From Carlow to The Crowns: Jimmy Tyrrell’s Chart-Topping Chapter
Dayna Camilleri Clarke sits down with Jimmy Tyrrell to discuss his journey from Ireland to Malta, joining The Crowns, and their electrifying new album breakupbeard, which explores love, loss, and the raw power of moving forward.
Jimmy Tyrrell’s journey to joining Malta’s most beloved band, The Crowns, is as heartfelt as the music they create together. Hailing from the town of Carlow, Ireland, Jimmy brings with him an extensive musical heritage rooted in family singalongs and the enduring melodies of Johnny Cash and The Beatles. Now calling Malta home, Jimmy’s path, from playing local gigs to making waves on X Factor Malta has culminated in a powerhouse collaboration with popular local band, The Crowns. Together, they’ve crafted breakupbeard, an electrifying new album that fuses raw emotion with high-energy soundscapes.
With a knack for storytelling and a voice that connects, Jimmy is carving a new chapter for The Crowns and for himself. He is proving that music, much like life, is about embracing change and finding your rhythm along the way. We caught up with the popular singer to find out more.
Your musical journey began in Ireland. How did your roots shape the artist you are today? How has your experience on X Factor Malta and now working with The Crowns refined your artistry?
“Like everything else, it starts with family. Growing up in Carlow, Ireland, music has always been a big part of our culture, and the same was true for me. My parents sang Johnny Cash, my sisters introduced me to everything from Aerosmith to Damien Rice, and my uncle exclusively played Beatles albums on road trips to see Nanna. I sang Twist & Shout so much as a kid that I was properly shocked when I saw another car full of people singing along to it in traffic, I’d convinced myself that was my tune.
“I taught myself guitar at 15, after being so impressed when my neighbour won a school talent show with their version of Johnny B. Goode, a song featured in one of my favourite movies, Back to the Future. I formed a rock band with my mates, played the local bar scene for years, and kept writing songs even after university took us to different cities.
“I decided to move to Malta in 2014 to give music a proper shot, and I haven’t looked back since. I really love this little island. I gigged here solo for a couple of years before deciding post-COVID that it was now or never and gave X Factor a crack. It was an invaluable experience. You learn to give the audience what they want in a short window while staying true to yourself, which is pretty important in this industry. It’s also how I met The Crowns. Their 15 years of experience elevated our album, taking my acoustic voice notes and turning them into high-energy tracks with lots of layers. Without them, breakupbeard would sound completely different.”
I really enjoyed your new album with The Crowns, breakupbeard. Congratulations on your release! How did this collaboration come about?
“Thanks a million! They reached out after amicably parting ways with their previous singer last spring. I had an A4 pad full of scribbled-down songs that could do with a home, and they were open to taking the band in a new direction. It’s a new sound for them, and thankfully, people seem to like what we’ve put out.
“They’ve been friends for years, but they were especially welcoming right off the bat. I showed up in a full arm cast to the first rehearsal after breaking my arm playing football a few days prior. I’m pretty sure they thought I was nuts, and they were quick to joke about it. They’ve got a great sense of humour, they’re passionate about music, and they’re damn good at it too.
“We’ve had an incredible year of writing, recording, and gigging together. One wedding gig even ended with some crowd-surfing. We’re getting to the stage where they can even understand my accent sometimes!”
The music industry can be tough to navigate. What challenges have you faced, and how have they helped you all grow?
“Yeah, well, success is rarely a straight line, of course. It’s ups and downs, and you have to just deal with it. The Crowns have seen these massive highs like Best Band awards and hit records, but they’ve also experienced being out of the limelight.
“X Factor gave me a similar high and reality check. After the show, there was national TV, press, and festivals, the whole 15-seconds-of-fame playbook, but it didn’t lead to instant, sustained success. So you learn your lessons along the way, just like with any other job. You grow by staying humble, working hard, and not forgetting what makes you you.”
Where do you draw inspiration for your music? What inspired the new album, and can you tell us what the songs are about?
“The album, breakupbeard, describes the time you take after a relationship to feel, heal, and move on. Each song deals with a stage of love and separation. For example Heavy Breathing explores romance and intimacy, Amy is about love and addiction and the lead single, Out of Our Minds, is about healing through distraction.
“Everyone handles loss differently. Some bury themselves in work or religion, some start dating immediately, and others numb the pain by partying. This song focuses on the latter. It started as a melancholic acoustic track but evolved like a Pokémon into an upbeat tune about moving forward, even if it’s in self-destructive ways.
“If you close your eyes while listening, ‘To get you out of my head, I get out of my mind’, it’s meant to put you in a scene: jumping around at a music festival with your nearest and dearest, drumming on your steering wheel, singing badly at the top of your lungs. Maybe a kid will see you blasting it out in the car and have his own Twist & Shout moment. A man can dream, eh?
“That’s the feeling we wanted to capture. There are songs in here that are soft, sweet, and sad; others that are punchy, fun, and rocky. We wanted breakupbeard to sound raw and real, but also cathartic. The choruses aren’t packed full of words for a reason—sing along and really let her rip.”
How do you stay grounded after performing on big stages for large audiences, and what advice would you give to aspiring musicians looking to follow a similar path?
“New, exciting things are supposed to be scary, and that’s grand! Everyone wants their buddies to succeed, and other people are too busy with their own problems to wish any on you, mate.
“Listen to advice from experienced musicians, show someone that song you wrote, that riff you came up with. It’s like a bike, just start pedaling, and it’ll be easier to keep going. And when you’re absolutely terrified, just pretend you’re brave. Like that lion from The Wizard of Oz.”
breakupbeard is out now on all streaming platforms. To follow the Crowns and Jimmy, you can check out the socials here and here!
