About James Blunt
James Blunt is the stage name of English singer, songwriter and musician James Hillier Blount, born on the 22nd of February 1974 in Tidworth, Wiltshire.
James spent most of his early years living in England, Cyprus and Germany as his father was a Colonel in the British Army Air Corps and a military pilot. It was from his father that James caught his love of flying and got his pilot license at the age of 16.
James followed his education in two independent schools. He first enrolled at the age of seven in the Elstree School in Woolhampton in Berkshire. He then continued his studies at the Harrow School in Harrow on the Hill in the north-west England due to an army bursary. From here he continued on an army sponsored place at the University of Bristol. He studied Aerospace Manufacturing Engineering and then continued to Sociology. He graduated in 1996 with a BSc(Hons) in Sociology.
Due to the fact that he had followed school on an army scholarship, Blunt was obligated to serve in the army for at least four years. Blunt followed a short army career due to his father’s insistence of having a secure job and salary. He trained at the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst and was later commissioned as a second lieutenant in the Life Guards which was a unit of the Household Cavalry. He later rose to the rank of captain.
James participated as an armored reconnaissance officer in the NATO deployment to Kosovo where he was assigned to secure the Pristina International Airport. This is the period when he wrote his song “No Bravery”.
In 2002, Blunt left the army after six years of service to pursue a career in music. Short after leaving the army, he signed with EMI music publishers a record contract which was somewhat elusive.
In 2003, soon after launching her own record label, Custard Records, Linda Perry heard Blunt’s promotional tape and after hearing him live at the South by Southwest Musical Festival he presented him with a recording contract. One month later Blunt began work on his debut album.
In 2004, Blunt released his first album, Back to Bedlam, which did not attract the critical attention. It wasn’t until the release of his third single, “You’re Beautiful” that he caught the attention of the masses and propelled the album to number one in the UK Albums Chart. The album sold 11 million copies worldwide and got double platinum in the US.
Blunt’s second studio album, All the Lost Souls, was released in September 2007 in UK and a day later in the US. The album received mixed criticism scoring 53/100 on Metacritic website. It was promoted through 4 singles: 1973, Same Mistake, Carry You Home and I Really Want You.
James Blunt third studio album, Some Kind of Trouble was released on the beginning of November 2010.The album debuted on the fourth position in the UK with over 100000 copies sold in the first week.
