Tom Walker (singer)
Thomas Alexander Walker (born 17 December 1991) is a Scottish singer-songwriter.[1] He was trained at the stage school London College of Creative Media, and was given a contract soon after. He rose to fame after the release of his single "Leave a Light On", which peaked at number 7 on the UK Singles Chart in June 2018.[2]
Tom Walker
Thomas Alexander Walker
17 December 1991
Kilsyth, Scotland
- Musician
- singer
- songwriter
- Vocals
- guitar
2015–present
Early life and education[edit]
Walker was born in the Scottish town of Kilsyth. Despite relocating with his family to the Cheshire town of Chelford when he was three, Walker claims his upbringing was still 'Glaswegian', due to his Scottish parents.[3][4] He speaks with a Scottish accent when with family or in Scotland.[5][6] His favourite artists while growing up included Ray Charles, Muddy Waters and Paolo Nutini.[5] In 2014, prior to fame, Walker graduated from London College of Creative Media.[7][8]
Career[edit]
2017–2019: What a Time to Be Alive and collaborations[edit]
In 2017, Walker released "Just You and I", which was picked as Elvis Duran's Artist of the Month appearing on NBC's Today show with Kathie Lee Gifford where he performed the song.[9] His follow-up single was "Blessings", the title track from his debut EP Blessings.[10] On 13 June 2017, Walker released the single "Heartland", which was co-written and produced by Naughty Boy. On 22 August 2017, the single was added to the BBC Radio 1 playlist.[11] Later in 2017, Walker was named as one of the new additions to the BBC Radio 1 Brit List.[12] Walker has played support slots for artists such as George Ezra, Gallant and Jake Bugg.[13] On 28 September, Walker began his US tour, in Connecticut, supporting The Script.[11]
On 13 October 2017, Walker released his single "Leave a Light On" on Relentless Records. The single was co-written and produced by Steve Mac.[14] The music video for "Leave a Light On" was produced by Charles Mehling, and filmed in Croatia.[14][15] It impacted numerous international charts and was included in his debut studio album What a Time to Be Alive. In 2019, Walker won the Best Breakthrough Act at the 2019 Brit Awards.[16] His song "Leave a Light On" was also nominated for "Best British Single".
2020–present: I Am[edit]
In November 2019, Walker confirmed he had begun working on his second studio album.[17] Following this, in early 2020, What a Time to Be Alive achieved platinum accreditation by the British Phonographic Industry for sales of over 300,000 units in the UK.[18]
As part of "Royal Carols: Together at Christmas" in December 2021, Tom Walker performed "For Those Who Can't Be Here" with Catherine, Princess of Wales (at the time styled the Duchess of Cambridge) playing piano.[19]
Walker's single "Head Underwater" was released on 2 February 2024. It peaked at number 95 on the UK Singles Chart on 15 April 2024.[20]