Jamie Cullum
Jamie Cullum (born 20 August 1979)[1] is an English jazz-pop singer, songwriter and radio presenter. Although primarily a vocalist and pianist, he also accompanies himself on other instruments, including guitar and drums. He has recorded nine studio albums, three compilation albums, one live album and twenty-four singles. Since April 2010, he has presented a weekly Tuesday evening jazz show on BBC Radio 2.[2]
Jamie Cullum
- Singer
- songwriter
- radio presenter
- Vocals
- piano
- guitar
- drums
1999–present
Early life[edit]
Cullum's Jewish father, whose own mother had fled Nazi Germany, was born in Jerusalem. His mother's father was Indian and her mother was born in Burma. Following the Japanese invasion, the family left Burma and moved to Wales, when his mother was aged five.[3]
Cullum was born in Rochford, Essex,[4] but was brought up in Hullavington, Wiltshire.[5] He failed his grade 4 piano exam, and by his own admission can barely read music.[6] At 15, after attending Grittleton House School,[5] he went to Sheldon School in Chippenham.[7] He felt that he "was on a pathway" for a place at the University of Oxford;[8] instead, he read English Literature and Film Studies at the University of Reading, "just down the road" from where he graduated with First-Class Honours.[9]
Projects[edit]
Cullum's early music career saw him playing three or four times a week at PizzaExpress's restaurants throughout London, gaining exposure and later his big break with Universal. In 2011 the "Pizza Express Big Audition with Jamie Cullum" competition gave singers, songwriters and musicians a platform and a chance to win a £5,000 prize and a residency at the restaurant chain's Dean Street Jazz Club. 7,500 acts entered the competition and the final, held at the Addison's Rooms in Kensington on 23 November, was judged by Cullum, Michael Parkinson, M People's Heather Small and other music critics. The winning act was Offbeat South, an urban group of 18- to 21-year-olds from Croydon. The other finalists were Andy Lewis, Elle Watson, Palms 13 and The Yesberger Band.[32]
In 2021, alongside Sophie Ellis-Bextor and The Feeling, Cullum re-recorded the classic 1977 Fleetwood Mac song "Don't Stop" as part of the UK's National Thank You Day on 4 July, to celebrate the work of the National Health Service. The single was released on 25 June.[33][34]
In 2022, Cullum was among the artists who celebrated 60 years of music from James Bond films in a concert at the Royal Albert Hall.[35]
Personal life[edit]
Cullum first met his future wife at a charity concert where she performed a song.[36] He married the English author and former model Sophie Dahl in a private ceremony in Hampshire on 9 January 2010.[37] They live in Buckinghamshire, where Sophie's grandfather Roald Dahl lived for the second half of his life.[38] Their daughter, Lyra, was born on 2 March 2011[39] and their second daughter, Margot, was born in 2013.[40]
In 2011, a portrait of Cullum, painted by British artist Joe Simpson, was exhibited around the UK, including a solo exhibition at the Royal Albert Hall.[41]
Cullum was the guest for BBC Radio 4's Desert Island Discs[42] on 25 March 2012, where he created programme history by performing three of his chosen songs, live in the studio for the show.[36] His disc choices included The Lamb by John Tavener, and "Concerning the UFO Sighting near Highland Illinois" by Sufjan Stevens. His favourite was "I Think It's Going to Rain Today" by Randy Newman.[42]
