‘He’s actually quite small. I have a bigger shadow’ – Inhalation singer Elijah Hewson on the famous father and ‘nepo baby’ debate

Elijah Hewson opened up about his famous father in an interview with a newspaper.

In what he says is a not-so-big shadow of Bono, Elijah has forayed into the music scene, with his four-member indie-rock band.

The band consists of singer-guitarist Elijah, bassist Robert Keating, guitarist Josh Jenkinson and drummer Ryan McMahon.

Initially dodging the lead, Jenkinson told the Evening Standard: “Leading came very naturally” for Hewson.

“Your motivation comes from the fact that you are so good at composing music,” adds McMahon. “Once you’re writing songs, you’re like: ‘I know how this song is going to sound.’”

Now together for a decade, the Dublin quartet has had a couple of months of intense touring and is now heading straight into promotion for next month’s release, Cuts and bruises. This is the sequel to their 2021 debut album It won’t always be like thisa huge hit in both the UK and Ireland.

Hewson’s mother Ali initially expressed concern when another family member joined the musician lifestyle.

“She hates it,” he said. “Then when she saw how passionate I was about it and about guys, she had no choice but to get on board. The first time we went to London, our Airbnb was cancelled. I called her: ‘Is there any chance of a hotel?’ She said: ‘When your dad and I first arrived in London, we had to stay on a park bench for one night. So let’s do it.’”

Aware that they were in the shadow of the biggest four-piece rock band in the world, Keating said: “But even with that, we don’t feel the shadow of U2. It is just a fact. Of course we are in the shadow of U2. Any Irish Band – Fontaines [DC] to be. Unfortunately, Eli’s damn dad happens to be in the band with the big shadow!

Hewson grinned. “He really is a small boy. I have a bigger shadow!”

With discussion of ‘nepo babies’ – children of successful celebrities – on the rise, Hewson added: “I’m a very small nepo baby. That doesn’t bother me, man. It doesn’t change the fact that I want to make music, and that’s what I love.

He added: “You just have to wear your advantages up your sleeve, because there are so many of them. “But they don’t mean people will listen to your music or come see your gigs.”

Elijah’s sister, actress Eve Hewson, late last year joked about being dropped from the ‘nepotist kids’ list in New York magazine.

“Actually I’m quite disappointed, can’t I appear in the nepo baby article like they haven’t seen my hit show Bad Sisters??? Nervous,” Hewson joked on Twitter.

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Then she said, “Goal 2023: be successful enough to be recognized as a nepo baby.”

However, when sent a diagram of musicians raising children as actors, she replied: “HOLY FORK. I JUST KNOW I HAVE ACHIEVE THE OBJECTIVE OF 2023 AND STILL GOING TO 2022.”