īlunt left the British Army in 2002 so that he could pursue his musical career. 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. A backing vocalist and songwriting collaborator suggested he contact Elton John's manager Todd Interland, with whom she used to share a house. While still in the army, he worked on demos during his time off. Blunt trained at the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst. He stated on an interview in his Back to Bedlam sessions that he chose to join the military as his father was "pushing for it, so that could obtain a secure work placement and income". īecause the British Army sponsored his university education, Blunt was obliged to serve a minimum of four years in the armed forces.
At University of Bristol, his undergraduate thesis was The Commodification of Image – Production of a Pop Idol one of his main references for the thesis was sociologist and rock critic, Simon Frith, chairman of the Mercury Music Prize panel of judges since 1992. There, he was introduced to the guitar by a fellow student, and started playing the instrument and writing songs at age 14. īlunt had piano and violin lessons as a child, but his first significant exposure to popular music was at Harrow School. As of 2017, it has sold 3.33 million copies in the UK and over 11 million copies worldwide. Back to Bedlam currently ranks as the 18th best-selling album in UK chart history. In 2011, it was overtaken by Amy Winehouse's Back to Black as the best-selling album of the 21st century in the UK. By December 2009, the album had been certified 10× Platinum by the British Phonographic Industry for sales of over 3 million, making it the best-selling album of the 2000s in the UK. Back to Bedlam would go on to become the highest-selling album of 2005 in the UK, with over 2.4 million copies sold. Initially lingering in the lower regions of the UK Albums Chart in its first few months of release, it became a major international success after its third single, " You're Beautiful", became a worldwide hit in the summer of 2005. It is named after the famous psychiatric institution of Bethlem Royal Hospital, which is commonly known as Bedlam. Problems playing this file? See media help.īack to Bedlam is the debut studio album by the English singer-songwriter James Blunt, released on 11 October 2004 through Atlantic Records. in January 2005 and in United States later that year, in July.James Blunt's " Goodbye My Lover" from Back to Bedlam James Blunt's debut, Back to Bedlam, was released in the U.K. After his performance at 2003's SXSW, Blunt met producer Linda Perry (Pink, Christina Aguilera), who offered the singer a deal on her very own label, Custard Records.
Within months he landed both a publishing deal and a manager. When his military time was up, Blunt focused on making music his career, got a band together and recorded some demos. Writing was an escape for the singer-songwriter, a way to process the horrors of what he was witnessing, as songs like "No Bravery" attest. Armed with a gun and his guitar, James did his best to keep an even keel in a place that just experienced one of the bloodiest civil wars on record. Blunt did join the military, and in 1999 he served as a peacekeeper in Kosovo. In fact, that would be both cliche and a lie. It would be too cliche to say that Blunt's love for music helped him fight off the career designs of his over-enthusiastic father.
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But school wasn't all bad: Blunt learned how to play the piano there and even tried his hand at school plays. He excelled in science and math at school, so it wasn't a surprise that his father pushed him along the path of a military career. Growing up in England, James Blunt had a "traditional" childhood, which essentially means he was shipped off to boarding school at age seven.
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