Tom McRae
| Tom McRae | |
|---|---|
 Tom McRae in Rotterdam (Lantaren / Venster) (2007) |
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| General information | |
| Genre (s) | Folk |
| Website | http://www.tommcrae.com |
| Current occupation | |
Singing, guitar, keyboard, lyrics |
Tom McRae |
cello |
Oli Kraus |
Keyboard |
Olli Cunningham (since 2003) |
Tom McRae (* 1969 in Chelmsford , Essex as Jeremy Thomas McRae Blackall ) is a British singer and songwriter .
biography
Born in Essex on March 19, 1969, to a married couple in the Church of England, he was raised in Chelmsford . McRae sang in the church choir and even as a teenager he liked to borrow his mother's guitar. First, he tried to act out his heroes: Bob Dylan , Paul Simon , Neil Young , Kate Bush and U2 . Then he started to write his own songs and also develop his own style. When he was 18, he went to London Guildhall University to study politics. He soon started playing in bands. McRae took the opportunity to play his homemade demos to producer Roger Bechirian ( Elvis Costello , Squeeze , Carlene Carter ), who was deeply impressed and Tom McRae then offered to be his manager and soon he signed a contract with db Records. Tom McRae's self-named debut album was released in the fall of 2001 during the high of the new acoustic movement, which earned him comparisons with Nick Drake and Bob Dylan. Critics praised his artistic skills and McRae was nominated for the Mercury Music Prize and the BRIT Award for best newcomer. At this time McRae was working with Oliver ("Oli") Kraus (cellist), and in 2003 Olli Cunningham joined the group as keyboardist. McRae's second album, Just Like Blood , was released in the UK in February 2003 and was produced by Ben Hillier ( Elbow , Martha Wainwright and Blur ). In 2004 McRae was nominated for a Grammy Award . He then moved to California , where he wrote and recorded his next album, All Maps Welcome , which was released in May 2005. Tom McRae's fourth album, King of Cards , was recorded in Suffolk and was released in May 2007.
McRae is known for his intelligent and sensitive lyrics, haunted vocals and the energy and warmth he puts into his live performances. In 2005, McRae acted as "opening act" for Tori Amos . After playing at the Hotel Cafe in Los Angeles many times, McRae brought the Hotel Cafe Tour to the UK in 2006 to introduce his fans to other singer-songwriters such as: B. Steve Reynolds , Joe Purdy , Cary Brothers and Jim Bianco . Special guests such as Kathryn Williams , Justin Currie , Colin MacIntyre and Aqualung were also on the Hotel Cafe Tour.
Discography
Albums
- Tom McRae ( Aug 21, 2001, Arista )
- Just Like Blood (UK: February 18, 2003, USA: September 21, 2004, Nettwerk )
- All Maps Welcome (UK: May 2, 2005, USA: May 31, 2005, RCA )
- King of Cards (May 14, 2007, V2 )
- The Alphabet of Hurricanes (February 22, 2010, Cooking Vinyl )
- From the Lowlands (Alphabet of Hurricanes Part 2) (2012)
- Did I Sleep and Miss the Border (Tom McRae & the Standing Band, 2015)
other projects
McRae directed music for the soundtracks of the films Uno (2004) and Unsuitable (2005), and his music was featured in Gal Uchovsky's film The Bubble . He also recorded a very melancholy cover version of Wonderful Christmastime for the Christmas CD: Maybe This Christmas Tree , which was produced in 2004.
In August 2005, McRae visited Nigeria ( Africa ) on demand from The Observer and wrote an article about the famine.
Lipstick , a single from Wills and the Willing , was released on July 7th, 2008. McRae provided vocals in the places he added after hearing the original, which was written in connection with the London attacks.
swell
Web links
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | McRae, Tom |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Blackall, Jeremy Thomas McRae (real name) |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | British singer and songwriter |
| DATE OF BIRTH | 1969 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Essex |