A record set by Canadian songbird Celine Dion ten years ago has been equalled by this summer's singing sensation, James Blunt, the 28-year-old former soldier who has captivated a nation with his haunting hit single You're Beautiful.
While that song heads the UK singles charts, James is also leading the album rankings with his debut album, Back To Bedlam. This means he's topped both charts for five consecutive weeks, as Celine did with Think Twice and the album Colour Of My Love back in 1995. "You can prepare for certain eventualities in life, but having a No 1 record isn't one of them," says the old Harrovian, who has suddenly found himself in the limelight in a big way. Though his very personal lyrics and simple melodies form a large part of his attraction, fans have also been captivated by his background story.
Encouraged by his family to specialise in classical music, James rebelled early and, typically, joined a teenage rock band which had its fair share of memorable failures. "The audience threw food," James recalls of one gig. After being sponsored through university by the Army - his father was also a military man - James did officer training at Sandhurst and served in Kosovo in 1999.
That experience in a war zone – "It was civilisation gone mad" - undoubtedly shaped the young singer-songwriter's decisions, and after a stint of ceremonial duties in the Household Cavalry, he left the Army in 2002 and threw himself into his music career.
Now his debut album is second only to Coldplay's X&Y, having sold 650,000 copies, and James mingles with Hollywood A-listers with his girlfriend Camilla Boler.
Photo: © Alphapress.com
Photo: © Alphapress.com
