James Morrison struggles to write music during tough times

James Morrison admits he struggled to write music during difficult periods of his life.

The 'You Give Me Something' hitmaker admitted his daughter Ada-Rose being born prematurely in 2018 - which came after his father's death a few years earlier - had an impact on his songwriting.

He told the Metro newspaper's Guilty Pleasures column: "If I've got really stuff going on, it's not like I can write a song that day and it's going to help me.

"The love of music has always been there and, as soon as I stay away from my guitar or the singing for too long, it claws me back.

"It's never gone but sometimes it's turned down. Going through a lot of s*** with my youngest girl, and having to put my career on the back burner for a little bit, just allowed me to have perspective."

The 37-year-old singer lost his dad a decade ago, and he admitted it might him reassess his priorities.

He said: "I was only on my second or third album at that point, and so all my career recognition that I thought was super-important to me, it turned out it wasn't as important as my family."

Now, James - who also has 13-year-old daughter Elsie with his wife Gill - is "in a good place" as he tries to strike a "balance".

He added: "I'm still trying to get the balance right.

"The last few years, I've gone through some soul-searching and I've come out the other side feeling quite solid and grounded as an artist."

Meanwhile, James - who has so far released five studio albums and has released a Greatest Hits compilation - recently admitted he had no idea how to look after his vocal health in the early days of his career, and revealed he "didn't even drink water."

He said: "I never used to do anything that was good for my voice at all. I didn't even drink water! I was so naïve and learned how to sing in pubs, so smoking, drinking, loud talking and all that stuff was natural to me."