Songfacts®:

• London-born, Caribbean-raised singer-songwriter Marlon Roudette is the son of music producer Cameron McVey (Massive Attack, All Saints, Sugababes) and the stepson of singer Neneh Cherry. He lived in London with his mother, designer Vonnie Roudette, until the age of nine when he moved to St. Vincent. Roudette returned to London when he was 17 and as one-half of Mattafix, along with his friend Preetesh Hirji, he enjoyed some success. You might recall their single "Big City Life," which was an international hit topping the charts in Austria, Germany, Italy, New Zealand, Poland and Switzerland. However the band lost their record deal and they were forced to break up meaning Roudette had to go solo.
• Having broken up his band, Roudette then split up with his fiancée leaving him at rock bottom. This song is about the first day that the distressed singer saw the sun above the grey clouds. He told The Sun: "New Age is about the first day I thought I was going to get through it and survive. It's a positive record about moving on. I'm really wearing my heart on my sleeve and I think people have got that."
• Roudette wrote the song with Guy Chambers, the hugely successful songwriter and producer best known for being Robbie Williams' songwriting partner for several years. He told The Sun: "I'd met Guy years ago when he came to see Mattafix play in Berlin. He was a fan and had contacted me via MySpace. We kept in touch and, when I had nothing, he believed in me. We got together to write 'New Age' when I didn't have a record deal and everything was IOUs. But he believed in me. He was the one who said I should go solo. He understands me. He sat me down and told me I was a solo artist and had the voice to go for it."
• "New Age" was a big hit in Europe, spending eight weeks at #1 in Germany and also topping the charts in Austria and Switzerland.