Will Young steps Onboard for Latest Album

At DFDS we welcome thousands of visitors each year on our ferries, taking them to Europe by sea. We welcome families, friends, holiday makers, fun-seekers and music-makers, the most recent of which was pop star, Will Young.

Earlier this year, on a glorious sunny day, we had the pleasure of welcoming Will Young and his team onboard for a photoshoot for his upcoming album, Lexicon. On a break from filming, we caught up with him and found out what he loves about travelling by ferry.

DFDS: Thanks for joining us onboard our Côte Des Flandres ship to France today.
Will: Thanks for having us. It’s been a blast being back on a ferry. As a family, we would always go to France on holiday. It would be an early start and then the excitement of driving into the belly of the ship was always high! We would go out on deck and then I could never quite get over the fact that when we drove out we were suddenly in another country!
DFDS: What is it about travelling by ferry that you enjoy so much?
Will: I like the place. It’s so easy too. You turn up, board and before you know it, you’re in another country. You only have to get out the car to go onboard and then you can pass the time pleasantly by eating or reading or shopping and then hop back into your car again. It’s like a travelling version of a drive through! I also like the fact that I can take my car and be free to enjoy it travelling in another country. My favourite moment is the driving onboard. It’s like moving into some large mechanical beast’s belly!
DFDS: Did this influence your desire to do your album photoshoot onboard?

Will: It did very much so. My father also would take the ferry once or twice a week to go to France for work. I also was interested how a ferry represents the difference in cultures and environments. Such a small stretch of water separates us as a country in so many ways and ferry travel is a great way of bringing different cultures together.
DFDS: Were you at all concerned about seasickness during the photoshoot?

Will: I was a little bit but the weather was actually really calm and we even had blue skies!
DFDS: How was your experience of doing a photoshoot on a ferry?
Will: It was wonderful. People couldn’t have been more helpful. It is so relaxing onboard and it was nice for me to practice my French even though everyone speaks perfect English. We even got to go on the captain’s deck which was exciting for myself and the whole team.

DFDS: Tell us a bit about your upcoming album. What can we expect from the songs and what are the inspirations behind it?

Will: The inspiration was pop music in general. I really wanted to put an album out of great quality pop music, with interesting clean beats and incredibly clean and crisp production. I think we’ve managed that with this album. The theme is joy and I hope listeners feel that when they hear the tracks on there.

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Will Young and his team travelled on the Côte Des Flandres ship from Dover – Calais with DFDS. To see our crossing times and more details of the crossing visit: https://www.dfdsseaways.co.uk/ferry-routes/ferry-to-france/dover-calais

Will Young’s latest album is called Lexicon and will be released on 21st June.