Jake Bugg is the Justin Bieber of British rock

Bringing dance elements into his new album may have split the fans, but the Nottingham singer is staying true to his muse, writes Ed Power

JAKE Bugg is the Justin Bieber of British rock. He was introduced to us as a quintessential boy wonder, playing Glastonbury at 17, signing a record deal six months later and achieving a number one album by his 19th birthday. Overnight successes have rarely arrived so quickly.

What’s more, the LP that brought him fame, 2012’s self titled Jake Bugg, was strikingly mature. In a flinty whine somewhere between Bob Dylan and Liam Gallagher, Bugg chronicled his upbringing on a scrappy Nottingham council estate — a rare infusion of social realism as the British music industry became a playground for bored rich kids (from Mumford and Sons to Coldplay, the toffs had taken over).