Indie
Just how did Razorlight create their biggest hit America? It's all thanks to Billy Joel and the first song Johnny Borrell ever wrote...
Razorlight's Johnny Borrell and Andy Burrows played an intimate acoustic show at the Stereo bar in London on Wednesday night (22.07.26) and for the select crowd they played stripped down versions of their biggest hits and shared the stories behind them.
Razorlight fans have Billy Joel to thank for the band's biggest hit America.
Band members Johnny Borrell and Andy Burrows played an intimate acoustic gig at the Stereo bar in London on Wednesday night (22.07.26) playing stripped down versions of the band's best loved songs and sharing the stories behind them.
The duo closed with their 2006 Number One single America and Johnny revealed that the inspiration for the track came from him and drummer Andy sitting in the lobby of a hotel and hearing Billy Joel's Movin' Out (Anthony's Song) which was the opener on his 1977 album The Stranger.
Speaking to Andy, Borrell said: “I sat down and said, ’Why don't we just write a song with a drop beat like that, but minus the trumpet?’ You looked at me like, "Well, we could, but you wouldn't like it.'"
Razorlight recently released the demo version of the song, titled Lost In America, and Johnny told fans that they initially tried to give their biggest hit away to another artist but nobody wanted it when it was touted around to singers by their publishers.
He explained: "My plan, which Andy probably didn't like, was based on when Prince wrote ‘Nothing Compares 2 U’ and no one knew it was a Prince song until it became this big hit (for Sinéad O’Connor). I was like, 'Wouldn't it be so cool if we wrote this song and found some amazing artist to do it?'"
“There was a guy called Tony McMichael or something like that based in Nashville. Apparently, he tried it and didn't like it.
“Six months later, we still had this song. Don't get me wrong, I loved the song. I was living in the rehearsal studio at the time, and I had written this riff years ago. I think it was the first riff I ever wrote - for a really bad song about North East England when I was away on a very long camping holiday when I was 13. I never used guitar pedals, but I looked at this pedal on the floor and thought, ‘You know, I could put that with the 'Lost in America' song and see what happens.’”
Earlier in the night, Johnny and Andy treated the select crowd - which included Gavin and Stacey star James Corden - to their hits, including a host of tracks from their self-titled second album which they are celebrating with a 20th anniversary tour later this year.
James Corden was in the crowd for Razorlight's acoustic show / Credit: PhotographicGenius.com / Instagram: @PhotographicGeniusOfficial
Highlights included Golden Touch, In The Morning, Stumble and Fall, Who Needs Love and Before I Fall To Pieces.
Andy and Johnny were estranged for more than a decade but the drummer and songwriter rejoined Razorlight in 2021 and the pair's bond was closer than ever during the gig.
The 2026 tour will see Razorlight’s four classic members - Borrell, Burrows, Björn Ågren and Carl Dalemo - perform the Razorlight album in full.
Razorlight’s reputation has grown since four-times platinum debut album Up All Night, and the band has connected with a new generation of fans, averaging more than 1.7 million monthly Spotify listeners and the band can boast a UK No. 1 album, a Number 1 single, three UK Top 5 albums, two multi-platinum albums and eight UK Top 20 singles.
For more information and tickets go to the band's official website
Razorlight 20th anniversary tour dates:
Saturday 3 October - Powerstation, Auckland
Sunday 4 October - Meow Nui, Wellington
Tuesday 6 October - Max Watts - Melbourne
Thu 23 Oct 2026 - Kägelbanen, Stockholm, Sweden
Sun 25 Oct 2026 - Tavastia, Helsinki, Finland
Tue 27 Oct 2026 - John Dee, Oslo, Norway
Wed 28 Oct 2026 -Pumpehuset, Copenhagen, Denmark
Fri 30 Oct 2026 - Kantine, Cologne, Germany
Sat 31 Oct 2026 - Mühle Hunziken, Rubigen, Switzerland
Sun 01 Nov 2026 - La madeleine, Brussels, Belgium
Tue 03 Nov 2026 - Roxy, Prague, Czech Republic
Wed 04 Nov 2026 - Technikum, Munich, Germany
Thu 05 Nov 2026 - Simm City, Vienna, Austria
Sat 07 Nov 2026 - Kammgarn, Schaffhausen, Switzerland
Sun 08 Nov 2026 - Trianon, Paris, France
Tue 10 Nov 2026 - Den Atelier, Luxembourg City, Luxembourg
Wed 11 Nov 2026 - Melkweg, Amsterdam, Netherlands
Fri 13 Nov 2026 - Rolling Stone Beach Festival, Germany
Sat 14 Nov 2026 - Heimathafen Neukölln, Berlin, Germany
Sun 15 Nov 2026 - Circolo Magnolia, Milan, Italy
Tue 17 Nov 2026 - Moon, Valencia, Spain
Wed 18 Nov 2026 - Wolf, Barcelona, Spain
Fri 20 Nov 2026 - Grand Mix, Tourcoing, France
Thu 26 Nov 2026 - O2 Academy, Glasgow, UK
Fri 27 Nov 2026 - O2 City Hall, Newcastle, UK
Sat 28 Nov 2026 - The Civic Hall, Wolverhampton, UK
Mon 30 Nov 2026 - O2 Academy, Leeds, UK
Tue 01 Dec 2026 - Rock City, Nottingham, UK
Thu 03 Dec 2026 - O2 Victoria Warehouse, Manchester, UK
Fri 04 Dec 2026 - OVO Arena Wembley, London, UK
Sat 05 Dec 2026 - The Prospect Building, Bristol, UK
Tue 08 Dec 2026 - Hedon, Zwolle, Netherlands
Wed 09 Dec 2026 - Nieuwe Nor, Heerlen, Netherlands
Sun 13 Dec 2026 - Telegraph, Belfast
Mon 14 Dec 2026 - 3Olympia, Dublin
With James:
Thursday 8th October 2026 - Red Hill Auditorium, Perth
Saturday 10 October 2026 - Hordern Pavilion, Sydney
Sunday 11. October 2026 - MCA , Melbourne
Tuesday 13 October 2026 - Fortitude Music Hall, Brisbane
