 |
Tom McRae | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Background information | |
| Birth name | Jeremy Thomas McRae Blackall |
| Born | 19 March 1969 Chelmsford, England |
| Website | www.tommcrae.com |
Jeremy Thomas McRae Blackall (born 19 March 1969), better known by his stage name Tom McRae, is an English singer-songwriter.
The son of two Church of England vicars, [1] McRae sang in the church choir and as a teen experimented with his mother's guitar. [2] Initially trying to emulate his heroes, Billy Bragg, Bob Dylan, Paul Simon, Neil Young, Kate Bush, U2, he began to write his own songs and develop his own style. At the age of 18, he went to City of London Polytechnic achieving a degree in politics and government, [3] and forming his first band, "The Ministers of Orgasm". Subsequently, McRae was involved in bands "Raising Cain" and "Orchid Lounge". [4] A chance meeting with recording engineer and record producer Roger Bechirian, (Elvis Costello, Squeeze, Carlene Carter, The Undertones), led to a working relationship. Bechirian helped to shape McRae's soft-spoken sound, which later gained McRae a deal with Dave Bates's db Records (db records). In 2000, director Scott Walker chose McRae to perform at the Meltdown Festival in the Royal Festival Hall. [5] McRae's confessional, self-titled debut appeared in autumn 2001, during the height of the new acoustic movement and earned him comparisons to Nick Drake and Bob Dylan. Critics raved and McRae gained nominations for the Mercury Prize, a Q magazine award and the BRIT Award for Best Newcomer. By then, McRae was working with Oliver ("Oli") Kraus, cellist, and in 2003 was joined by Olli Cunningham on keyboards. McRae's second album, Just Like Blood, was released in the UK in February 2003 produced by Ben Hillier, whose credits include Elbow, Martha Wainwright and Blur. McRae then moved to California, where he wrote and recorded his next album, All Maps Welcome , which was released in May 2005.
In 2005, McRae supported Tori Amos on the UK/Ireland leg of her Original Sinsuality tour. Having played many times in the Hotel Café in Los Angeles and having been one of the artists on the first U.S Hotel Cafe Tour, McRae brought the Tour to the UK in 2006, introducing his fans to many other singer-songwriters which most notably included Steve Reynolds, Joe Purdy, Cary Brothers, and Jim Bianco. The Hotel Cafe Tour saw the artists participating in each other's songs. The tour also featured a variety of special guests, including Kathryn Williams, Justin Currie, Colin MacIntyre and Aqualung.
McRae's fourth album, King of Cards , was recorded in Suffolk and released in May 2007.
In spring 2008, McRae once again brought the Hotel Cafe Tour to the UK, and for the first time, also took it to continental Europe. This time he was accompanied by Cary Brothers, Brian Wright, Catherine Feeny, Greg Laswell, Jim Bianco and Jason (or Dr.) Kanakis. Again, there were special guests at each location, including Eddi Reader and Turin Brakes.
McRae was a guest vocalist for the band "Wills and the Willing" at a number of festivals in the UK in summer 2008, and had a headline slot at the Offset festival in August. [6] In autumn 2008, he toured the North Eastern states of America and Canada.
McRae's fifth studio album, The Alphabet of Hurricanes , was produced in his own recording studio, Gunpoint, in East London. The album was recorded over three years in varied settings, and, thanks to a deal with Cooking Vinyl was released in February 2010. The "Alphabet of Hurricanes" Tours, which sold-out at a number of venues, were rescheduled to fit in with the album release. [7] Towards the end of 2010, McRae was involved in the Crossing Border festival in the Netherlands, playing with the Matangi Quartet who are based in that country. He released a second live album, Tom at Tut's with songs and banter garnered from 2 full band gigs at King Tut's Wah Wah Hut in Glasgow in 2004. In the spring of 2011, Tom toured the UK and Europe with a UK string quartet, and did a solo tour in Germany. 2012 saw the arrival of his sixth studio album From the Lowlands, being the long-awaited second part of the Alphabet of Hurricanes, and Tom's first solo tour in France, the UK and Ireland which was met with sold-out venues. A further leg of the solo tour in April 2013 coincided with a commercial release of "From the Lowlands".
On 7 September 2013, instrumental music composed by McRae was performed as part of a multimedia art installation of video-artist Klaus Verscheure "14 EMOTIONS/Allegoria Via Dolorosa" by the Belgian group Spectra Ensemble at the Transformator/Happening (festival of metamorphosis) in Zwevegem, Belgium.
In 2014, among other writing projects, McRae wrote the song, "Love More or Less" for Marianne Faithfull's album, Give My Love to London and worked on his seventh album, "Did I Sleep and Miss the Border", released on 11 May 2015. [8] He continued writing songs and music for other artists but was able to release his eighth album "Ah, the World! Oh, the World" in September 2017, with a companion book, and his UK tour to promote the album, quickly sold out.
McRae was once cast in an independent film as Gram Parson's ghost. Funding for the film fell through and all that remains is his screen test. [6]
Tom McRae contributed to a compilation album, Hope 2003, in support of children in Iraq who were affected by war.
He also contributed a cover version of "Wonderful Christmastime" to a Christmas compilation album: Maybe This Christmas Tree released in 2004.
In August 2005, McRae visited the country of Niger in Africa at the request of The Observer and wrote an article about the famine titled, "This is not just another act of God – this is ingrained poverty".
McRae provided some of the vocals on "Lipstick", a 2008 single by "Wills and the Willing" having written parts of the song after listening to the original material. The song was written in response to the London bombings. [10]
Along with Bob Harris, Guy Clark and others, McRae is one of the commentators on the film We Dreamed America , released as a DVD in 2008. This documentary examines the connections between British and American roots music.
McRae wrote the song, "Love More or Less" for Marianne Faithfull's album, Give My Love to London and worked on his seventh album, "Did I Sleep and Miss the Border" was due for release on 11 May 2015. [8]
| This section of a biography of a living person does not include any references or sources .(March 2011) |
McRae contributed music to the soundtracks of the movies Uno (2004) and Unsuitable (2005). His music also featured in the film The Bubble . [11]
"São Paulo Rain" was featured in a sixth-season episode of Buffy the Vampire Slayer . The episode is entitled "Entropy."
"Set the Story Straight" was featured in a second-season episode of Kyle xy . "Still Lost" was featured in the third-season episode "Electric Kiss" of Kyle XY.
"I Ain't Scared of Lightning" was featured in the second season of British drama Skins .
"Karaoke Soul" and "Stronger Than Dirt" appear in the American television series Rescue Me and "Karaoke Soul" is featured in its soundtrack.
"2nd Law" and "You Cut Her Hair" were part of the soundtrack for the film Jekyll + Hyde.
"Walking 2 Hawaii" was used in Hollyoaks .
"You Only Disappear" was featured in an episode of the American drama Without a Trace .
"For The Restless" was used in one episode of the German television series Alles was zählt .
"You Only Disappear" was used for a contemporary routine choreographed by Dee Caspary on Season 7 of So You Think You Can Dance .
"Overthrown" was used in the third-season episode "Everyone Leaves" of Six Feet Under .
His cover of Wonderful Christmastime was used in the TV version of film Lost Christmas starring Eddie Izzard but was not used in the DVD version.
In 2018 he collaborated with fashion brand Kenzo for its fragrance Flower by Kenzo. "Sung by Kim Tae-Ri and San Francisco residents, [...] the track What a Way to Win a War is from his latest album. A real collaboration took place in which Tom McRae rewrote and reinterpreted part of the lyrics of his original piece, in order to bring them into resonance with the universe of FLOWER BY KENZO." [12]
Since the 2018 collaboration with fashion brand KENZO, the song , What a Way to Win a War, has been used for a second year.
In 2020 McRae scored Adam & Eve, the second of a trilogy of art installations with Belgian artist Klaus Verscheure. This was performed in Paris for the Nuits Blanches Festival.
In 2022 "You Cut Her Hair" was featured in episode 4 of The English (TV series)
Ralph McTell is an English singer-songwriter and guitar player who has been an influential figure on the UK folk music scene since the 1960s. McTell is best known for his song "Streets of London" (1969), which has been covered by over two hundred artists around the world.
Texas is a Scottish rock band from Glasgow, founded in 1986 by Johnny McElhone, Ally McErlaine, and Sharleen Spiteri. Texas made their performing debut in March 1988 at the University of Dundee. They took their name from the 1984 Wim Wenders movie Paris, Texas. The band released their debut album Southside in 1989, along with the debut single "I Don't Want a Lover", which was a top-ten hit on the UK Singles Chart and peaked within the top ten of the charts in many other European countries. Southside entered at number three on the UK Albums Chart and number 88 on the Billboard 200 album chart in the United States, and sold over two million copies worldwide. Despite the success of Southside, the follow-up albums Mothers Heaven (1991) and Ricks Road (1993) were less successful, peaking at number 32 and number 18 on the UK Albums Chart respectively, but achieved moderate success on various European markets.
Gomez are an English indie rock band from Southport, Merseyside, comprising Ian Ball, Paul "Blackie" Blackburn (bass), Tom Gray, Ben Ottewell and Olly Peacock. The band has three singers and four songwriters, employing traditional and electronic instruments. Their music covers the genres of blues, indie, alternative, rock, folk, psychedelic and experimental.
McFly are an English pop rock/pop band formed in London in 2003. The band took their name from the Back to the Future character Marty McFly. The band consists of Tom Fletcher, Danny Jones, Dougie Poynter and Harry Judd (drums). They were signed to Island Records from their 2004 launch until December 2007, before creating their own label, Super Records.
The Coral are an English rock band, formed in 1996 in Hoylake on the Wirral Peninsula, Merseyside. The band emerged during the early 2000s. Their 2002 debut album The Coral, from which came the single "Dreaming of You", was nominated for the Mercury Music Prize and listed as the fourth best album of the year by NME. Their second album, Magic and Medicine (2003), produced four UK Top 20 singles, including "Pass It On". In 2008, after guitarist Bill Ryder-Jones left the band, they continued as a five-piece.
Keane are an English alternative rock band from Battle, East Sussex, formed in 1995. They met while at Tonbridge School together. The band currently comprises Tom Chaplin, Tim Rice-Oxley, Richard Hughes, and Jesse Quin. Their original line-up included founder and guitarist Dominic Scott, who left in 2001.
King Tut's Wah Wah Hut, also known as King Tut's, is a live music venue and bar on St. Vincent Street, Glasgow, Scotland. It is owned and managed by Glasgow-based gig promoters DF Concerts.
Sluts of Trust are a two-piece rock outfit from Glasgow, Scotland, originally comprising John McFarlane and Anthony O'Donnell (drums). O'Donnell was later replaced on drums by Roo Harris.
The Zutons are an English indie rock band, formed in 2001 in Liverpool. The band are currently composed of singer, songwriter, and guitarist Dave McCabe, drummer Sean Payne, and saxophonist Abi Harding.
"Friend of the Devil" is a song recorded by the Grateful Dead. The music was written by Jerry Garcia and John Dawson and the lyrics are by Robert Hunter. It is the second track of the Dead's 1970 album American Beauty. Like most of American Beauty, the song is largely acoustic and opens with Garcia playing a descending G major scale in the bass register.
The Plain White T's are an American rock band from Lombard, Illinois, formed in 1997 by high school friends Tom Higgenson, Dave Tirio, and Ken Fletcher, and joined a short time later by Steve Mast. The group had a mostly underground following in Chicago basements, clubs, and bars in its early years.
Corinne Jacqueline Bailey Rae is an English singer and songwriter. She is best known for her 2006 single "Put Your Records On". Bailey Rae was named the number-one predicted breakthrough act of 2006 in an annual BBC poll of music critics, Sound of 2006. She released her debut album, Corinne Bailey Rae, in February 2006, and became the fourth female British act in history to have her first album debut at number one. In 2007, Bailey Rae was nominated for three Grammy Awards and three Brit Awards, and won two MOBO Awards. In 2008, she won a Grammy Award for Album of the Year.
Joe Purdy is an American singer/songwriter who has released fourteen albums over the last fifteen years. In 2017, Purdy made his acting debut in American Folk.
The Heavy are an English rock band from Bath, Somerset, England, formed in 2007. They have released six albums as well as a wide array of singles. Their music has been widely used in the media, with their 2009 single "How You Like Me Now?" becoming their biggest hit.
Roger Béchirian is an English engineer and record producer. Béchirian was a key player in the British new wave scene of the late 1970s and early 1980s, best known for his work with Nick Lowe, Paul Carrack, Elvis Costello, The Undertones, Dave Edmunds, The Monkees, the Flamin' Groovies, and Squeeze. He was also a member of the pseudonymous new wave group Blanket of Secrecy, which issued one album in 1982. More recently, Béchirian has worked with the Trashcan Sinatras and Bell X1.
The Xcerts are a Scottish alternative rock band, originally formed in Aberdeen, Scotland in 2001. They have released four studio albums, with their latest being Learning How to Live and Let Go (2023).
Paolo Giovanni Nutini is a Scottish singer, songwriter and musician from Paisley. Nutini's debut album, These Streets (2006), peaked at number three on the UK Albums Chart. Its follow-up, Sunny Side Up (2009), debuted at number one on the UK Albums Chart. Both albums have been certified quintuple platinum by the British Phonographic Industry. Five years later, Nutini released his third studio album, Caustic Love, in April 2014. The album received positive reviews from music critics. Caustic Love debuted at number one on the UK Album Charts and was certified platinum by the BPI in June 2014. In July 2022, he released his fourth album, Last Night in the Bittersweet.
The Abominable Showman is the fourth solo album by the English singer-songwriter Nick Lowe, released in 1983. Lowe supported the album by touring with Paul Carrack.
Tom at Tut's is the third live album from British singer-songwriter Tom McRae. It was released in 2011 and includes songs and banter from two gigs on consecutive nights – 25 and 26 November 2004 – at King Tut's Wah Wah Hut in Glasgow where McRae performed with a full band. Recorded by Johnny Laing and mixed by Tom McRae. The band consisted of Tom McRae, Oliver Kraus, Olli Cunningham, Ash Soan and Steve Reynolds.
Rachel Anne "Rae" Morris is an English singer and songwriter. She released her debut album, Unguarded, in 2015. Her second album, Someone Out There, was released in January 2018. Her third album, Rachel@Fairyland, was released in July 2022.
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| Artists | |
