“It calms the nerves having that sort of familiarity out in the audience,” he said.
Sam first began his road to fame as Ringo Brown on Neighbours when a friend encouraged him to audition for the Dolly Competition in 2006, to become a Neighbours’ star. Winning that competition, Sam immediately moved to Melbourne and signed an agreement with Neighbours to be the next big thing, and in 2008 he was nominated for an Australian Logie for the Most Popular New Talent award.
However, it is music that inspires Sam the most.
“I’ve grown up with all sorts of music, from heavy metal to Jeff Buckley. My favourite band at the moment is Incubus, they’ve also influenced me in a song-writing sense."
“My style is evolving, but I guess I’d be alternative pop-rock. Something that’s gonna be similar to a Matchbox 20 type of feel, but a little rockier,” Sam said.
Sam is looking to record an album over the Christmas break this year, and 'Give Me Your Heart', which was co-written with James Kempster, could be his first hit single. Check it out at www.myspace.com/samclarkmusic
“The song is about a long distance relationship I have with my girlfriend. The way you need to deal with that is to just be completely open with each other,” he said.
Sam would like to keep the music and acting thing separate, but would also like to write music for his Neighbours’ fan-base. He’s been asked to play on the show but wants to keep it separate to, “break the stigma attached with being a soap actor and a musician.”
“It’s a completely different thing to acting in front of a camera… getting up on stage and portraying all of your thoughts and feelings as opposed to the feelings of a character…It’s very confronting,” he said.
So does Sam have any groupies? Apparently not… as yet. Apart from his Mum!
Check out our Neighbours Video of Sam's gig at Manchester Lane on Tuesday 19th July.
