Musician makes up for lost time

American singer/songwriter Joshua Radin didn’t pick up a guitar until 2004 but releases his fourth album this month, writes Ed Power

LAUGHING gruffly, singer-songwriter Joshua Radin is recalling his ‘diva’ period. “The first couple of occasions I was doing press I’d say to my publicist, ‘Look I do not want to talk about Zach Braff. I’m not here to answer questions about him, I’m here to answer questions about me.’” Braff, the star of sitcom Scrubs, was an early cheerleader for Radin but their friendship cast a long shadow. Too long, in Radin’s opinion. He’d sit down with journalists and all they would do is fire off questions about Scrubs. He wanted to tear his hair out. Maybe theirs too.

“I would tell my publicity people, ‘if they are only going to talk to me about Zach Braff I won’t do the interview.’ To which they would respond, ‘Well, in that case the magazine isn’t going to run a piece about you’. I’d be ‘fine, if that’s the way they feel’.” As his career gained momentum, and his insecurities melted away, he had a rethink. If a celebrity chum helped get his name out there, perhaps the gracious thing to do was acknowledge the fact.