25 years ago, David Gray was renowned for how famous he wasn’t.  

He had a cult of fans and listeners hooked on his sincerity and plainspokenness – but he hadn’t quite broken into the mainstream.   

And then came his career-making album White Ladder, recorded in his home and going on to become one of the best-selling albums of the 21st century so far.  

His lasting success has led him to the release of his 13th album Dear Life.  

The album is heavily influenced by themes of mortality, which Gray says have been present in his writing and works since the death of his father. 

“I was up close and watched him die, and that changes your perspective on things,” he told Newstalk ZB’s Jack Tame. 

“Just like watching one of your children being born – it's a privilege to be there.”  

“Obviously when you see the sort of parentheses that hold our fragile little lives, you reassess everything.” 

Gray also cites the western obsession with agelessness and anti-aging as an influence, as well as the deaths caused by Covid-19. 

“This all I ambiently fed in, I think to probably my natural inclinations.” 

The songs in ‘Dear Life’ are very direct, Gray says, explaining that they were “born standing up” and ready to go. 

“They’re not cutting any strange angles away, they’re not hiding themselves,” he told Tame. 

“That’s not to say that they don’t play games within that fixed gaze... there’s a lot of humour, there’s a lot of delicacy.” 

“But it was just such a pleasure to write.” 

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