James Blunt Biography

Having completed an army-sponsored degree at Bristol University, Blunt quite reasonably felt that he 'owed the army four years', so he attended Sandhurst and ended up being sent out to Kosovo as part of a NATO peacekeeping force, carrying out foot patrols and eventually reaching the rank of captain. He was later to draw on his experiences in Kosovo for the song 'No Bravery', although he stated in an interview that the ability to use music to deal with experiences in the Army was probably not quite as useful as being able to operate a weapon! After also carrying out UK-based ceremonial roles with the household cavalry such as attending the funeral of the Queen Mother in 2002, Blunt passed out of the army and began the slog to become a professional musician, writing and gigging and eventually securing himself a manager and a publishing contract with EMI.

When performing at the South by Southwest festival in Austin, Texas, Blunt came to the attention of the former 4 Non-Blondes singer Linda Perry, by then a successful song-writer in her own right who had scored successes with Christina Aguilera and Pink. She was shrewd enough to sign up Blunt to her own Custard label, and set him on his way to recording his first album, mostly under the watchful and experienced guidance of long-term Beck producer, Tom Rothrock. Blunt particularly enjoyed working with Rothrock: 'He's great - a really softly spoken, non-egotistical kind of man who really knows how to get the best out of musicians. It was a really wonderful experience in Los Angeles underneath the Hollywood sign'. Blunt spent his time in LA staying in Carrie Fisher's house (as she was an acquaintance of his ex-girlfriend), and Fisher's bathroom received a credit in the sleeve-notes, as he recorded the song 'Goodbye My Lover' in there.

The stark and bleak tone of 'No Bravery' aside - with lyrics such as 'Old men kneel and accept their fate/Wives and daughters cut and raped/A generation drenched in hate' evoking the shocking scenes of Blunt's Kosovo tour - the album is a highly accessible and effective record, showcasing Blunt's fragile falsetto and wistful tone. Although first single 'High' did not exactly achieve a position in the charts befitting its title, failing even to enter the top 100, follow-up 'Wisemen' fared better, and with third single 'You're Beautiful' Blunt hit the big time, and then some. It achieved the rare feat of entering the chart outside the top ten, yet still reaching number one, and firmly established Blunt as a known quantity.

The inevitable industry awards followed - voted best new act of 2005 by Q magazine was something of a coup, likewise the 2 BRITs and the Ivor Novello award he scooped in 2006. However, it would be fair to say that Blunt certainly isn't everyone's cup of tea. (For example, one award he might be slightly less proud of is the NME's 'Worst Album of the Year' gong from 2006). Although it has been reported that 'You're Beautiful' has overtaken Robbie Williams's anthemic 'Angels' as the wedding music of choice in the UK, for every blushing bride there is an equal number who would rather eat their own shoes than listen to a James Blunt record. He's just that kind of artist - some love him, but some cannot stand his falsetto, his style, the simplicity of his songs, his background...and after all, those fond of the odd limerick, or partial to rhyming slang, were handed a bit of a gimme when he changed his name to Blunt.

Still, if anything, Blunt is pretty thick-skinned - having sold eleven million albums worldwide will probably help thicken your skin, not to mention your wallet - and for all the savaging he receives from the NME and on gossip websites such as Holy Moly, what doesn't kill him can only make him stronger. Looking back to his first album, Blunt now views it as a 'slightly naïve' record, a collection of songs by someone slightly less wise than the person he now sees in the mirror. As such, his latest album release 'All the Lost Souls' has something of a more world-weary, retrospective tone, especially the lead single '1973'. Tinged heavily with nostalgia, the song is supposedly based on nights out on the club scene in Ibiza, where Blunt has a home (and where he wrote the lion's share of the second album). As if to show how broad Blunt's appeal is, the single has hit the number one spot in countries as diverse as Austria, China and Venezuela, amongst others, and although he will never be regarded as the in thing, and is guaranteed to cause territorial disputes whenever his music comes on the radio, Blunt's simplistic approach to writing lyrics and melodies is surely what assures his appeal remains so widespread, as much as it invokes the wrath of those who simply don't get him.

• James Blunt Discography