The bedlam in Kosovo inspired Blunt to make his music hobby his career

The bedlam in Kosovo inspired Blunt to make his music hobby his career
Seattle Post Intelligencer - USA
... James Blunt, whose debut album, "Bedlam," is No. 4 on Billboard's chart, is surprised by the reaction to his military service. " ... ...
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By GENE STOUTP-I
POP MUSIC CRITIC
James Blunt isn't surprised at the public fascination with his former career as a British Army officer. But the questions surprise him.

"I'm very happy to talk about it," the singer-songwriter said in a phone interview from a tour stop in Cleveland.

"But what I find surprising is that people are kind of judgmental of those in the army. As if they were purely soldiers with nothing in common with other human beings.

"It's like, 'What? You like music and you're in the army?' "

"I guess what they're saying is that people in the army don't have any hobbies or interests aside from running around in green. It's a strange idea."

Blunt, whose current single "You're Beautiful," went to No. 1 on Billboard's Hot 100 chart earlier this month, joined the British Army in 1999 and served as a peacekeeper in Kosovo, Serbia. He also served as Queen Elizabeth's bodyguard and ceremonial escort.

The British Army captain's "hobby" during that tour of duty was playing guitar and writing songs (he bolted his guitar to the side of a tank). One of the songs that came out of the experience was "No Bravery," the gripping final track on his debut album, "Back to Bedlam," released last year.

"Tracer lighting up the sky," he sings. "It's another family's turn to die."

For Blunt, writing songs was a way of processing the brutality of war -- as well as passing the time.
"I guess I also I took along a guitar to alleviate some of the boredom because, while you're very busy and pressured in wartime, you know there are going to be times when you're doing nothing," the 29-year-old musician said.

Blunt, who performs with Sierra Swan and The Boy Least Likely To Monday night at the Paramount Theatre, described war as "a really terrible situation in which to find oneself."

"I can speak at length about Kosovo, and it was difficult to know if the politicians or the press were telling us the right thing," he said.

"When I was there, the people whose country it was said to me, 'We're very glad you're here because you're saving our lives.' That to me suddenly became more important than any press angle or any politician's angle. And that's how I could then hold up my head and say, 'Yeah, we're doing the right thing.'

"I haven't been to Iraq, but I think we have to ask the people of Iraq if we should be there or not."
Though his lifestyle has changed dramatically since his British Army service, Blunt's wartime experiences continue to resonate in his songwriting.

"It was only a six-month period, but it was an extreme period and quite concentrated. So it will continue to be an influence, something I will always remember in thought and in song. But I've had so many other experiences since then that are just as relevant to me."

The hunky, shaggy-haired Blunt, whose ragged vocals and romantic, heart-on-a-sleeve songs have gained him a devoted following, especially among women, began playing classical piano and violin as a teenager. He later discovered popular music and by the time he was 14, he was writing his
own songs.

"It was at that moment that I discovered my own form of musical expression," he said. "And I remember that very clearly, thinking to myself, 'Yeah, this is what I want to do.' "

But at 14, no one really took his budding career seriously -- especially his father, a career military man who thought of music as a waste of time.

"My parents would say, 'You've got to get an education and things like that.' And I was very happy to do all that, but I was very determined from that moment on to pursue music."

Blunt got his first big break years later, after his military career came to close. A performance at the 2003 South by Southwest music conference, just weeks after he left the army, attracted the attention of producer Linda Perry, who had plans to launch a new label, Custard Records.

"I finished playing, and as I put my guitar in its case, she said, 'I want to sign you to my label.' She said I could make an album of my own choice, control it artistically and choose my producer. Which was amazing."

Blunt also lined up a manager, Todd Interland, who was working with Elton John. Blunt soon began opening for the pop superstar on tour.

"It was phenomenal. And very special. He's a guy who's been at the top of the industry for decades and has the biggest touring operation around, probably," Blunt said.

"And yet at the same time he listens to new music and he supports new music. So I was really fortunate to go along with him and see him in action."

Blunt and John are connected in another way. When "You're Beautiful" went to No. 1, it made Blunt the first British act to top the Billboard Hot 100 chart since John in 1997.

But Blunt now has a spoiler. Producer Lukas Burton, insisting he was never compensated or credited for his work on "Back to Bedlam," has succeeded in having Blunt's royalties frozen. (Burton has worked with Paul McCartney, Dido and Amanda Ghost.)

"I had pinned an awful lot of hope on the project and devoted a huge amount of painstaking effort to it," Burton told BBC News.

British music licensing organization MCPS-PRS Alliance is withholding payment while Burton's claim is being investigated.

"When something is a success, then everyone wants a bit of the pie," Blunt said. "It's happened before and it'll happen again. It's called a nuisance claim and it's all about greed. There's an old phrase, 'Where there's a hit, there's a writ.' "