British Pop Star James Blunt Live In Bangkok

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A night with James Blunt

By MANTA KLANGBOONKRONG

THE NATION

Bangkok will soon discover that there's more to the British pop star than 'You're Beautiful'

English pop singer James Blunt's show at Impact Arena next month is probably BEC Tero Entertainment's last "international" concert of the year, but it should be a great one.

Blunt has already dispensed more than 15 million records and is adding quite a few more with brisk sales of his third and latest album, "Some Kind of Trouble".

Blunt makes fans swoon with his gentlemanly manner and charmingly sweet songs like "You're Beautiful", "Goodbye My Lover", "High", "1973", "Same Mistakes" and "Carry You Home". His first single, "Stay the Night", jumped into the British Top 40 in its first week.

We couldn't stay the whole night but happily spent 30 minutes on the phone with him.

What are you up to, beautiful?

My focus is my current world tour. I've already done 126 cities this year and I'm carrying on with that until March 2012. It's a really big mission to be involved in.

What got you into this music thing, anyway?

I got excited about music in my teenage years, when you start to have your own ideas and want to express yourself as an individual. You have something to say and you struggle to say it.

For me, I could say things with music, and that's when I learned to play electric guitar and write some songs. I knew then that I'd become a musician.

You were serving in the army when you chose this career.

And I had to make a decision to leave the army, because otherwise I would have just been too old to follow that dream.

My ambition is pretty simple and it has nothing to do with pursuing fame or fortune: I wish to pursue happiness. It was my dream to record an album with the sound I wanted, and perhaps to make a second and third album. That was always my goal.

After that, something weird happened - the first album became commercially successful.

Would you still be in the army if it hadn't?

Yes, I probably would.

You sometimes get slagged for being "too commercial".

You start dealing with criticism the moment you pick up a guitar and play a song to someone. You play at your house and your dad's going to say he likes it, but your mum says she doesn't. That's the beauty of music - its diversity and the diversity of human tastes.

Music should be about communication, but the charts turn music into a competition - who sells more units - that sort of thing - and that's what I'm struggling with a little. You can hear that struggle on my second album, but, you know, I've learned to chill with it and now I'm having fun and I don't focus on that aspect of the business.

Keeping it real, huh?

You can see it from the way I do a tour. The fact that I'm on a bus now with 12 other men, touring around the world playing concerts every night, is not glamorous at all.

What's your favourite James Blunt song?

On a personal level, when I think of my most successful song, I don't think of "You're Beautiful" at all. That's the one that works best on radio.

On that first album, "Goodbye My Lover" is much more meaningful. Whereas "You're Beautiful" is about one second in time, "Goodbye My Lover" is a sentiment about a lifetime.

And on the second album, "One of the Brightest Stars" is perhaps one of the most beautiful songs, and "Same Mistakes" is the most powerful one.

"Superstar" from my new album is the song that I always, always wanted to write when I was a teenager. For me, as a songwriter, there are many songs that I'm excited by and I'm proud of. The fact that they're not commercially successful isn't necessarily a problem for me.

What do you think of Weird Al Yankovich's "You're Pitiful"?

My company doesn't really like it. Honestly, I think he's done some cool parodies, but that's not one of his best. No great criticism of him - I think he's done well in what he does - but occasionally he's going to produce something that's a little bit weak.

There's a cool parody of the same song by this Australian, Tom Gleeson, where he pretends to be the boyfriend of the girl in the song. And where I sang "my life is brilliant", he'd reply, "Yeah, good for you, man," and he would just tuck in a line in between my every single line. It's the best parody I've ever heard. Weird Al should check it out.

How do you like living in Ibiza?

It's a cool place. It's a Mediterranean island rather than rainy London. It's got the warmth of the Spanish people and a great music scene. For me it's a great inspiration to be there.

I call Ibiza home, and I call London my office. I had to come to London and sit in the studio for 14 months, though, to make "Some Kind of Trouble". When I'm not on the road, we get out in the water, swim and have dinner around 11pm and finish around 2 in the morning. The after-party goes on 'til 7am, and when the sun comes up, we go find the beach again.

Ever been to Bangkok?

I passed through Thailand when I was in the army and I did follow some tourist trails. I went down to Koh Pha-ngan, Koh Samui and Koh Tao. I love diving, so it was great to get out there.

Bangkok is a super-busy, hectic place but very interesting. I'm looking forward to have a proper look at the city on this short trip.

What can we expect for your show next month?

People expect my show to be soft and quiet because they've heard some of the singles. And they think James Blunt is going to be one man and a guitar. They're always surprised to see an energetic, upbeat concert.

I'm bringing a big show with lights and production. People are normally swept up by the energy. I hope the fans in Bangkok will come along, feed off the energy and enjoy it.

'SUPERSTAR' TIME

- James Blunt is at Impact Arena in Muang Thong Thani on August 9 at 8.30.

- Seats cost Bt1,000 to Bt4,000.

- Call (02) 262 3838 or visit www.ThaiTicketMajor.com.

-- The Nation 2011-07-12