In the collective imagination, James Blunt is a great romantic who causes depressed little girls to capsize. “I know about it, but it’s completely wrong!” exclaims the person concerned. Ask my wife what we’re doing for Valentine’s Day and she’ll tell you I’m taking her to the bar. I’m not romantic and neither are my songs. »
What is this reputation worth to the British? His hits “You’re Beautiful” and “Goodbye My Lover”. The story of a drug addict who spies on a stranger and fantasizes about her and a man who has lost the girl he loves. “If you think that’s romantic, I love you.” But you have a real problem! »
GOOD. So let’s talk about the real James Blunt. Hearing him say that he would rather spend time with David Guetta than Francis Cabrel, so much so that he settled in Ibiza, where he raised his glass to the sounds of electro every evening. On the eve of his 50th birthday, Blunt says he feels like a young man. “Only in France do people constantly talk to me about my age! I love nightclubs and it’s a shame I’m 49 years old. »
Songs about his feelings
However, when we listen to “Who We Used To Be,” his seventh studio album, it becomes clear that his music is nowhere near as celebratory as his daily life. “I write songs about emotions, not about my beautiful car or my impressive watch. Besides, I don’t have any, that’s all. »
So this record doesn’t radiate joie de vivre, but concentrates the best of what Blunt knows how to do: a very nice ode to the James of yesteryear, long before the nightclubs of the Balearic Islands, to the native of Tidworth (southwest of…). England), who learned violin, piano and guitar in the hope of becoming a rock star. “I was ambitious, I wanted this fast-paced life, I thought anything was possible. And this carefree attitude enabled me to do this job,” he believes.
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I would be lying if I told you that I don’t care if my work is successful
James Blunt
The time of innocence seems to be over. The age of his parents haunts him, the responsibility towards his elders and his descendants weighs heavily on his shoulders. Just like his memories as a soldier and the sad state of the world. He talks about the leaders who divide us, our lack of free will, and admits to having “sold his soul to the devil” by regularly pointing his head at X (ex-Twitter) to “do something stupid writing” and watching what people say about it.
“I would be lying if I said that I don’t care if my work is successful. It’s an environment in which it’s difficult to find a place and even more difficult to keep it, even though I had a number of albums and hits. I know how lucky I am and I realize that this could all have ended much sooner. » Next year he will tour the streets of France. The opportunity, he admits, to drive through Bordeaux and “drink good wine there.” Naturally.
“Who We Used to Be” (Warner)
On tour in France from February 20th, 2024 and at the Zénith in Paris on February 28th.