up. I think a lot of people I grew up with would have benefitted from it as well.”

Jake Bugg’s new album Saturday Night, Sunday Morning is out now. 

Support the Big Issue

For over 30 years, the Big Issue has been committed to ending poverty in the UK. In 2024, our work is needed more than ever. Find out how you can support the Big Issue today.
Vendor martin Hawes

Recommended for you

View all
Yungblud on 'ignorant' politicians, his own affordable festival and how music can change the world
Music

Yungblud on 'ignorant' politicians, his own affordable festival and how music can change the world

How the world finally caught up with music pioneer Alice Coltrane
Alice Coltrane
Music

How the world finally caught up with music pioneer Alice Coltrane

How a swanky London townhouse links composer Handel with Jimi Hendrix
Handel’s bedroom in Brook Street, London
Music

How a swanky London townhouse links composer Handel with Jimi Hendrix

Kool & the Gang's Robert Bell on music, politics and the secret to a happy marriage
Letter to my younger self

Kool & the Gang's Robert Bell on music, politics and the secret to a happy marriage

Most Popular

Read All
Renters pay their landlords' buy-to-let mortgages, so they should get a share of the profits
Renters: A mortgage lender's window advertising buy-to-let products
1.

Renters pay their landlords' buy-to-let mortgages, so they should get a share of the profits

Exclusive: Disabled people are 'set up to fail' by the DWP in target-driven disability benefits system, whistleblowers reveal
Pound coins on a piece of paper with disability living allowancve
2.

Exclusive: Disabled people are 'set up to fail' by the DWP in target-driven disability benefits system, whistleblowers reveal

Here's when UK households to start receiving last cost of living payments
next dwp cost of living payment 2023
3.

Here's when UK households to start receiving last cost of living payments

Strike dates 2023: From train drivers to NHS doctors, here are the dates to know
4.

Strike dates 2023: From train drivers to NHS doctors, here are the dates to know