James Blundell (singer)
James Blundell (born 8 December 1964) is an Australian country music singer. Born in Stanthorpe, Queensland, Blundell first rose to prominence after being named "best new talent" at the 1987 Country Music Awards of Australia. Blundell has since released several albums in both Australia and the United States, with his most successful album This Road (released in 1992) selling more than 145,000 copies in Australia. Blundell was an unsuccessful candidate for the Senate in Queensland at the 2013 federal election, running for Katter's Australian Party. At the 2019 Country Music Awards of Australia, Blundell was inducted into the Hall of Fame.
James Blundell
8 December 1964
Singer-songwriter
1987–present
EMI
ABC Records
Compass Brothers Records
Revenge Records
Red Rebel Music
Early life[edit]
Blundell was born in Queensland town of Stanthorpe, and was brought up on a sheep and cattle station near the town. As an adult he worked as a station hand across various locations in northern Australia. After a back injury sustained while working on a farm in Papua New Guinea he turned to music.[1][2][3]
Politics[edit]
In June 2013, Blundell was selected as Katter's Australian Party's lead Senate candidate[18][19] for Queensland in the 2013 federal election.[20] This was largely at the urging of Bob Katter, the party's founder and only federal member of parliament. Blundell had previously been approached to stand in elections by the Liberal National Party (LNP), but declined.[21] His selection was controversial within the party, in part because he had not been a party member before his candidacy was announced, and contributed to a former vice-president, Kevin Brown, resigning his membership.[22] Some of Blundell's political positions have been controversial within the party, notably his support for same-sex marriage and the abolition of penalty rates.[23][24]
Personal life[edit]
Blundell has been married twice—first to Louise, a former manager, and second to Lidia, with whom he had two sons.[25] He left his second wife in August 2007 for Jesse Curran, a singer who he had met at one of his concerts and while she was a contestant on Australian Idol. He and Curran have since had two children together, Fian Blundell and Ria Blundell.[26][21]
Blundell was engaged to Kristal Padget in 2017.[27] In March 2020 he announced his engagement to Rebecca Williams, 28 years after she inspired his 1992 hit "Down on the Farm".[28]
In May 2010, Blundell filed for bankruptcy, having gone into debt attempting to finance his albums, as well as having lost money on the sale of an investment property the previous year.[29] The bankruptcy was discharged in April 2013—had it not been, he would have ineligible to stand as a candidate for election.[20]
Blundell's brother, Peter Blundell, died on 24 December 2021. He was a former mayor of the Stanthorpe Shire and the Southern Downs Region as well as the LNP candidate for Keppel in the 2017 Queensland state election.[30][31]
Awards[edit]
AIR Awards[edit]
The Australian Independent Record Awards (commonly known informally as AIR Awards) is an annual awards night to recognise, promote and celebrate the success of Australia's Independent Music sector.