James Blunt (born James Hillier Blount; 22 February 1974) is an English singer, songwriter, and musician. A former soldier, he is especially known for his 2004 songs "You're Beautiful" and "Goodbye My Lover".
As a British Army captain in the aftermath of the Kosovo War, Blunt was involved in the British refusal to engage Russian troops at Pristina Airport. After leaving the army, he rose to fame in 2004 with the release of his debut album Back to Bedlam, achieving worldwide fame with the singles "You're Beautiful" and "Goodbye My Lover". His first album had sold over 12 million copies worldwide by December 2009, topping the UK Albums Chart and peaking at number two in the US. "You're Beautiful" reached number one in thirteen countries, including the UK and the US. Back to Bedlam was the best-selling album of the 2000s in the UK,[2] and is as of 2018[update] one of the best-selling albums in UK chart history.[3]
Blunt was born James Hillier Blount, on 22 February 1974, at Tidworth Camp military hospital, then in Hampshire, England.[5] His mother, Jane Ann Farran (néeAmos), started a ski chalet company in the French Alpine resort of Méribel, while his father, Charles Blount,[6] was a cavalry officer in the 13th/18th Royal Hussars and then a helicopter pilot, becoming a Colonel in the Army Air Corps.[7][8][9] He is the first of three children, with two sisters.[10] The family has a long history of military service, dating back to the 10th-century arrival of their Danish ancestors in England.[11]
Like his father, he is a pilot and gained his fixed-winged private pilot licence at age 16.[8] He also developed a keen interest in motorbikes around this time.[16][17]
During Blunt's Kosovo assignment, he had taken along his guitar strapped to the outside of his tank and would sometimes perform for locals and troops.[25] While on duty there he wrote the song "No Bravery".[26] Blunt extended his military service in November 2000[27] and was posted to the Household Cavalry Mounted Regiment in London, as a member of the Queen's Guard.[11] During this posting, he was featured on the television programme Girls on Top, a series highlighting unusual career choices.[28] He stood guard at the coffin of the Queen Mother Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon during her lying in state and was part of the associated funeral procession on 9 April 2002.[29]
A keen skier, Blunt captained the Household Cavalry alpine ski team in Verbier, Switzerland, becoming the Royal Armoured Corpsgiant slalom champion in 2000.[30] He left the army on 1 October 2002 having served six years.[31]
Music career
Early career
Blunt had piano and violin lessons as a child but was introduced to the electric guitar aged 14 at Harrow by a fellow student.[11][32] His dissertation at the University of Bristol was entitled The Commodification of Image – Production of a Pop Idol. One of his sources was Simon Frith, a sociologist and rock critic, and chair of the Mercury Music Prize panel of judges since 1992, who later undertook a lecture tour entitled "The unpopular and unpleasant thoughts inspired by the work of James Blunt".[33][34]
While still in the army, Blunt would write songs during his time off. A backing vocalist and songwriting collaborator suggested he contact Elton John's manager, Todd Interland, with whom she used to share a house. Interland told HitQuarters that he listened to Blunt's demo while driving home and, after hearing the track "Goodbye My Lover", pulled over and called the mobile number written on the CD to set up a meeting.[35]
Blunt left the British Army in 2002 so that he could pursue his musical career.[26] He started using the stage name "James Blunt" in part to make it easier for others to spell; "Blount" is pronounced the same way, and remains his legal last name.[36] Shortly after leaving the army he was signed to EMImusic publishers and to Twenty-First Artists management.[37] A record contract remained elusive, with label executives pointing to his posh speaking voice as a barrier in class-divided Britain.[32]Linda Perry, who was just launching her own label Custard Records in early 2003, heard Blunt's promotional tape when visiting London, and soon after heard him perform live at the South by Southwest Music Festival.[25] She made an offer to him the same night,[38] and within a few days he signed a recording contract with her. A month later, he travelled to Los Angeles to meet producer Tom Rothrock.[37][39]
Blunt recorded Back to Bedlam in 2003 with Rothrock as producer in Conway Recording Studios at Rothrock's home studio in Los Angeles, playing many instruments himself.[32][40] During recording, he lodged with actress Carrie Fisher. Fisher contributed in naming the album, and he recorded the song "Goodbye My Lover" in her bathroom.[11]Back to Bedlam was released in the UK in October 2004.
Blunt's debut single in the UK was "High" (co-written with Ricky Ross of Deacon Blue). This song initially peaked below the Top 100 of the UK Singles Chart; after the subsequent success of "You're Beautiful" it made the Top 75 before being re-released.[41] The song was chosen to appear in a Vodafone commercial in Italy, and was a Top 10 hit in that country.[37]
The debut album from the unknown Blunt initially attracted little critical attention; there were no published reviews from major UK music journals. His live performances, mainly in support of better-known musicians, received generally favourable reviews. His lack of performing experience and inconsistent approach with audiences was commented upon, while his music was likened to that of Damien Rice and David Gray.[42][43]
In March 2004, with Blunt performing in the support role for Katie Melua in Manchester, Alex McCann of Designer Magazine wrote, "Blunt's ascendance is a dead cert and this time next year it isn't that far removed from reality to suggest that a number one album, Brit Award and countless accolade's [sic] will be his for the taking."[44] After the release of the album, concert support slots for Elton John and Lloyd Cole and the Commotions in late 2004 and early 2005 followed, as did a band residency at London club 93 Feet East.[45] In March 2005, his second single, "Wisemen", was released.[46]
Blunt's third single, "You're Beautiful", was his break-out hit.[25] The song debuted at number 12 in the UK, and reached number one six weeks later. The song received huge airplay in the UK, propelling Back to Bedlam to number one on the UK Albums Chart.[37] The extensive airplay ultimately led to Blunt and his co-writers being awarded the Ivor Novello Award for Most Performed Work.[47]
After the success of "You're Beautiful" in the UK, the song crossed over to mainland Europe, becoming one of the biggest hits of summer 2005 across the continent. In the US, "You're Beautiful" made its debut in the summer of 2005 on WPLJ, a prominent radio station in New York City, despite not having been released to radio. The song was released to radio stations in the autumn of 2005 and climbed into the Top 10 in three radio formats: Adult Contemporary Music, Hot Adult Top 40 Tracks, and Adult album alternative.[37]
Blunt became the first British artist to top the American singles chart in nearly a decade when "You're Beautiful" reached number one on the Billboard Hot 100 in 2006; the last British artist to do so had been Elton John in 1997 with the song "Candle in the Wind 1997".[37] "Goodbye My Lover" was released as the fourth UK single from the album in December 2005, and the second US single. The songs "High" and "Wisemen" were subsequently re-released in 2006. Blunt began 2006 celebrating five Brit Award nominations, and went on to win Best British male solo artist and Best pop act categories, having already started an 11-month world tour.[48] On 31 August 2006, he won two awards at the 2006 MTV Video Music Awards, with "You're Beautiful" winning the award for Best Male Video.[49][50]
The album sold 11.2million copies[52] and topped the album charts in 16 territories worldwide.[37] It sold 2.6million in the US[52] and was certified 2× platinum.[53] In Britain the album sold over three million copies, was certified 10× platinum, and entered the Guinness Book of World Records for the fastest selling album in one year.[54]
In 2005, Blunt performed 90 live shows, mainly across the UK and Europe, and supported Jason Mraz in a North American tour. The "Back to Bedlam World Tour" started off in January 2006, covering cities in Europe, the UK, Australia, New Zealand, and Japan, as well as three separate headline tours in North America, ending in November of that year.[45] Not including promotional appearances, he performed over 140 live shows in 2006.
The videos for all of Blunt's singles from Back To Bedlam feature symbolism and dark imagery. In the first video for "High", he is buried in a desert. In the first video for "Wisemen", he is kidnapped and taken hostage. In the video for "You're Beautiful", he alludes to suicide by jumping off a cliff into the sea. In the "Goodbye My Lover" video, he is the outsider in a love triangle, imagining the couple, a man and woman (played by Matt Dallas of Kyle XY and Mischa Barton of The O.C.) together. The re-release video for "High" features Blunt running in a forest. The re-release video for "Wisemen" has him burning identification papers, and then walking through a forest while he is on fire.
Blunt appeared on an episode of Sesame Street which aired on 14 November 2007, singing about triangles to the tune of "You're Beautiful".[55] A parody of "You're Beautiful" titled "You're Pitiful" was recorded by Weird Al Yankovic.[56] According to Yankovic, Blunt gave his personal permission for the parody to be included on a Weird Al album before it was formally recorded, but Atlantic Records, Blunt's label, stepped in to forbid the commercial release of the song. Yankovic has since made the song available as a free MP3 download on his website. Yankovic tweeted a quote that was apparently from a message by Blunt's manager, saying "Thanks for your email, but both James and I will never approve this parody to be released on any label."[57]
On 28 December 2009, BBC Radio 1 announced that Back to Bedlam was the biggest-selling album of the 2000s decade in the United Kingdom.[58]
Blunt's second studio album, All the Lost Souls, was released on 17 September 2007 in the United Kingdom and one day later in North America. It sold 65,000 units in its first week, and was certified gold in the UK after only four days.[59] By the end of January 2008, the album had sold 600,000 copies in the UK, and 4.5million copies internationally.[60] Blunt completed the album's songs at his home in Ibiza in the winter of 2006–2007. He performed five of the ten album tracks during his 2005–2006 tours; lyrics, melodies, and harmonies were refined for the studio recording, on which his touring band played and Tom Rothrock worked as producer.[32]
While Blunt's first album received little critical attention, critics from every major music publication, and newspapers around the world, weighed in on All the Lost Souls.[61] The album was met with generally mixed to positive reviews, and received a 53/100 rating at Metacritic.[61] Eric Danton, of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel and The Hartford Courant wrote that the album is "a collection so bland, it makes hardtack seem sumptuous". However, Kerri Mason of Billboard said Blunt "shows the abandon and confidence of a long-term artist, not just a one-hit wonder" and continued "there is not a misstep throughout".[62] Equally effusive, Liz Hoggard of The Observer wrote that "it's impossible to resist Blunt's troubadour yearning."[63]
The first single from All the Lost Souls, "1973", was inspired by Blunt's nights out at Pacha, an Ibiza club, which opened in that year. The song became another hit, reaching number one on the Billboard European Hot 100 Singles chart.[64] D.J. Pete Tong remixed "1973" and played the track during his set at Pacha over the summer of 2007.[33] The second single, "Same Mistake", was released in early December 2007 but did not fare well in the UK charts, peaking at number 57. It was Number one in Brazil and a hit in many South American countries.[65] The third single from the album was "Carry You Home", released in March 2008, peaking at number 20 in the U.K charts and bringing the album back into the Top 10, six months after its release.[60] The fourth and final single from the original "All The Lost Souls" album was "I Really Want You".
Blunt collaborated twice during this album cycle. In late 2007, he worked with French rapper Sinik. They released "Je Réalise", which took elements of Blunt's song "I'll Take Everything", which hit the top three in France. On 14 November 2008, "Primavera in anticipo", Laura Pausini's new album, was released. The title track is a duet with Blunt. The album reached the Number one in Italy.
Throughout 2007 and 2008, Blunt went on his second world tour, including a performance in London's O2 Arena. In July and August 2008, he supported Sheryl Crow on a 25-date tour along with Toots and the Maytals.[66] On 24 November 2008, All The Lost Souls was re-released as a deluxe edition, with new album artwork, new single "Love, Love, Love" and the documentary James Blunt: Return to Kosovo.
Blunt's third studio album titled Some Kind of Trouble, was released on 8 November 2010. The album debuted at number four in the UK with over 100,000 copies sold in the first week. The album's first single "Stay the Night" was released on 27 October 2010. The single did much better in Europe than the UK, sitting at number two on the European Airplay Chart for five consecutive weeks, but only charting at number 37 in the UK top 40. The second single from the album, "So Far Gone" was released in the UK on 3 January 2011. The third single from the album, "If Time Is All I Have" was released in the UK on 4 April 2011. Overall critical reception has been mixed, with Allmusic saying, in a positive review, that "Some Kind of Trouble is a step in the right direction for Blunt, a move toward love songs free of pretension"[67] whilst BBC Music felt "When all's said, Some Kind of Trouble is not a terrible record by any means, but there's little sense that Blunt has advanced, and equally little sense that it'll make any difference to his bottom line."[68]
As of February 2011, worldwide sales stood at over one million copies.[69] By 2013 Blunt had sold over 20 million records worldwide.[70]
Blunt's fourth album, Moon Landing, was released on 18 October 2013. It featured production from Back to Bedlam producer Tom Rothrock. The lead single, "Bonfire Heart", debuted at number six before peaking at number four the following week in the UK Singles Chart. The single went to number 1 in Australia, Germany, Switzerland and Austria, and was in the top 10 in several other countries.
On 16 September 2014, Blunt confirmed on his official Instagram account that Moon Landing would be re-released on 3 November 2014. The new version of the album was named Moon Landing – Apollo Edition and contained 19 tracks: 11 from the original disc, plus the three bonus tracks of the deluxe version ("Telephone", "Kiss This Love Goodbye", and "Hollywood") and five new tracks ("Smoke Signals", "When I Find Love Again", "Breathe", "Trail of Broken Hearts", and "Working it Out"). The new track "When I Find Love Again" was released as a single that same day, after being played on BBC's Radio 2 for the first time. The official music video for "When I Find Love Again" was released on 14 October 2014.[71][72] The new version of the album also contains a 19-track live DVD recorded during Blunt's performance in the 2014 edition of the Paléo Festival, Switzerland.
In early 2016, Blunt announced via his newsletter that he had started work on his fifth album. Titled The Afterlove, it was released in March 2017.[74][75] In 2019, Blunt collaborated with German DJ and producer Alle Farben to release "Walk Away" in the dance music genre.[76]
2019–present: Once Upon a Mind and Who We Used to Be
Blunt's sixth album, Once Upon a Mind, was released on 25 October 2019. He released the song "Cold" as the lead single on 29 August.[77]
His first "greatest hits" album The Stars Beneath My Feet (2004–2021) was released on 19 November 2021[78] and included four new songs, two of them released as singles: "Love Under Pressure"[79] and "Unstoppable".[80] A Greatest Hits tour followed, with UK dates in February 2022.[81]
On 2 August 2023, Blunt announced his seventh album, Who We Used to Be, which was released on 27 October 2023, while releasing a single "Beside You" from the album on the same day.[82][83] Blunt then released singles "All The Love That I Ever Needed"[84] and "The Girl That Never Was", the latter of which was written about Blunt and his wife losing a child through miscarriage.[85][86] The album was released the same day as Blunt's "non-memoir" Loosely Based on a Made-Up Story: A Non-Memoir.[87][88][89][90] An in-depth documentary about Blunt's life and career, titled One Brit Wonder, is to be released in UK cinemas for one night only in December 2023.[91] Blunt toured the album in 2024.[92][93]
Personal life
Blunt and his wife Sofia at the NRJ Music Awards in December 2013
Blunt primarily resides on the Spanish island of Ibiza.[94] He also owns a chalet in the Swiss Alpine village of Verbier, where he has a ski lift named after him.[33] In 2012, alongside motorcycle racer Carl Fogarty and rugby player Lawrence Dallaglio, he opened a restaurant at the top of the ski lift called La Vache.[95] The same year, he was a victim of the News International phone hacking affair and filed for damages in a civil case.[96]
Blunt is an active user of Twitter with over two million followers and a feed notable for self-deprecating humour.[106] In 2020, Constable published a compendium of his tweets as a book called How to Be a Complete and Utter Blunt: Diary of a Reluctant Social Media Sensation.[107][108]
Charity work
Blunt was a patron of Help for Heroes,[109] a charity that raises money to provide better facilities for wounded British servicemen, and has also held benefit concerts for this charity.[110]
He has raised funds for the medical charity Médecins Sans Frontières. He first encountered the non-governmental organisation while on operations in Kosovo. Since then, he has been an active supporter by holding meet-and-greet auctions at many of his concerts, and filming the documentary Return to Kosovo, in which he visited the people and places he had encountered while there.[111]
Blunt also has supported environmental causes. He screened the trailer for An Inconvenient Truth at his concerts, and for each advance sales concert ticket purchased through his designated website, a tree is planted.[112] On 7 July 2007, he performed at the Live Earth concert at Wembley Stadium in London.
"High" is the debut single of British singer James Blunt and Ricky Ross for Blunt's debut album, Back to Bedlam. The song was produced by Tom Rothrock. It was released in October 2004 and failed to make an impact on the UK Singles Chart, peaking outside the top 75. Following the success of Blunt's second single, "You're Beautiful", "High" was re-released in late 2005 and became a top-20 hit worldwide, charting at number three in Italy and at number 16 in the UK.
"Wisemen" is a song written by British singer James Blunt, Jimmy Hogarth and Sacha Skarbek for Blunt's debut album, Back to Bedlam. The song was produced by Tom Rothrock and Jimmy Hogarth. The song was released as the third single in March 2005 and reached the top 50 in the United Kingdom, peaking at number 44. Following the success of "You're Beautiful" and "Goodbye My Lover", "Wisemen" was re-released in March 2006, reaching number 21 in New Zealand and number 23 in the UK. The song was met with positive reviews.
Back to Bedlam is the debut studio album by English singer-songwriter James Blunt, released on 11 October 2004 by Custard and Atlantic Records. It is named after the famous psychiatric institution of Bethlem Royal Hospital in London, which is commonly known as "Bedlam".
"You're Beautiful" is a song by English singer-songwriter James Blunt. It was written by Blunt, Sacha Skarbek and Amanda Ghost for Blunt's debut album, Back to Bedlam (2004). It was released as the third single of the album in 2005.
"Goodbye My Lover" is a song by English singer-songwriter James Blunt, written by Blunt and British songwriter Sacha Skarbek, for Blunt's debut album, Back to Bedlam (2004). The song was produced by Tom Rothrock and recorded in the home of actress Carrie Fisher. The single received a positive reception from music critics.
Kellie Dawn Pickler is an American country music singer, actress and television personality. Pickler gained fame as a contestant on the fifth season of American Idol and finished in sixth place. In 2006, she signed to 19 Recordings and BNA Records as a recording artist. Her debut album, Small Town Girl, was released later that year and has sold over 900,000 copies. The album, which was certified gold by the RIAA, produced three singles on the Billboard Hot Country Songs charts: "Red High Heels" at No. 15, "I Wonder" at No. 14, and "Things That Never Cross a Man's Mind" at No. 16.
Amanda Louisa Gosein-Cameron, known professionally as Amanda Ghost, is a British music executive, songwriter and singer. She was the president of Epic Records from 2009 until 2010. Ghost is a three-time Ivor Novello Award winner, a Golden Globe nominee, and has been nominated for two Grammy Awards.
James Morrison Catchpole is an English singer, songwriter and guitarist. He rose to recognition for his 2006 debut single "You Give Me Something", which peaked within the top five on the UK Singles Chart, received platinum certification by the British Phonographic Industry (BPI), and became a hit song in several European regions. Following its success, he signed with Polydor Records to release his debut studio album Undiscovered (2006), which peaked atop the UK Albums Chart. At the Brit Awards 2007, Morrison won the Brit Award for Best British Male from three total nominations, namely British Breakthrough Act and Song of the Year for the aforementioned.
Chasing Time: The Bedlam Sessions is a live album and DVD released by James Blunt in 2006 as a follow-up to his 2004 debut album, Back to Bedlam. The set contains a live album from Ireland, as well as a DVD featuring a recorded performance at the BBC, music videos for "High", "You're Beautiful", "Wisemen" and "Goodbye My Lover", and interviews taken from various television appearances and studio sessions. The audio CD was also included as part of a deluxe package of Back to Bedlam that was available in the United States, thus meaning that this release was not issued there.
"You're Pitiful" is a parody of the James Blunt song "You're Beautiful" written and recorded by American parody musician "Weird Al" Yankovic. It was released exclusively online on June 7, 2006. In it, Yankovic chides a 42-year-old man who lives a pitiful existence. It was originally intended as the lead single of his twelfth studio album, Straight Outta Lynwood.
Straight Outta Lynwood is the twelfth studio album by the American parody musician "Weird Al" Yankovic, released on September 26, 2006, the title drawing inspiration from hip hop group N.W.A's Straight Outta Compton. It was the sixth studio album self-produced by Yankovic. The musical styles on the album are built around parodies and pastiches of pop and rock music of the mid-2000s. The album's lead single, "White & Nerdy", is a parody of Chamillionaire's hit single "Ridin'". The single debuted at #28 on the Billboard Hot 100 and peaked at #9 the following week; "Canadian Idiot", a parody of Green Day's "American Idiot", also charted, peaking at #82.
The discography of James Blunt, a British pop rock singer, contains seven studio albums, two live albums, one compilation album, eleven extended plays and thirty-four singles.
Luan Parle is an Irish performing artist, songwriter, composer and producer. Parle won a Meteor Ireland Music Award for Best Irish Female and has written and recorded with songwriters and producers Bill Bottrell, Chris Kimsey, and Billy Steinberg. Parle signed her first record deal at the age of 12 & released her debut album "First Impressions". She later signed with Elton John's Management Company Twenty-First Artists. She signed a record deal with Sony Records and released her album Free in 2007.
All the Lost Souls is the second studio album by English singer-songwriter James Blunt, released on 17 September 2007. It is the follow-up to his 2004 debut album, Back to Bedlam. The first single released from the album was "1973", which started radio play on 23 July 2007.
"1973" is a song by English recording artist James Blunt. It was released as the lead single from his second studio album, All the Lost Souls (2007).
James Blunt: Return to Kosovo is a 2007 documentary film recorded in September 2006, when musician and former British Army Captain James Blunt returned to Kosovo to perform a concert for serving NATO troops, and to visit places and people he had encountered whilst serving in Kosovo in 1999. The documentary was directed by Steven Cantor.
Sacha Skarbek is a British songwriter and producer. He is best known for co-writing James Blunt's hit singles "You're Beautiful" and "Goodbye My Lover" as well as Miley Cyrus' hit song "Wrecking Ball". Skarbek has worked with artists such as Adele, Lana Del Rey, Jason Mraz, Tears for Fears, Duffy and many more.
This is a summary of 2006 in music in the United Kingdom.
Some Kind of Trouble is the third studio album by British singer-songwriter James Blunt, released on 8 November 2010. On 6 December 2011, a deluxe version of the album was released, titled Some Kind of Trouble: Revisited.
James Gabriel Keogh, known professionally as Vance Joy, is an Australian singer-songwriter and former Australian rules footballer. He is best known for his 2013 hit song "Riptide".
↑ "In Touch. (newsletter)"(PDF). University of Bristol Alumni Association. Autumn 2005. p.2. Archived from the original(PDF) on 21 July 2011. Retrieved 31 May 2009.
↑ Hardy, Peter (12 February 2006). "I traded in the Lada for a tank; Interview". Sunday Times. London, England. p.2.
↑ "When I Find Love Again". youtube.com/user/jamesbluntmusic. 14 October 2014. Archived from the original on 30 October 2021. Retrieved 1 September 2015.
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