b. James Blount, 22 February 1974, Tidworth, Wiltshire, England. The son of a senior army officer, singer-songwriter Blunt read aeronautical engineering at Bristol University before joining the Life Guards regiment in the British Army. He served as a reconnaissance officer in Kosovo in the late 90s as part of the peacekeeping force cleaning up after the region’s brutal civil war. A keen musician, Blunt took his guitar along with him and began writing songs in his spare time, including one (‘No Bravery’) that would later appear on his debut album. He went to work for the Queen as a mounted horseguard and formed part of the honour guard at the funeral of the Queen Mother in April 2002. Blunt left the security of the army in 2002 to strike out as a full-time musician. He signed a publishing deal before signing a recording contract with Custard Records, the label owned by in-demand songwriter/producer Linda Perry. Blunt decamped to Los Angeles, USA to record his debut with noted producer Tom Rothrock, while Perry arranged a major label distribution contract for the album with Atlantic Records. A singer-songwriter album in the classic early 70s mode of James Taylor and Jackson Browne, Back To Bedlam was released in October 2004 to polite acclaim. Critics picked up on the aforementioned ‘No Bravery’, an atmospheric, piano-led ballad detailing Blunt’s experiences in Kosovo. Although the singles ‘High’ and ‘Wisemen’ failed to make much of an initial impact, extensive radio support for the barbed romantic ballad ‘You’re Beautiful’ helped propel Blunt to the top of the UK singles chart in summer 2005. The single also enjoyed major success in mainland Europe (and would later reach the top of the US charts). Back To Bedlam, meanwhile, took up residency at the top of the UK charts for most of the summer.
