John Newman (singer)
John William Peter Newman (born 16 June 1990) is an English singer, songwriter, musician, DJ, composer and record producer. He is best known for the track "Love Me Again" which peaked at number one on the UK Singles Chart in July 2013 and appeared in FIFA 14, as well as co-writing and singing on Rudimental's 2012 singles "Feel the Love" and "Not Giving In", which peaked at number one and number 14 on the chart, respectively. In 2014, he featured in the Calvin Harris single "Blame", which also topped the UK charts.
John Newman
John William Peter Newman[1]
16 June 1990
Settle, North Yorkshire, England
- Singer
- songwriter
- musician
- DJ
- composer
- record producer
- Vocals
- piano
- guitar
2012–present
At the 2014 Brit Awards, Newman was nominated for three Brit Awards, including for British Male Solo Artist.[2] As of February 2014, he has sold over 1.3 million records in the UK alone.[3]
Early life and career[edit]
John William Peter Newman was born on 16 June 1990 in Settle in the Yorkshire Dales and attended Settle College. When Newman was six years old, his father left the family, leaving his mother Jackie, his older brother James, and him with a pound a day.[4] In his youth Newman was influenced by Motown and Stax that he heard via his mother. He was also influenced by the Northern soul sound, which also influenced his dance style. Many over 30s from Settle would leave on a weekend to go to Northern soul nights all over Yorkshire.[5] He started playing guitar and writing his own songs at the age of 14 and soon learned how to record and produce himself, even making his own house tracks and DJing.[6]
At the age of sixteen, Newman moved to Leeds and it was here that he developed his voice and sound. It was whilst he was in Leeds that two of his best friends (both involved in professional downhill mountain biking) died in a car crash. Newman said, "In that first year of moving to Leeds, instead of being sat with books all over the library desk and studying music, I actually studied it in a totally different way.... because of what I was going through, and I was getting smashed every night and enjoying the student life but then sitting with a guitar and crying all night writing music."[5] It was whilst in Leeds that he also found other people who appreciated Motown and Stax music and a time that Newman said "matured me in a musical way so much, I was writing pop music and now I feel like I'm writing music that I love and can really attach to."[5]
At the age of twenty, Newman moved to London, started a band, played live and was signed to Island Records.[6] While working at The Silver Bullet bar, he made friends with Piers Agget, one fourth of Rudimental.[7] He released "Cheating" as a download song and plays an acoustic version of the track at gigs.[8]
Music career[edit]
2012: Breakthrough[edit]
In May 2012, John Newman was featured on Rudimental's single "Feel the Love". The single peaked at number one on the UK Singles Chart in early June 2012; the song was also a top 5 hit in Australia, Belgium, the Netherlands and New Zealand. The song has since been certified 2× Platinum by the Australian Recording Industry Association. The song was also featured in the 2012 video game Need for Speed: Most Wanted and is used in 2013 promotional advertising for Foxtel Australia. The song used the promo of MTV Latin America's The Pauly D Project. In November 2012, he featured on Rudimental's follow-up single, "Not Giving In", which peaked at number 14 on the UK Singles Chart, the song was also a top 20 hit in Australia and New Zealand. It came in at number 16 in the 2012 Triple J Hottest 100, announced on Australia Day 2013. It was featured in the first episode of season three of Teen Wolf.
Personal life[edit]
Newman has twice been diagnosed with brain tumours, undergoing surgery in 2012 and again in 2016.[24] He married his Danish girlfriend, Nana-Maria on 18 August 2018 in London.[25][26]
He is the younger brother of singer-songwriter James Newman.
In July 2019, whilst being interviewed by the BBC about his upcoming tour, Newman opened up about his personal struggles with mental health. He went on to explain that he found himself comparing himself to other musicians around him that had seen more success both musically and financially. To prevent himself experiencing the same struggles again, much smaller venues were chosen for his 2019 tour and he was to travel between venues in a campervan with his band.[27]
Albums
