Despite being armed only with an acoustic guitar, a loop pedal and a harmonica, Scottish singer-songwriter Gerald Crosbie aka Gerry Cinnamon charmed his way into the hearts of indie crowds to become an unlikely cult, word-of-mouth favourite known for leading his grassroots following into boisterous sing-songs. Born in the Castlemilk district of Glasgow, Crosbie grew up on Brit-pop and indie rock, but he allegedly took up the guitar and started writing songs after landing himself in some teenage strife, resulting in him being sent to London to stay with family friends to keep him on the straight and narrow. When he returned to Scotland he put together his band The Cinnamons and released an EP with them in 2010, before gaining attention as a solo performer in 2014. He also hosted an open mic night at The Priory bar in Glasgow and, during the referendum campaign for Scottish independence, he wrote a song called 'Hope Over Fear' in favour of independence, before further building his reputation touring with former Cast front man John Power.
He built up a loyal following in Glasgow by playing gigs and posting tracks to SoundCloud and YouTube, and remained staunchly DIY and independent by raising the money to record his debut album 'Erratic Cinema' through crowd-sourcing site Pledge Music in 2017. With no record label and a marketing campaign that consisted of only one Facebook post, the album ended up making it to number seven in the Scottish Charts and he went on to play sold-out shows at the city's iconic Barrowlands venue, drawing huge crowds at the T in the Park and TRNSMT festivals.
With his Bob Dylan cap and Adidas tracksuit top, he came across as part folk singer and part football terrace casual, but his ragged, optimistic tales of working class life in the city quickly became raucous, good-natured anthems that united masses of fans and drew comparisons with Arctic Monkeys and Jake Bugg. His single 'Belter' was another favourite, a swaggering indie tale delivered with his thick Glasweigian accent and 'Sometimes' went on to be named by Radio X as one of the best tracks of 2018.
