John Newman on his new album 'Revolve', difficult childhood, and fear of failure

​Elvis lookalike John Newman has had two top 5 albums, but hates the idea of being judged

Grease is the word: John Newman

Emerging from a cramped booth in a west London recording studio, John Newman looks relieved to be able to stretch to his full height. You can't blame the man, he's awfully tall. Consequently, it requires some time to fully take him in. With his greased-back hair teased into a kiss curl, he makes a decent stab at a baby-faced Elvis impersonator, while the rest of him is more determinedly Rat Pack: white socks, black shoes. Despite having recently returned from Los Angeles, where he was recording his second album, Revolve, the 25-year-old remains as pale as a loaf of Mother's Pride. “Cigarette first,” he tells me, then hotfoots it outside, lighting up with a curious look: half frown, half smile.

Three years ago, he was one of many guest vocalists to appear on a Rudimental track – “Feel the Love” – which he used as a launch pad for the grandiose dreams he had been harbouring. Growing up in Settle, Yorkshire, Newman was the “weird kid” at school, his aloof manner setting him apart. “I had a lot of creative vision,” he says, “and the other kids just ripped me for it. I go back there now, and it's all: 'Hi mate! Long time no see!'” He scowls. “I hate fake people.”

A year after “Feel the Love”, his debut album, Tribute – which mixed a healthy Motown influence with lashings of hyperactive blue-eyed soul – went to No 1, and sold upwards of 300,000 copies. A couple of Brit nominations followed, and he made inroads in America, where he nestled in Sam Smith's slipstream.

Newman wasn't entirely satisfied with Tribute, which is why Revolve unfolds on a larger canvas. It's essentially the same record, but bigger and redolent of someone whose ambition won't be stinted. There are parping brass sections, feverish pop melodies, and a sustained sense of zeal. “Ah, making this record was well exciting,” he says in a thick Yorkshire burr. “I recorded it in Los Angeles, with incredible musicians.” Among them was the celebrated US songwriter Greg Kurstin, who has worked with Lily Allen, Pink and Sia, “and it's a beautiful thing to be able to turn your vision into a reality.”

He is back in London now, where he has to re-enter, however reluctantly, the music business.

“I came back here and I wanted to market [the record] in a certain way, but all anyone said to me was: budget, budget, budget. People are very quick to say no.” He does that frown/smile thing again and rubs his forearms, both of which have been recently tattooed. The left reads “Life is a journey not a destination”; on the right, an inked portrait of his mother as a young woman. “My best friend,” he says with feeling.

John Newman is the youngest of two sons. His brother, James, 29, is a songwriter for Rudimental and Little Mix. He describes their father as an alcoholic who left home when he was just six. “After he went, I felt I didn't have to listen to anyone any more.”

At school, he was a “little shit” to the teachers. He regularly got into scrapes with the law – often drink-fuelled – and when he was 16, his two closest friends died in a car crash. By 21, he had relocated to London where he signed to Island Records, then he began experiencing problems with his vision. The optician sent him to the hospital, where he was diagnosed with a non-cancerous tumour. They would have to operate immediately. The ordeal rocked him but he emerged from it as people are sometimes said to do – with a renewed determination to make the most of life. In this he was quickly rewarded: “Feel the Love” went to No 1.

But overnight success had a debilitating effect. “I hated the idea of being judged... I don't like being disliked.” There were other issues too. “I'm not the fittest person in the world. I grew up with a bit of a belly, and I never considered myself very good-looking. I suppose I just hate the idea of failing: socially, professionally, whatever.” This is clearly something that dogs him. The relationship he embarked upon while recording Revolve has just ended, and it pains him on several levels. “I don't want my career ruined because of a headline in tomorrow's paper,” he says. “I wouldn't want people turning on me, saying I'm horrible because I split up with my girlfriend.”

In tandem with Revolve's release comes a photograph-heavy, ghosted memoir with the same title. He felt it important, he says, to document a significant moment in his life. He also likes the idea of acting. In Los Angeles, he became friends with Will Smith and Idris Elba (the latter performs a spoken word cameo on Revolve), and such connections can only open more doors.

“Which is good, because the visions keep coming,” he laughs. “I have ideas all the time, mostly at night. Of course, there are lots of wire fences along the way trying to rip you apart, but when each new vision is realised, it's a beautiful thing.”

'Revolve: The Book' by John Newman is published by Quadrille, £18.99 hardback. He plays Manchester's Albert Hall on 22 November and London's Koko on 23 November