Benjamin John Howard (born 24 April 1987) is an English singer-songwriter, musician and composer. His self-released debut EP ''Games in the Dark'' (2008) was followed by two more EPs, ''
These Waters'' (2009) and ''
Old Pine'' (2010). Signed to
Island Records, his debut studio album came in 2011 titled ''
Every Kingdom
''Every Kingdom'' is the debut studio album by British singer-songwriter Ben Howard. It was released in the United Kingdom on 30 September 2011 as a digital download, CD, LP, and 200-copy limited edition cassette. It reached a peak chart positio ...
''. The album reached number four on the
UK Albums Chart
The Official Albums Chart is a list of albums ranked by physical and digital sales and (from March 2015) audio streaming in the United Kingdom. It was published for the first time on 22 July 1956 and is compiled every week by the Official Charts ...
and was certified double platinum by the
British Phonographic Industry
British Phonographic Industry (BPI) is the British recorded music industry's Trade association. It runs the BRIT Awards, the Classic BRIT Awards, National Album Day, is home to the Mercury Prize, and co-owns the Official Charts Company with ...
(BPI). Howard later released two more EPs, ''Ben Howard Live'' (2011) and ''
The Burgh Island E.P.'' (2012).
At the
2013 Brit Awards
Brit Awards 2013 was held on 20 February 2013. This was the 33rd edition of the British Phonographic Industry's annual Brit Awards. The awards ceremony was held at The O2 Arena in London, and was presented for the third time in three years by J ...
ceremony he received two awards: British Male Solo Artist, and British Breakthrough Act. He performed at 2013
Glastonbury
Glastonbury (, ) is a town and civil parish in Somerset, England, situated at a dry point on the low-lying Somerset Levels, south of Bristol. The town, which is in the Mendip district, had a population of 8,932 in the 2011 census. Glastonbur ...
festival on the Pyramid Stage on Saturday 29 June. He released his second studio album, ''
I Forget Where We Were
''I Forget Where We Were'' is the second album by British singer-songwriter Ben Howard, released on 20 October 2014.
Critical reception
The album was met with positive reviews from music critics. On Metacritic
Metacritic is a website tha ...
'', in October 2014, peaking at number one on the UK Albums Chart.
As of 2017, he is a member of the band A Blaze of Feather with India Bourne, Mickey Smith, Nat Wason, Rich Thomas and Kyle Keegan.
Howard's third studio album, ''
Noonday Dream
''Noonday Dream'' is the third album by British singer-songwriter Ben Howard, released on 1 June 2018.
Critical reception
"Noonday Dream" has received generally favorable reviews from critics. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating ...
'', was released in June 2018. It debuted at number four on the UK Albums Chart, and received favorable reviews from music critics. His fourth album, ''
Collections from the Whiteout
''Collections from the Whiteout'' is the fourth studio album by British singer-songwriter Ben Howard, released on 26 March 2021.
Singles
The lead single from the album, "What a Day", premiered on Annie Mac's BBC Radio 1 show on 26 January 2021 ...
,'' was released on 26 March 2021.
Early life
Benjamin John Howard was born on 24 April 1987 in
Richmond
Richmond most often refers to:
* Richmond, Virginia, the capital of Virginia, United States
* Richmond, London, a part of London
* Richmond, North Yorkshire, a town in England
* Richmond, British Columbia, a city in Canada
* Richmond, California, ...
,
south-west London
The points of the compass are a set of horizontal, Radius, radially arrayed compass directions (or Azimuth#In navigation, azimuths) used in navigation and cartography. A compass rose is primarily composed of four cardinal directions—north, east ...
, England,
and moved near
Totnes
Totnes ( or ) is a market town and civil parish at the head of the estuary of the River Dart in Devon, England, within the South Devon Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. It is about west of Paignton, about west-southwest of Torquay and abo ...
,
Devon
Devon ( , historically known as Devonshire , ) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South West England. The most populous settlement in Devon is the city of Plymouth, followed by Devon's county town, the city of Exeter. Devo ...
when he was about eight. He was raised by musical parents who exposed him to their favourite records from singer-songwriter artists from the 1960s and 1970s at an early age, such as
John Martyn
Iain David McGeachy (11 September 1948 – 29 January 2009), known professionally as John Martyn, was a Scottish singer-songwriter and guitarist. Over a 40-year career, he released 23 studio albums, and received frequent critical acclaim. ...
,
Van Morrison
Sir George Ivan Morrison (born 31 August 1945), known professionally as Van Morrison, is a Northern Irish singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist whose recording career spans seven decades. He has won two Grammy Awards.
As a teenager in t ...
,
Joni Mitchell and
Simon & Garfunkel, by whom he was strongly influenced.
Howard began writing songs when he was eleven.
In an interview with ''
American Songwriter
''American Songwriter'' is a bimonthly magazine covering songwriting. Established in 1984, it features interviews, songwriting tips, news, reviews and lyric contest. The magazine is based in Nashville, Tennessee.
History
The ''American Songwri ...
'', he stated that when he was a kid he started playing guitar because he liked to put words together and make stuff up. "I was quite an imaginative little kid I guess. So your standard little love songs turned into your standard adolescent love songs. I think you start getting your own take on things when you're a late teen. That's when everything changes." Besides playing the guitar, Howard also played other instruments as a kid. He easily picked up the drums and contrabass, but after some time he decided to focus on the guitar. After attending
King Edward VI Community College
King Edward VI Community College (KEVICC) is a coeducational secondary school and sixth form located in Totnes, Devon, England. It is located in the Dart Valley on the A385 Ashburton Road and serves Totnes and the surrounding area. It has a lar ...
and
Torquay Boys' Grammar School he began studying Journalism at
University College Falmouth
Falmouth University ( kw, Pennskol Aberfal) is a specialist public university for the creative industries based in Falmouth and Penryn, Cornwall, England. Founded as Falmouth School of Art in 1902, it was later known as Falmouth College of Ar ...
. Six months prior to completion of his course, Howard decided to focus on making music full-time, making melodic rootsy
folk
Folk or Folks may refer to:
Sociology
*Nation
*People
* Folklore
** Folk art
** Folk dance
** Folk hero
** Folk music
*** Folk metal
*** Folk punk
*** Folk rock
** Folk religion
* Folk taxonomy
Arts, entertainment, and media
* Folk Plus or Fo ...
music, with progressively darker lyrics. His reputation grew around Devon, and soon spread to other areas of the UK. After a month of sold-out dates across Europe and the UK Howard was eventually asked to sign for Island Records.
Due to his association with the town, Howard was chosen in 2014 to appear on the 10
Totnes pound note.
Music career
2008–2011: Early releases
Before signing to a record label, Howard had already released some material. In 2008 he self-released his debut EP ''Games in the Dark''. His first major release was ''
These Waters'', an EP featuring six tracks, including "
The Wolves". In 2010, Ben Howard released the ''
Old Pine EP'', followed by a number of singles, such as "
The Fear" and "
Keep Your Head Up". Howard now had enough material to release an album, ''
Every Kingdom
''Every Kingdom'' is the debut studio album by British singer-songwriter Ben Howard. It was released in the United Kingdom on 30 September 2011 as a digital download, CD, LP, and 200-copy limited edition cassette. It reached a peak chart positio ...
'', which would feature a number of his previous singles. One of the songs from this album, 'Promise' was used in the first episode of ''
The 100 The 100 may refer to:
Arts and entertainment
* 100 (DC Comics), fictional organized crime groups appearing in DC Comics
* ''The 100'' (novel series), a 2013–2016 science fiction novel series written by Kass Morgan
* ''The 100'' (TV series), 20 ...
''. In 2010, he also started supporting
Angus & Julia Stone's concerts in Europe. He also joined them for one live performance of ''Yellow Brick Road'' in Paris.
2011–13: ''Every Kingdom''
Howard signed to Island Records in 2011, due to the label's history of
UK folk singers, including
Nick Drake and
John Martyn
Iain David McGeachy (11 September 1948 – 29 January 2009), known professionally as John Martyn, was a Scottish singer-songwriter and guitarist. Over a 40-year career, he released 23 studio albums, and received frequent critical acclaim. ...
. After singles "Old Pine" and "
The Wolves" were released in 2011, Howard recorded his debut album entitled ''
Every Kingdom
''Every Kingdom'' is the debut studio album by British singer-songwriter Ben Howard. It was released in the United Kingdom on 30 September 2011 as a digital download, CD, LP, and 200-copy limited edition cassette. It reached a peak chart positio ...
'', which was released on 3 October 2011. He was nominated for the 2012 ''
Mercury Prize
The Mercury Prize, formerly called the Mercury Music Prize, is an annual music prize awarded for the best album released in the United Kingdom by a British or Irish act. It was created by Jon Webster and Robert Chandler in association with the B ...
''.
Howard worked alongside India Bourne, Marcus Wright and Chris Bond to make ''Every Kingdom'', with Bourne playing cello, keyboards, ukulele, bass and contributing vocals and percussion, Bond playing guitars, bass, double bass, drums, percussion, keyboards, accordion, contributing to vocals, and also producing the record, and additional modular-dynamic (MD) synthesisers provided by Wright. He also toured with Bourne and Bond on his 2012 Every Kingdom tour, with support from
Willy Mason
Willy Mason (born November 21, 1984) is an American singer-songwriter.
Early life
Mason was born in White Plains, New York, the son of Jemima James and Michael Mason, both songwriters. Mason is a direct descendant of the 19th-century phi ...
.
In 2012, Howard launched his music in America with ''Every Kingdom'' being released on 3 April 2012, and appearances at
South by Southwest (SXSW) in Texas and a US tour confirmed. His song "Promise" was featured at the end of season 8, episode 12 of TV show ''
House''.
In May 2012, Howard performed "The Wolves" on ''
Later... with Jools Holland''. He played at Pinkpop in the Netherlands on 26 May and
Radio 1's Big Weekend
BBC Radio 1's Big Weekend (R1BW) (previously known as One Big Weekend, for 2012 as Radio 1's Hackney Weekend, and for 2018 as BBC Music's Biggest Weekend) is a British music festival run by the BBC's radio station. It is held once a year, in a ...
in Hackney on 24 June 2012. He also played at the
2012 Bonnaroo Music Festival in
Manchester, Tennessee
Manchester is a city in Coffee County, Tennessee, United States. The population was 12,213 at the 2020 census. It is the county seat of Coffee County. The city is located halfway between Nashville and Chattanooga on Interstate 24.
Manchester i ...
, the 2012
T in the Park
T in the Park festival was a major Scottish music festival that was held annually from 1994 to 2016. It was named after its main sponsor, Tennents. The event was held at Strathclyde Park, Lanarkshire, until 1996. It then moved to the disused B ...
music festival in Scotland, as well as
Beach Break Live Pembrey Country Park is a country park on the coast of South Wales, located near the village of Pembrey, Carmarthenshire, and the town of Llanelli.
Pembrey Country Park consists of some of parkland. Its southern edge is formed by the long Cefn ...
2012 in South Wales,
Bestival 2012 and
Splendour in the Grass
Splendour in the Grass (commonly referred to as Splendour) is an annual Australian music festival held at the North Byron Parklands in Yelgun, New South Wales. Since its inauguration, the festival has also been held in various locations near ...
2012. Howard also played a slot at the
Austin City Limits Music Festival
The Austin City Limits (ACL) Music Festival is an annual music festival held in Zilker Park in Austin, Texas on two consecutive three-day weekends. Inspired by the KLRU/PBS music series of the same name, the festival is produced by Austin-base ...
in October 2012.
In November 2012, Howard released ''
The Burgh Island EP
''The Burgh Island E.P.'' is an EP by British singer-songwriter Ben Howard. It was released on 31 October 2012 as a digital download, on CD and on 12" EP. The songs on the EP were written by Howard and produced by Chris Bond. The cover art wa ...
'' produced by Chris Bond, which featured four new tracks. Once again released to critical acclaim, the EP had a darker, more menacing tone than most of Howard's previous work, with Howard also playing electric guitar, rather than his traditional acoustic. The second track from the EP, "Oats in the Water", was featured in
Internment, the 5th episode in Season 4 of AMC's ''
The Walking Dead,'' in the 1st episode in season 3 of Fox's ''
The Following
''The Following'' is an American crime thriller television series created by Kevin Williamson, and jointly produced by Outerbanks Entertainment and Warner Bros. Television.
The first season follows former FBI agent Ryan Hardy ( Kevin Bacon) ...
,'' and in the release trailer for ''
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt''. In 2014, the song "Promise" from the album ''Every Kingdom'' featured in the USA Network drama, ''
Suits'' Season 3 Episode 11, "Buried Secrets" along with The CW drama Reign Season 1 Episode 10, "Sacrifice".
Ben Howard played on the main Pyramid Stage at
Glastonbury Festival 2013
The 2013 Glastonbury Festival, Glastonbury Festival of Contemporary Performing Arts was held from 26 to 30 June 2013. It followed a fallow year, in which there was no festival.
Ticket sales
On 20 June 2012 it was announced that tickets for the ...
, on Saturday 29 June 2013, in which he played five tracks from ''Every Kingdom''. He also played on the Other Stage during
Glastonbury Festival 2015
The 2015 Glastonbury Festival of Contemporary Performing Arts was held from 24 to 28 June 2015.
On 17 June 2015, it was announced that the Foo Fighters had cancelled a number of appearances, including the Friday night headline slot at Glastonb ...
.
2014: ''I Forget Where We Were''
In 2014, Howard headlined the inaugural Somersault Festival, based in North Devon, with other artists such as
Jack Johnson.
On 5 August 2014, Howard's first single "End of the Affair" from his second album was played on Zane Lowe's Radio 1 and Danielle Perry's XFM show.
On 18 August 2014 Howard announced the title of his second album, ''I Forget Where We Were'' on Zane Lowe's show on Radio 1 whilst releasing the title track from the record at the same time. On 26 October "I Forget Where We Were" became number 26 in the UK Official Albums Chart.
On 6 April 2015, Howard announced a short string of tour dates in the US with English indie folk band
Daughter
A daughter is a female offspring; a girl or a woman in relation to her parents. Daughterhood is the state of being someone's daughter. The male counterpart is a son. Analogously the name is used in several areas to show relations between group ...
as support. These dates were announced following a string of successful shows in Canada and the US.
2018: ''Noonday Dream''
On 4 April 2018 it was announced that Howard's third album, titled ''
Noonday Dream
''Noonday Dream'' is the third album by British singer-songwriter Ben Howard, released on 1 June 2018.
Critical reception
"Noonday Dream" has received generally favorable reviews from critics. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating ...
'', would be released on 1 June 2018. A new single was also released, titled "A Boat To An Island On The Wall". The single debuted on Annie Mac's Radio 1 show with accompanying 2018 UK tour dates announced. A tracklist for the upcoming album was released on his website, along with 2 bonus vinyl-only tracks "Bird On A Wing" and "Interlude".
Together with his band Howard performed two songs from the album, "Nica Libres At Dusk" and "Towing The Line", on
Later... with Jools Holland on 15 May 2018.
On 13 September 2018 Ben Howard released 'Another Friday Night/Heavy Summer (featuring Sylvan Esso)/Sister' a track of three different singles. Shortly after the release of these singles, he went on to release another single 'Heave Ho' in January 2019.
2021: ''Collections from the Whiteout''
On 26 January 2021, Ben Howard announced that his fourth album, ''
Collections from the Whiteout
''Collections from the Whiteout'' is the fourth studio album by British singer-songwriter Ben Howard, released on 26 March 2021.
Singles
The lead single from the album, "What a Day", premiered on Annie Mac's BBC Radio 1 show on 26 January 2021 ...
,'' would be released on 26 March 2021.
Along side the announcement, Howard released the single "What A Day". The album was produced by
The National and
Big Red Machine
The Big Red Machine is a nickname for the Cincinnati Reds baseball team that dominated the National League from 1970 to 1979 and is widely recognized as being among the best in baseball history. The team won six National League West Division ti ...
member
Aaron Dessner
Aaron Brooking Dessner (born April 23, 1976) is an American musician, songwriter, and record producer. He is best known as a founding member of the rock band the National, with whom he has recorded eight studio albums; a co-founder of the indie ...
, recorded over an 18 month period, mostly at Dessner's New York studio Long Pond with additional production in Paris.
Personal life
Howard has been in a relationship with Agatha Lintott since 2014. Howard is a supporter of
Liverpool F.C.
Liverpool Football Club is a professional football club based in Liverpool, England. The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football. Founded in 1892, the club joined the Football League the following year and has p ...
Guitar style
Howard plays guitar left-handed and makes extensive use of alternate tunings such as CGCGGC (Old Pine, Everything), DADGAD (In Dreams) and CGA#GFC (End of the Affair, Esmerelda). He also complements these tunings by using a partial
capo for many songs (Further Away, Everything, End of the Affair) in order to use harmonic or bass notes otherwise unavailable.
He also has a distinctive percussive strumming style, called the "pick and go", and Howard's method of laying the guitar flat on top of his knees and playing it percussively was influenced by contemporary folk songwriter and guitarist
John Smith.
Discography
* ''
Every Kingdom
''Every Kingdom'' is the debut studio album by British singer-songwriter Ben Howard. It was released in the United Kingdom on 30 September 2011 as a digital download, CD, LP, and 200-copy limited edition cassette. It reached a peak chart positio ...
'' (2011)
* ''
The Burgh Island EP
''The Burgh Island E.P.'' is an EP by British singer-songwriter Ben Howard. It was released on 31 October 2012 as a digital download, on CD and on 12" EP. The songs on the EP were written by Howard and produced by Chris Bond. The cover art wa ...
'' (2012)
* ''
I Forget Where We Were
''I Forget Where We Were'' is the second album by British singer-songwriter Ben Howard, released on 20 October 2014.
Critical reception
The album was met with positive reviews from music critics. On Metacritic
Metacritic is a website tha ...
'' (2014)
* ''
Noonday Dream
''Noonday Dream'' is the third album by British singer-songwriter Ben Howard, released on 1 June 2018.
Critical reception
"Noonday Dream" has received generally favorable reviews from critics. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating ...
'' (2018)
*''
Collections from the Whiteout
''Collections from the Whiteout'' is the fourth studio album by British singer-songwriter Ben Howard, released on 26 March 2021.
Singles
The lead single from the album, "What a Day", premiered on Annie Mac's BBC Radio 1 show on 26 January 2021 ...
'' (2021)
Awards and nominations
BRIT Awards
Howard has won both
BRIT Award
The BRIT Awards (often simply called the BRITs) are the British Phonographic Industry's annual popular music awards. The name was originally a shortened form of "British", "Britain", or "Britannia" (in the early days the awards were sponsored ...
s for which he has been nominated.
Mercury Prize
Howard has been nominated once for the
Mercury Prize
The Mercury Prize, formerly called the Mercury Music Prize, is an annual music prize awarded for the best album released in the United Kingdom by a British or Irish act. It was created by Jon Webster and Robert Chandler in association with the B ...
.
Ivor Novello Awards
Howard has been nominated three times for the
Ivor Novello Awards
The Ivor Novello Awards, named after the entertainer Ivor Novello, are awards for songwriting and composing. They have been presented annually in London by the Ivors Academy (formerly the BASCA) since 1956, and over 1,000 statuettes have been a ...
.
References
External links
Official website*
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Howard, Ben
1987 births
Living people
Musicians from Devon
Island Records artists
English folk singers
English male singer-songwriters
Musicians from London
People from Richmond, London
Alumni of Falmouth University
Brit Award winners
21st-century English singers
21st-century British male singers