‘Paul Mescal loved my song

It was a simple answer in an interview, but Paul Mescal’s approval for a song by Michael McGovern has seen life go crazy for the East Kilbride singer – even if the actor couldn’t remember his name.

Gladiator II and Hamnet star Mescal has a huge social media fanbase and mentioned last December he was loving a song called Evelyn, a plaintive folk ballad from Michael’s second album Thin White Road.

Although the song had already done well with over 100k listens via TikTok, the unexpected plug catapulted it to another level, with thousands of new fans following the singer.

A social media post from Michael a few days later estimated that listens to his music had gone up by about 700% since the interview.

He told BBC Scotland News the added attention was welcome, and that he has managed to forgive Mescal for saying he couldn’t remember who sang it.

“Someone sent me the clip on Instagram and said ‘you’ve been namedropped’ so I was really excited,” he recalls with a laugh.

“Then my face fell as he didn’t say my name! But it’s definitely my song, and him not remembering the name made it more funny.

“There are so many songs I listen to on Spotify and you don’t always remember names so I don’t blame him at all. I’m just delighted he’s listening to my music.

“The nice thing is that people who came to me through the interview seem to have stayed for the music. It has opened it up to a younger audience.”

The endorsement is not the only reason for his popularity – plenty of gigs over the past 15 or so years have helped with that.

However, he is now selling out shows across the country, with an upcoming tour including three nights in London at the Water Rats venue, after the first two sold out rapidly.

“It’s a bit crazy,” he admits.

“I can’t get my head around this. I’m doing three nights in London and I’m like, ‘who are these people coming along?’ I don’t have to keep asking family and friends to come along to all my gigs now!”

Michael picked up the guitar when younger, alongside his friend Callum Little – who still plays alongside him, as the drummer for his backing band.

The duo cut their teeth while still at school, which provided eye-opening experiences for the pair.

“We played in bars we were far too young to be in,” he recalls with a laugh.

“We’d be dressed in suits and see things we had no right to see at that age, then go back to school the next day with our heads spinning. Then I spent time just playing in bars, really just learning how to play music.”

Michael says he felt he was at a crossroads in 2020, spending most of his time focused on playing live shows.

Then when Covid and lockdown arrived, he made his first record, Highfield Suite.

“I gave myself a kick up the backside and said I would make an album, a real bedroom project,” he says.

“It was being made in a cupboard about four in the morning, but it did OK – and then I got some funding to make the next one. “

That album was Thin White Road – recorded at Black Bay Studio on the Isle of Lewis, and featuring a much more expansive sound than before, with a full band.

Michael and his bandmates spent part of a freezing January on the album, with light fading by early afternoon each day.

Among the songs completed there was Evelyn, the tune that so impressed Paul Mescal.

“We’d get up late each day, go for a walk while there was still light, see a couple of sheep and boats, then go back in to record a song.

“There was surprisingly little time for drinking and lounging around as I hadn’t finished quite a few of the songs until I was there.

“For something like Evelyn, it wasn’t done until the night before and I was frantically trying to get lyrics done. But the environment relaxes you – there is nothing else for you to do there, so that means there are no distractions.”

Now the singer is preparing for a busy 2026, with a string of gigs and – he hopes – the chance to work in the studio again.

His shows include a sold-out gig at the Celtic Connections festival, which holds personal significance for Michael.

“My grandad would take me to shows there,” he says.

“We’d flick through the brochure in January and pick a random show to go to. I’d come home and the first thing I would want to do would be to pick up my own guitar again. It’s a festival that has given me so much.”

His grandparents will hopefully be at the Drygate show later, along with other family and friends.

He hopes there will be young musicians there too, who might be inspired the way he was years ago.

“I got a message recently from someone saying he had been inspired by my songs to make his own music. It’s the ultimate compliment and it makes me quite emotional to think about it.

“Whether I end up playing to 50,000 people or 500, one thing I want to say I have achieved is getting other people to play music.”