After pop singer-songwriter, Charlie Finch, took a hiatus from music during the pandemic, he
thankfully decided to pick up his guitar and return to music to continue telling the uplifting pop-
rooted stories he’s become widely known from.
His latest single “Won’t Let Me Go” expresses understanding and recognition of the one person in his
life that he can be truly himself and at ease around. We all redact ourselves in certain situations,
whether it’s putting our best foot forward, or putting up protective walls for whatever reason, but
“Won’t Let Me Go” examines how we feel when someone has positively infiltrated that wall.
“I often use songwriting as a means of processing my thoughts and emotions, and with this song I
was thinking about how often we hide certain parts of ourselves in fear of rejection, and how
important it is to have a true confidant in this life – someone that you can really trust. Someone who
you can bear your soul to, and be completely honest with, and once I had that thought, I picked up a
guitar and started writing. I then met up with Robert Michael Duthy (Warmer Heights) and we
workshopped the song and refined it and then got down to recording,” Charlie explained when
questioned about the conceptualisation of his new single.
The accompanying video, directed by Richard Gouws, produced by Timothy Howden and filmed by
Stephanie Smith, all of whom are first-time collaborators with Charlie, follows the singer on a walk
through a cutesy suburb in Gqeberha. The video gives weight to the gravitas of the lyrics, as Charlie
literally voices the thoughts that he’s having, almost talking to himself, and coming to the realisation
that there is someone in his life who he can share the deepest parts of himself with.
“I remember waking up on the day, it was overcast, it began to rain, and we had all these places
where we wanted to shoot that were outdoors, so we weren’t sure if we were going to be able to get
the whole video done, or even if we were going to be able to film any of it that day, plus we had
limited time. We met under the bridge, and it just started absolutely bucketing down, to the extent
that water started pouring down this huge wall behind me that came down from the highway. It
looked so cool and we just said, ‘Keep filming, keep filming.’ I’m really grateful that happened, and
when we finished there it actually cleared up and we were able to film in all the other locations we
had planned which was just phenomenal,” Charlie shares when asked about the day of filming the
video.
At its core, Charlie’s new single “Won’t Let Me Go” is a triumphant return for a singer who has a
knack for expressing so eloquently the most emotive parts of the psyche.
