“Everything I tell you is true,” says James Blunt when asked what his real age is. It’s not such a strange question, because Blunt messed with his Wikipedia page. With his leather jacket open, he sits on a velvet bench in an Amsterdam hotel. “How old am I really? 39. No, 29!” With his husky voice he says everything in almost the same way. You never quite know what is true.
The singer, born (probably) 49 years ago as James Blount, is best known for the sugary sweet evergreen ‘You’re Beautiful’ from 2004 and from the stainless steel humor on X (formerly Twitter) with which he likes to poke fun at himself. In doing so, he manages, in an often hilarious way, to counter the fiery hatred that he has somehow evoked since that song. That humor is also in his new book, Loosely Based on a Made-Up Story, with bizarre, self-mockery stories about his unlikely life: from private school to the UN army in Kosovo, living with actress and best friend Carrie Fisher, drugs, booze. His memoirs, “written by someone without memory.”
On his new album Who We Used to Be, he sings in a fragile voice about the loss of a child, about addictions, about unattainable loves, about friends who are no longer there. And then a documentary will be released next month, One British Wonder, about his life and work. Quite busy, he thinks. And difficult, because while his music can be taken seriously, “there is really nothing serious about the book.”
Your new album features ‘The Girl That Never Was’, about the loss of a child. A heartbreaking song.
“Of course. Well, everyone who starts a family has dreams and some come true, some don’t. How do you deal with that? I’m writing a song about it. What I find most valuable is that such a song can mean a lot to others. That moves me very much.”
Was that difficult to write?
“No, I find it easiest to process the biggest emotions in music.”
Are the book and the album polar opposites?
“I didn’t think of it that way in advance. I’m just not that serious in everyday life, that’s what the book is about. I try to capture real emotions in my music. Like most men, I have trouble conveying emotion in normal conversation. That’s why I’m so at home on X, because of the short messages.”
Was changing your age just a joke, or is it also a fear of growing older?
“No. I write songs about life and it would be uninspiring if I got stuck at a certain age. I have now reached a wonderful phase in my life, and the things that concern me end up in my songs. All the ups and downs of life. In the music industry, artists have to be young and they get short-term contracts for one song, two songs, maybe one album if they’re lucky before they disappear again.”
Part of that industry is also the hate James Blunt received after his breakthrough. ‘You’re Beautiful’ was voted one of the most annoying songs ever Rolling Stone. When he was nominated for five awards at the 2006 Brit Awards, famous Britons were asked for their opinion. Lily Allen thought he was the British swear word that rhymes with his surname, Mick Jagger refused to shake his hand, and Paul Weller would rather eat his own shit than work with Blunt. After a recording of Later… With Jools Holland Damon Albarn (Blur, Gorillaz) refused to take a photo with Blunt.
The hate you received, even from famous people…
“Oh well, I play concerts for tens of thousands of people. But you’re right, there are also four mean tweets every day.”
Isn’t it difficult?
“Difficult? I perform for thousands of people. Then isn’t it strange to deal with those few nasty reactions? I can sell twenty million albums, but you want to talk about those few negatives. That one angry Twitter user didn’t come to my concert, probably still lives with his parents and sits behind his computer with his pants around his ankles and types: I think your music is stupid. I don’t understand why that should have an effect on me.”
You reinforce them by responding to them.
“Yes, that is true. But I laugh at myself and at them for taking it so seriously.”
Is it difficult to make that switch from the negative to the positive?
“We keep going on the same theme. Everyone always asks if I’m tired of ‘You’re Beautiful’. Why would I be tired of singing the song that paid for my house?”
Luckily I didn’t ask that.
“No, it’s just an example. It just makes me tired. I think it is human nature to look for the negative.”
I meant that I think it’s great that you managed to turn that hatred around.
“I think that’s cool, thank you. It’s about putting things into perspective. It’s crazy to keep focusing on the negativity when so many people come to my shows.”
Like in February in the Afas Live in Amsterdam. You also played there right before the corona crisis. How was that?
“Yes, I remember that, it is a wonderful room with a lot of energy. But then we already felt the end coming. That period felt a bit like the end of my career, actually. We didn’t know if we could still tour, my record deal was ending. And I released a greatest hits album. Doesn’t that always come at the end? Everything I release now are bonus songs.”
Can’t there be another Even Greater Hits?
“Then I still need at least seven hits and I’ll just be seven albums further. And fucking old.”
That can simply be adjusted again, right?
“Yes, that’s possible. I’ll be almost forty by then!”
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