More than `Beautiful'

More than `Beautiful'
San Jose Mercury News - CA, USA
One measure of the success of British singer-songwriter James Blunt is the fact that his single (and video) ``You're Beautiful'' has been one of the most ...

BRITON JAMES BLUNT'S WORK RUNS DEEPER THAN HIS NO. 1 HIT
By Yoshi Kato
Special to the Mercury News

One measure of the success of British singer-songwriter James Blunt is the fact that his single (and video) ``You're Beautiful'' has been one of the most-played songs of the past six months.But that's not all.

When ``You're Beautiful'' hit No. 1 in the United States early in March, Blunt became the first Briton to top the Billboard Hot 100 chart since Elton John released his ``Candle in the Wind'' remake in 1997. And in the United
Kingdom, ``You're Beautiful'' and Blunt's debut album, ``Back to Bedlam,''
simultaneously stayed in the No. 1 spot on those respective charts for four
weeks, making Blunt the first male artist to do that since Rod Stewart in
1976.

Blunt, 28, first performed in San Francisco in November, opening shows
for Jason Mraz at the Fillmore and the Warfield. Now Blunt is returning to
headline a pair of sold-out Warfield shows next week.

``It's kind of been a mad journey,'' the singer says by phone from a tour stop in Cleveland. ``When I started doing this, it never occurred to me that I'd be here doing a world tour . . . .''

Blunt was signed by Linda Perry, the ex-4 Non Blondes singer, songwriter and producer, after she heard him perform at the South by Southwest music festival in Austin in 2003. ``Back to Bedlam'' was released in the United
Kingdom in October 2004 and in this country a year later.

Though a familiar face in the U.K. media, Blunt is still not widely recognized here. ``It's kind of nice . . . to come over here and have it be a little more normal,'' he says. ``Best of all, it's nice to be anonymous . . . and performing for audiences that haven't heard these songs, I'm witnessing them responding in a very excited way. It reminds me of the initial excitement I had first performing these songs.''

Still, with a December appearance on ``Saturday Night Live'' and one last month on the ``Oprah Winfrey Show,'' Blunt is quickly erasing his anonymity on this side of the Atlantic.

Before launching his musical career, Blunt was a member of the elite Household Cavalry unit of the British Army, keeping alive a generations-old family tradition of military service. In 1999, he was involved in NATO peacekeeping efforts in Kosovo.

But his time in the cavalry didn't require a break from music, which had been a part of his life ever since he started playing piano and violin as a child. He took up guitar at age 14. ``I actually played in a band while I was serving'' in the cavalry, he says. ``There were some really good musicians there.''

While the delicately orchestrated ``You're Beautiful'' showcases a wistful side of Blunt's rock-pop style, there's a rowdier side displayed on ``Bedlam'' tracks such as the defiant ``So Long Jimmy'' and the swaggering ``Billy.'' ``Something like `Goodbye My Lover' or `No Bravery' are plainly sad songs,'' says Blunt, ``but the album has great up-tempo tracks that are full of humor and fun.'' James Blunt With The Boy Least Likely To and Sierra Swan