Whether inspired by dapper royalist or spaniel, King Charles is a singular performer. TIM HUGHES discovers why we should all be doffing our caps to this most merry of musical monarchs

You are not likely to forget King Charles. And not just because of his florid lyrics or catchy brand of country-pop.

Sporting what can only be described as a beehive, coupled with impressively waxed facial hair, the foppish folky is every inch the individualist.

And while his appearance harks back to a different age (the 1600s, to be precise), his music is very much of the moment, tapping into our new-found love of English roots-rock.

What we want to know, though, is how the regal epithet came about?

“I’ve always been King Charles,” he says. ”I existed as King Charles before the music came along, but I had to create what King Charles is. I had to describe my kingdom. It all starts with the blue blood and this funny looking cloud of hair on my head. I want my kingdom to offer a fearless space where people can express themselves; that’s the purpose of mankind.

“My philosophy, in its purest form, is about the celebration of love – and it’s a joyful enterprise.”

We first heard of the trim, exuberant and probably posh, Londoner (real name Charles Johnston – but don’t tell him we told you that) when his band Adventure Playground toured with Laura Marling and Noah and the Whale. As a soloist he has went on to support those other potentates of pop, Mumford and Sons – who share his love of honest acoustic songwriting.

However, we are lucky to have Charles at all. At the end of 2009, on a family skiing holiday in Austria, he suffered a near-fatal brain injury.

“As the clock struck the New Year I was in intensive care with my family freaking out,” he recalls. “I don’t know what happened and my brothers never told me. I was in hospital for 10 days with brain trauma then transferred back to London. The subsequent 18 months were pretty unpleasant, but my family gathered around me in an almighty way.

“It taught me that the universe is built for love. The power of that love is incredible. I’ve never been that good with love, but part of my kingship is being the King of Unrequited Love.”

It did nothing to slow him down, however – indeed, he believes the experience made him fearless. Which is probably why he went on to win the International Songwriting Competition in Nashville after convincing over a panel boasting Tom Waits, Jeff Beck, Loretta Lynn and Jerry Lee Lewis. He was the first British artist to walk away with the accolade and earned, in the process, a deal with Universal Republic. The result, his debut album Loveblood, was released a year ago, and won admirers with its effortless interweaving of Afro-beat, rock and roll, glam, folk, hip-hop and country.

“The competition gave me an amazing lift, and six months later I was signed and toured with Mumford and Sons,” he says. “Then I went to make the album. Most of it was written and recorded in my bedroom. But I was still recovering. It took 18 months to get over the accident. There was a lot of neuro business, but the doctors could see there was no physiological damage.

“I got the all clear a month after, but I’d had such a knock it upset my mental balance.

“I was fearless; I had bruised the part of my brain that dealt with inhibition. In the hospital I was forever chatting up student nurses at 2am. But I was terrified of everything too.

“I didn’t understand anything. I would freak out, wondering whether I was dreaming or dead. All reality was fed through a filter of distortion. I’ve never done acid, but I imagine that’s what it’s like. They would wake me up artificially to eat.

“I grabbed the knife and tried to hack at the straitjacket I thought I was wearing. They put me back to sleep after that. All the different colours of fear were there. But still, an amazing experience.”

Charles’s music can best be described with one word – pop. “The art is my passion, that’s what I’ve put my life into, but it’s for the people,” he says. “It’s not just my own artistic expression. And I hope it will be survivable.”

He adds: “I love being on the road. I want to fulfil every minute. My dream is to have a sushi chef on the road with me – to tour the coasts and go to the fish market every day.

“I want to entertain as well and as authentically as I possibly can and do it all alongside the best artists of my generation.”

King Charles plays the O2 Academy Oxford, on Friday, April 12. Tickets are £10 from ticketweb.co.uk. Support comes from Story Books and Giovanna