HOW LABRINTH ESCAPED HIMSELF

Winning an Emmy for Euphoria and working with Beyoncé has seen the star take America by storm, but he's also faced darkness — and now recorded the best music of his career.

- By Craig McLean

When the John Lewis call came, Labrinth answered. In soundtracking its latest festive advert with his re-rub - alongside original vocalist Alison Limerick of 1990 rave classic Where Love Lives, he was only too happy to join the annual slush-fest. For one thing, the middle-Britain-wowing gig proved something.

"It's weird. A lot of people thought I just went away!" the 36-year-old from Stoke Newington says with a burst of his ever-ready laughter. Fifteen years ago, he was signed to Simon Cowell's Syco label and had immediate, Brit and Ivor Novello-winning success when he co-wrote and produced Tinie Tempah's No1 hit, Pass Out. Beneath Your Beautiful (2012), a chart-topper under his own name with Emeli Sandé, followed. Since then he's logged serious studio hours with Beyoncé, Billie Eilish and The Weeknd, scored soundtracks for Disney (The Lion King) and created the music for HBO's controversy-bait series Euphoria, for which he won an Emmy for All for Us, recorded with Zendaya. Little wonder that these days the Londoner born Timothy Mckenzie is resident half the year in LA.

"People didn't know I was doing all these things," he continues. "So they ask when I come [to the UK], 'What you doing?' I'm like: 'I've had multi-platinum records around the world. It just hasn't shown here.' So John Lewis for them is like: 'Oh, f***ing hell, you are doing stuff now, Lab!'"

"But it's nice. I've been missing home, honestly," adds a man whose mum is still in Clapton while his wife and three young children are back in LA. "So it felt like a homecoming as well."