UNBEKNOWNST to many music fans, the third-most played song on streaming app Shazam was written in suburban Newcastle.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
or signup to continue reading
It's been almost a decade since English singer-songwriter Michael Rosenberg, best known as Passenger, sat among the roses and children's playground equipment at Lambton Park having a heart-to-heart with Boy & Bear drummer Tim Hart.
Passenger was supporting Hart later that night at Lizotte's. At that stage Rosenberg had been performing for at least seven years with his indie-folk band /Passenger, before they split and Rosenberg opted to drop the slash and continue as a solo artist using the group's name.
Rosenberg had continued to hone his craft by busking around Australia and had released several albums, but finding that breakout hit was proving elusive. Until that night in Newcastle when Rosenberg wrote Let Her Go.
The song made Passenger an international star and the track has since been streamed an incredible 1.2 billion times on Spotify.
"It's a night I talk about a lot because of writing that song," Rosenberg says via Zoom from England.
"I remember sitting in the park opposite Lizotte's because obviously Tim is in Boy & Bear and we had this massive chat about what I'm doing wrong, why isn't this working for me?
"He was brilliant. He was really supportive. It was a great chat.
"I remember going back into the dressing room feeling inspired by it all and writing that thing.
I remember going back into the dressing room feeling inspired by it all and writing that thing.
- Passenger, Michael Rosenberg
"I remember the gig being nice too, but the dressing room is more important in my memory these days."
To this day Rosenberg still describes Australia as being massively important to the global popularity of Passenger.
His first three albums even featured well-known Australian acts Boy & Bear, Josh Pyke and Kate Miller-Heidke.
"I'd been banging my head against the wall in the UK for a long time and just coming out to Australia and meeting a load of new people, I felt I could re-invent myself a little bit," he says.
"I felt so much enthusiasm for what I was doing instantly. I met some brilliant people and was lucky how it all turned out.
"I love Australia, I miss it deeply. I have so many good friends over there. I used to come over for six to nine months at a time.
"For a long time it was certainly my second home. Gone are the days I can still do that, but I absolutely love coming over and touring and walking around all the old busking spots."
Let Her Go propelled Rosenberg on an almost annual album release schedule and non-stop international touring, which only finally ground to a halt this year due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Earlier this month the 36-year-old played in Dubai, his first gig in a year.
While lockdown has been difficult, a break from the nomadic lifestyle has served Rosenberg well. In July he released his 11th studio album Patchwork and next month the 12th, Songs For The Drunk And Brokenhearted, will follow.
"I don't think I ever would have done it, left to my own devices," Rosenberg says of taking a break from touring. "I was so entrenched in that write, record, tour, repeat loop.
"In some ways, selfishly and personally, it's been bit of a blessing in disguise.
"I've run myself into the ground sometimes with the touring. It's just relentless and all my own fault.
"Sometimes I've still got the mentality of a busker, where you just say yes to everything and grab every opportunity."
As the title suggests, Songs For The Drunk And Brokenhearted is a break-up record. Over a year ago Rosenberg experienced a painful end to a relationship, and as most singer-songwriters do, he poured his anguish into creativity.
But rather than purely writing from his own experience, he invented characters to provide multiple perspectives.
"The Drunken Broken Hearted thing is a nice way to frame it," he says.
"There's some characters on this album like Suzanne and the guy in Remember To Forget, who are both deeply drunk and broken-hearted in different ways.
"I was obviously broken-hearted at the time and was drinking fairly heavily as well, so it feels like it encapsulates that really vulnerable couple of months where you come tumbling out of a relationship and go on a few late nights, a few benders and it's all part of it.
"I liked framing the whole record within that world."
Songs For The Drunk And Brokenhearted was originally scheduled for release in May, but due to the pandemic Rosenberg decided to delay the album. More creativity took hold and he wrote three new songs - Sword From The Stone, Tip Of My Tongue and Nothing Aches Like A Broken Heart.
It was an inspired decision. The tracks are among the album's strongest moments and Sword From The Stone was co-produced by UK superstar Ed Sheeran.
"Sword From The Stone is obviously a breakup song, but it feels very lockdown as well," he says. "It feels like a 2020 moment to me."
Passenger's Songs For The Drunk And Brokenhearted is released on January 8.
