James blunt personal life. James Blunt: with a guitar on a tank

James Hillier was the first of three children of Air Force Colonel Charles Blount and his wife, Jane Ann, née Amos. According to the chronicles, their family originates from the ancient Danish kings, and the ancestors of the Blounts arrived in England as early as the 10th century.

James was born on February 22, 1974. This happened in a military hospital in the city of Tidworth (Hampshire), but James spent all his childhood moving from city to city, from country to country. His mother began to teach him to play the violin at the age of five, although his father did not approve of this useless, as it seemed to him, occupation. But soon James was sent to study at a boarding school in Berkshire, and football and rugby came to the fore in a number of his hobbies. However, the boy continued to study music, learned to play the piano and even performed in a school musical.

At the age of 14, he learned to play the electric guitar, and began to compose songs, which he now recalls with a great deal of irony. At the end of the prestigious Harrow High School, James had the highest marks in physics, chemistry and economics. In addition, at the age of 16, he learned to fly an airplane and famously drove a motorcycle. Despite the high status of the family, its funds were small, and James's education was paid for by a loan taken from the military department.

At the University of Bristol, he studied aerospace engineering as well as sociology. As Blunt himself admits, fun parties and bars interested him much more than lectures, and he often fell asleep right on the floor of the classroom. Nevertheless, James passed his bachelor's exams with excellent marks, and the topic of his dissertation in sociology was devoted to pop idols and was highly appreciated by the commission.

After graduating from Blount University, according to the terms of the loan, he was required to serve in the army for at least 6 years. He studied at the Royal Military Academy, then served in the Life Guards Reconnaissance Regiment, and received additional training in Canada. In 1999, James Blunt joined the Royal Blues and Royals squadron, which served on the border with Macedonia, counteracting Serbian military formations. On June 12, 1999, the detachment he commanded was at the head of the strike force of NATO forces, and moved towards the airfield in Pristina. However, the combined battalion of the Russian Airborne Forces captured the airport earlier, and Blunt became a direct participant in the conflict between NATO commander Wesley and British General Mike Jackson. Blunt was in no hurry to carry out Wesley's order to storm the airport and waited for it to be canceled by his immediate superiors.

All this time he was engaged in music, writing, in particular, the song "Without Courage". The guitar did not fit in the tank, and James tied it outside, from time to time performing songs for colleagues and local residents to its accompaniment. In 2000, after returning from Kosovo, he was sent to London, to the Royal Guard, where he stood on guard of honor during the funeral of the Queen Mother. In addition, James was engaged in mountain skiing and even became the champion of the Royal Armored Corps.

In 2002, Blunt decided to say goodbye to his military career and pursue music. His songs were already quite famous, moreover, Todd Ingerland, Elton John's manager, contacted him with a request for a meeting. Soon, James signed a contract with aspiring producer Linda Perry, the owner of a recording studio, and adopted the pseudonym "Blunt".

In 2003, having agreed with Tom Rothrock, producer of Elton John, he went to California to record his first album. Some of the songs were written earlier, among them was the famous composition "You are beautiful", which James dedicated to his student love. The singer still hides the name of the girl, but says that she tragically died in a car accident. The aspiring singer composed new compositions already in California. As he himself says, he was inspired by the piano, which the not quite adequate hostess of the rented accommodation placed in the bathroom. It was there that the song "Goodbye My Lover" was composed, for which the famous video was later shot with Mischa Barton and Matt Dallas.

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The debut album was released in England in October 2004, and initially received little attention, in addition to the single "High" that preceded it, it received a low rating. To rectify the situation, Blunt had several concert appearances by other musicians, and his next single, "Wisemen", reached number 44 on the charts. However, the real triumph was the performance of "You" re beautiful ". Starting from 12th place on the charts, this song became the leader in six weeks, raised the rating of the entire album to first place and brought Blunt's team an Ivor Novello award. "You are beautiful" became a European hit and entered the top three in the US in the summer of 2005, and in 2006 topped the US charts, which only Elton John had previously managed to do with Candle in the Wind.

The singer held 90 concerts, received five British Award nominations and an MTV award, and the total sales of "Back to Bedlam" currently reach 11 million. Good fees allowed James Blunt to purchase property in Ibiza. Correspondents claimed that he led a noisy and chaotic lifestyle, moreover, after leaving the army, he constantly used drugs. However, Blunt's second album, Lost Souls, was released in 2007 and went gold 4 days later. His title song "1973", dedicated to the Ibiza club of the same name, reached number one on the charts. After re-release of "Lost Souls" and the creation of the documentary "Return to Kosovo", Blunt released another album "Some Problems" in 2010, which became the fourth in the rating and sold a million copies, receiving a lot of critical reviews. But the next collection called "Landing on the moon", released in 2013, was again in the lead in the charts. Perhaps this was facilitated by changes in the singer's personal life.

In 2012, at a private party, James met Alexandria Sophia Wellesley, granddaughter of the 8th Duke of Wellington. In September 2014, after official registration in London, a wedding celebration took place in Mallorca, where only relatives and close friends were present. In June 2016, the couple had a son.

James Blunt began work on his fifth album, After Love, in the fall of 2016. So far, the single "Love Me Better" has been released, and the compilation itself has been released on CD and made available on music streaming services. However, despite his creative successes, the singer still lives by the memory of his military past. He is a trustee of the "Help the Heroes" charity foundation, which provides assistance to wounded military personnel, and holds charity concerts for Doctors Without Borders.

James was born in a military hospital in Hampshire. From an early age, his parents taught him to strict military discipline.
At the age of seven, James was sent to study at a boarding school with an in-depth study of science and mathematics. Passion for music began with the fact that James decided to learn how to play the piano. Then he was taken to the school musical. From that moment on, nothing but music ceased to exist in James' life. He adored Queen and Dire Straits.

At the age of 14, he picked up Nirvana melodies on the guitar, and soon began to write his own songs. Loud music was constantly heard from his room in the school dormitory, which annoyed the teachers, who tried in vain to cram at least some knowledge into the boy's head. True, at the age of 16, James received a license to fly an aircraft.

He did not graduate from the University of Bristol because, at the insistence of his father, he joined the army. He received a military education with the rank of second lieutenant, but quickly rose to the rank of captain. In 1999, a tank battalion under the command of James Blunt, as part of a 30,000-strong peacekeeping corps in Kosovo, was the first to enter Pristina.

James served as an intelligence officer. While patrolling the outskirts of Pristina, he did not part with his guitar even in the tank. For 25-year-old Blunt, his stay in Kosovo, where the effects of a brutal civil war were still being felt and where bloodshed had not stopped for the past ten years, made a huge impression.

In one of his few moments of calm, he wrote the song No Bravery, the closing track from Back to Bedlam.

“I wrote it while I was lying in boots in a sleeping bag near my tank. We had to sleep with our boots on,” James Blunt recalls. The song is quite fatalistic, as is the whole album as a whole.

In 2002, armed with several demos of questionable quality, James left the army to devote his time to music. He collected his best songs on demos and within a few months was able to conclude an agreement for the management and recording of the album. James was lucky enough to meet Linda Perry (Linda Perry), songwriter and producer of many musicians, including Pink (Pink) and Christina Aguilera (Christina Aguilera).

Soon he signed a contract with her recording studio Custard Records.

Finally, in 2003, James Blunt traveled to California to record his first album. At night, he disappeared into nightclubs, and during the day he devoted all his time to working on a record with Tom Rotrock, Elton John's producer.

By the way, Sir Elton himself once remarked that Blunt's song Youre Beautiful seems to him a kind of continuation of his own Your Song. A large part of Back to Bedlam, according to Tom Rothrock, is a kind of challenge to the first hits from Elton John's repertoire. He also believes that James' work is a British response to the work of such musicians as Beck and Elliot Smith.

James Blunt himself does not like to characterize his work. His favorite line is "I can get away with songs."

Creativity and military affairs - how far apart are these concepts. However, there are people who have succeeded in both fields. Among them is the Englishman James Hiller Blunt. The future musician was born on February 22, 1974. It happened in a military hospital located in the English city of Tidworth (Wiltshire).

James was born into the family of a hereditary military man, Charles Blunt, and his wife, Jane. Charles was an officer in the Army Air Corps, so his family moved frequently. Thus, James visited Germany and Cyprus (the military bases of Dekiliya and Akrotiri).

From an early age, James showed a craving for music, which his father did not like. Jane Blunt managed to persuade her husband to hire his son a piano teacher to distract the child from the depression associated with regular moving. However, Charles later changed his mind and sent his son to the boarding school Harrow, so that his son would not be distracted by music because of his studies.

But everything turned out differently - it was in Harrow that James learned to play the guitar and began writing his first songs, inspired by his idols and. In 1990, James entered one of the "red-brick" (prestigious) universities in the country - the University of Bristol. In it, he studies aerospace structure and sociology.

Blunt rarely appeared in class, and only to sleep on the last row after the next party. The guy was not kicked out just because of his father (the faculty of aerospace construction was sponsored by the army). After graduation, James was forced to serve 4 years (according to other sources - 6 years), so he was immediately sent to the Royal Military Academy, located in Sandhurst.

In 1999, Blunt was already involved in armed conflicts in which the troops of the British army were thrown. So, for example, James ended up in Yugoslavia, where an incident with Russian troops almost occurred, which could lead to the beginning of a military conflict between Great Britain and Russia.

During the forced march to Pristina, Blunt's detachment was instructed by NATO General Wesley Cann Clark to attack a detachment of Russian paratroopers. James refused to carry out the order until he heard it from his (English) leader, the Chief of the General Staff, Sir Michael David Jackson. General Jackson canceled Clark's order. In 2002, Blunt left the army, which did not particularly please his father.

Music

In the same 2002, James collected all his demos, put them on a CD and sent them to Tom Rothrock, the music manager and producer. Rothrock appreciated Blunt's musical and vocal abilities. He brought the aspiring musician to Linda Perry's (ghostwriter and) record label, Custard Records, the most successful label in England. James still collaborates with Custard Records to this day.

In 2003, Blunt and Rothrock travel to America, where James performs in local clubs, while recording songs for the first album. The debut album itself is released next year, on October 4th. Compositions from Back to Bedlam immediately occupy the leading positions of the charts, the musician has fans (because of which he was once even kicked out by the owner of a rented apartment).

Blunt's second album, All the Lost Souls, was released in 2007. In addition, James's song is used as the soundtrack for the film adaptation of the novel P.S. I love you". The film was directed by Richard Lagravenese (The Fisher King, The Bridges of Madison County, Erin Brockovich) and starred (Dracula 2000, The Phantom of the Opera, Law Abiding Citizen, 300 Spartans) and ( "Insomnia", "Million Dollar Baby", "Logan's Luck").

The musician spends his free time as actively as possible - he goes to ski resorts or chases the ball with friends. Like many Englishmen, he is a fan of Chelsea.

Discography

• 2004 - "Back to Bedlam"
• 2007 - "All the Lost Souls"
• 2010 - "Some kind of trouble"
• 2013 - "Moon Landing"
• 2017 - "After love"

The story of James Blunt is not like the biography of any average author and singer. At university, he studied aerospace engineering and sociology, and then ended up in Kosovo with a weapon in his hands, on a tank and with a guitar at the ready. Blunt used this rich life experience to create an exciting debut album, full of songs that the whole world will soon be singing along with. His poems are sometimes sad, and sometimes quite optimistic, but always very sincere. Jimi Hendrix and The Doors had a huge influence on Blunt's work, and he himself is often called the British Beck or Elliot Smith. Everyone will find something of their own in his songs. You "re Beautiful is a story about the impossibility of relationships, and Goodbye My Lover is about failed and doomed love. In addition, all these songs are instantly remembered.

THE CHILDHOOD OF JAMES BLANT The future musician was born in England, it happened in a military hospital. Then he lived for some time in Germany and Cyprus. The boy's father was a military pilot, which influenced the choice of his profession. Even in his school years, he began to get involved in music. At first he took piano lessons, and then he began to pick up melodies on the guitar. My father did not support this hobby. Any music he considered useless noise. From the age of seven, James studied at a boarding school. At the age of fourteen, the teenager began to write his own songs. Since that time, music has come to the fore. Study seemed to be something unimportant, but the exact sciences were always given to him. He lived in a school dormitory, and music was always coming from his room.

EDUCATION

At the age of sixteen, the young man already had a license to fly an aircraft. After school, he decided to study at the university, choosing the profession of an aerospace engineer. He was not interested in learning. Blunt remembers that most of the time he just slept in the back of the desk. They wanted to kick him out. At this time, the father insisted that James go to the army.

JAMES BLANT IN THE ARMY

Blunt was trained at the Military Academy, for some time he was at the training base in Canada. In 1999, he was already the commander of a tank unit that represented NATO. During the bombing in Yugoslavia, his unit stood on the border of Yugoslavia and Macedonia. James Blunt served in the army before recording his first songs. Even while in the tank, James was with a guitar. Since this was contrary to the charter, the guitar had to be attached to the outside of the tank. Blunt wrote songs all the time, even while in the military. The composition “No Bravery” belongs to that period of his life, the singer wrote it at a moment of calm. What James saw in Kosovo, felt the consequences of the civil war, made a strong impression on him. At that time, he wrote several fatalistic songs, later included in his first album.

SONGS AND ALBUMS OF JAMES BLUNT

After serving for several years, Blunt left the army in 2002. The father, of course, was very unhappy. The young man decided to concentrate on music lessons. After collecting several demos of his best songs, he, a few months later, signed an agreement to record an album and management. James met Linda Perry, a producer and songwriter. Perry heard Blunt sing at one of the music conferences, since then she has never let the talented singer out of her sight. She herself offered to sign a contract with him. In addition, Linda owned the Custard Records recording studio, with which Blunt signed a contract. James Blunt - You "re Beautiful (Video) In 2003, in California, he recorded the first album with Tom Rothrock. At one time, Tom was the producer of Elton John. Elton himself noted that many of Blunt's songs seem to him a continuation of his "Your Song" "The work lasted more than a year. Simultaneously with the recording of the album, which went on during the day, the singer performed in nightclubs in the evenings. In California, listeners liked his British accent. James's melodies were simple but pleasant, with neat arrangements. His pleasant tenor gave sensual tension and emotional the nuances of all his compositions. Sketches for some songs were brought to California with him, and part of the songs Blunt wrote already in America. He rented rooms from the landlady, who put the piano in the bathroom. Several compositions were "born" there. James noted, that a change of scenery contributed to his creative abilities intensified.So, in the bathroom, sitting at the piano, the singer composed a touching ball hell "Goodbye My Lover". The debut album was called "Back to Bedlam". Its release took place in early October 2004 and immediately found itself at the top of the British charts, staying there for about five weeks. The disc could not be left without the attention of music lovers and deserved a lot of laudatory reviews. Rothrock believed that almost the entire album was a challenge to Elton John's first hits. The second album was released in the fall of 2007, its name is "All The Lost Souls". And three years later, the singer and musician released his third music album, Some Kind of Trouble.

JAMES BLANT CURRENTLY

The fourth studio album was released by James in the fall of 2013. The producer was Tom Rothrock again, who also produced Blunt's first two albums. The fourth album was called "Moon Landing".

PRIVATE LIFE OF JAMES BLANT

It is known that for more than a thousand years, all the men of the Blunt family were associated with the army. Refined materials and music have always been something far away for them. The singer's father rose to the rank of colonel. James, like any Englishman, is not indifferent to football. He is a Chelsea fan. One of the singer's houses is located next to the home stadium of his favorite team. Blunt is a great athlete. During his military service, he led the skiing team. It is known that the composition "No Bravery" was written by James when he spent the night in a sleeping bag near his tank during his years in the army.

James Blunt is a fragile and so vulnerable-looking performer. However, the translation of James Blunt's songs shows the opposite. They are full of pain, sorrow and despair. But all this is more than offset by the share of love that is present in them. Each song by James Blunt fascinates with its lyrics and the singer's divine vocals.

James was born in England. His life has been extraordinary since the day he was born in 1974. “I was not like everyone else, if only by the fact that I was born in a hospital for the military, and not in a maternity hospital, like most children. I think that this left a certain imprint on my future destiny, because my life was intertwined with this profession many times.

But not only the place of birth determined such details in Blunt's biography. The guy's father was a military pilot, so he was categorically against his son's hobby. And James loved music and wanted to be a singer. “Our entire dynasty in the male line was military. I alone decided to go against the system. Probably, I became exactly that link in a well-coordinated mechanism that broke down and put it out of action.

For some time, the singer was forced to live either in Germany or in Cyprus. “I had a childhood filled with travel, so I grew up quickly, because in every country I learned something new.” The father in every possible way prevented James from doing what he loved, so he sent his son to a boarding school. “Dad thought that I would be loaded up to my ears with studies, and I would have no time to think about such nonsense as music. But on the contrary, I was bored there to such an extent that I began to write songs. The analytical mindset helped him easily cope with the disciplines of the natural sciences, so he always had time to listen to music.

At the age of 16, he already owned a document that allowed him to fly an airplane, so after graduating from school he chose a path in the aerospace industry. “They wanted to expel me because I either slept in class or slept in the dorm during class. But the essence did not change: I did not receive the necessary knowledge in this or that way. Then the father got angry in earnest and sent the negligent student to Canada, where he was supposed to undergo army training. “I know what martial law is.

During the bombing of Yugoslavia, I stood on the Yugoslav and Macedonian borders. It really was scary." But James Blunt continued to write songs even while sitting in a tank! “This environment is incredibly inspiring to me. I wanted to support and at least somehow cheer up my comrades, singing songs with a guitar was the best solution.” The song "No bravery" was written by the performer during a lull, but this composition is the strongest in his repertoire and makes you feel all the horrors that he saw.

In 2002, the singer could not stand it and left military service. The father did not support the guy's decision and was offended by him. But James Blunt was absolutely sure that all his demos would fit the musical format that was set at the beginning of the "noughties". His hopes were instantly justified: James quickly signed a contract to record his debut disc.

The most fateful meeting in the life of the singer was the meeting with his future producer, Linda Perry. She owned her own label, Custard Records, and offered a lucrative deal to the artist. "She said that she was simply fascinated by my voice and that she was betting a million on my composing skills."

In 2003, James' first album was released. His producer collaborated in the past with Elton John himself, who later commented on Blunt's work as follows: “I think he is very similar to me. The manner of singing, the manner of holding on to people ... In his songs, I see the continuation of my work. This is the logical conclusion of what I did not have time to write down.

In America, where the singer released his record, many listeners liked him. They liked his British accent, which looked very nice in California. James spent nights performing in clubs to earn money for filming videos and recording his compositions. His pleasant tenor fascinated, and the girls rushed after him in droves, not allowing a passage. “Somehow I came home, and in front of the entrance some girl was sitting who asked if I was James Blunt. I answered in the affirmative, and she squealed and ran away. On the next and subsequent days, such crowds of girls gathered near my house that I was evicted from there.

Despite the fact that the former apartment did not have amenities, since the hostess put the singer's piano in the bathroom, because there was not enough space, he admitted that his best songs were born in such an environment. “There was some feeling of peace, peace of mind in that apartment ... When I first moved here, I felt that the new country would give me a new stream in creativity, and I was not mistaken.” James Blunt's famous composition "Goodbye my lover" was also written in this very bathroom!

Clips of James Blunt gained momentum on music channels, and the first solo album "Back To Bedlam" took a leading position in the British charts. He held the first line for 15 weeks! The second album "All The Lost Souls" was released 3 years later. Every song by James Blunt from this album was popular, and the fans sang them in chorus and by heart. Another 3 years passed, and the world saw the third album of the artist "Some Kind of Trouble". The fourth album was released according to tradition - after another three years, in 2013.

As for the personal life of James Blunt, today it remains a mystery to everyone whether James Blunt has a girlfriend? The singer himself jealously guards his personal life. Perhaps this is the image imposed by the producer, because a musician with so many female fans must be free in order to stir up interest in himself. Or maybe the singer himself really does not want to flaunt his relationship.

In 2014, James Blunt continues to delight fans with his work. James Blunt's hit "You are beautiful" is covered by various performers to this day, and the singer himself gives concerts in support of the latest record. Each new song by James Blunt is eagerly awaited by his fans.

Video clip for the song "You are beautiful" by James Blunt