James Blunt may be the only musician who can claim “queen’s bodyguard” as a day job while gigging London at night. That’s what the 29-year-old Brit was doing while writing many of the songs that now appear on his debut, “Back to Bedlam,” which has sold more than 500,000 copies in the United States since its release in October.

Never mind that none of the songs has anything to do with Blunt’s experience wearing a plumed helmet and sword while guarding Queen Elizabeth II’s carriage on horseback. The only reference to the four years Blunt spent in the British army is the album closer, “No Bravery,” which offers a chilling bird’s-eye view of the conflict in Kosovo, where Blunt served as a reconnaissance officer.

What makes Blunt’s military background so notable is its stark contrast to the singer-songwriter’s music. Delivered in sliding falsetto, his strummy slow-dancers deal almost exclusively with the civilian-life concerns of love and loyalty. They bear absolutely no trace of machismo or machine-gun fire.

“People definitely have a picture in their mind of human beings and then people in the army,” Blunt said in a telephone interview from Amsterdam. “The people I worked with in the army, in their spare time their passions included writing or painting. … The army recruits from all walks of life. Sometimes, you need someone who’s aggressive, but surrounding that aggressive person, you need someone who can think clearly.”

Blunt, whose album was No. 2 on the Billboard 200 chart last week, will be at the Orpheum Theatre in Minneapolis on Monday night.

Considering his present “It” boy status, it’s a little surprising he grew up in a home without a stereo. His only experience with music as a child was listening to the radio in the car and, at his mother’s prodding, playing violin and piano.

Neither instrument resonated. Blunt said his only memory of playing violin was performing ” ‘Hot Cross Buns’ while dancing anti-clockwise ’round a table.” His recollection of the piano: “Lots of white keys and some black ones.”
It wasn’t until Blunt was in boarding school that he experienced his musical awakening. He was 14 when he saw a fellow student playing electric guitar in his room and thought, “Wow. I’ve been playing the wrong instruments.”
He saved up and bought a Seagull electric guitar and a small amplifier. Unlike a lot of kids who, after initially learning chord progressions, start jamming the latest hits, “I literally started having my own musical ideas immediately,” said Blunt.

“From the age of 5, I’ve just moved a lot, so that way of life dictated I was a singer-songwriter,” said Blunt, whose songwriting and mobile lifestyle continued when he joined the military to repay his college tuition.
His ability to write depended on where he was serving and what operations he was on, but his guitar was always along for the ride. In Kosovo, Blunt kept his guitar strapped to the outside of the tank.
He landed his record deal in 2003 when, after he played the South by Southwest Music Festival, songwriter-producer Linda Perry signed him to her independent label, Custard. A year and a half later, “Back to Bedlam” hit. And it has kept hitting.

Blunt hopes to head back into the studio for his follow-up in September, once his world tour wraps up. Considering his success, his fans might be in a rush, but Blunt’s in no hurry.
“It’s not about financial success,” Blunt said. “It’s about enjoying it, so if it takes me a couple months or a couple years, that’ll be as it is.”

Source: LA Times