Grammy Award-winning singer-songwriter Gregory Porter has built a large fanbase with his soulful jazz music and unmistakable baritone voice. The 55-year-old has enjoyed a decorated career, which has seen him play Glastonbury Festival, release several studio albums to critical acclaim, and appear on The Masked Singer UK as a Dressed Crab.
But it is not just Porter's voice that sparks online discussion whenever he is on TV. Viewers often wonder why he wears a flat cap, modified to include a balaclava-style strap that runs under his chin. The same question arose when he performed on Strictly Come Dancing's results show this weekend, accompanied by a routine from Alexis Warr and Aljaž Škorjanec.
The reason behind the hat
There is no big mystery – Porter began wearing the hat, actually a Kangol Summer Spitfire with a modified strap, to cover up scars he had after undergoing skin surgery. The accessory has since become a personal 'security blanket'.
'I've had some surgery on my skin, so this has been my look for a little while and will continue to be for a while longer,' he admitted in 2012 to Jazz Weekly.
Porter never talks in detail about the scars, though, and previously told the BBC that he wants to be 'less about my hat and more about my heart and my sound'. 'People recognise me by it now. It is what it is,' he added.
He did, however, tell the Telegraph in 2016 that he received some facial scars at around 'seven or eight' years old but did not elaborate further.
How the hat became his style
Porter has since opened up about his now-famous headgear to Metro, explaining in a 2020 interview: 'It started off covering some scars from surgery, but it's become my style.'
'I was in Denver, and it was cold. I was wearing five layers of clothing, and I wore a hat. It warmed up, and I thought, "Actually, this is comfortable; this is a look." I started to sing in a jazz club in Denver, and people were like, "Oh yeah, that's the guy with the hat." So it became a thing.'
He also explained how removing the hat allows him to maintain some anonymity, but he has become so synonymous with it that he will be recognised as soon as it is back on, even off the stage. 'The only time I didn't get recognised, I took off my hat to swim in the ocean in Ibiza, and no one recognised me,' he laughed. 'I went back to my hotel and put my hat on… And there was Gregory Porter.'
'But it's OK because people are trying to connect and take a picture and say thank you for some joy they had.' He added about fans asking to take photos with him: 'I'm really OK with it, and I always honour people, and they honour me by coming to my concerts. I'm thankful.'
No free passes and other hats
Porter has insisted that, while he is so famous for his headgear now, he does not get any free passes. Speaking to The Independent, he revealed that staff in UK airports now know him 'quite well'.
'But they don't give me a free pass; I get fully checked and secured. There has been a time or two when I have been asked to sing to let them know it's really me.'
And if you are wondering whether Porter has any other hats in his collection, he has assured fans he has several different headpieces to choose from. He also likes wearing his hat and has insisted it never gets itchy, hot, or uncomfortable.
