Ed Harcourt
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Edward Henry Richard Harcourt-Smith (born 14 August 1977) is an English singer-songwriter. To date, he has released six studio albums, two EPs, and thirteen
singles Singles are people not in a committed relationship. Singles may also refer to: Film and television * ''Singles'' (miniseries), a 1984 Australian television series * ''Singles'' (1992 film), written and directed by Cameron Crowe * ''Singles'' ...
. His debut album, ''
Here Be Monsters ''Here Be Monsters'' is the debut album by Ed Harcourt, released in 2001. It was nominated for the Mercury Music Prize in 2001. Tim Holmes, one-half of British dance music duo Death In Vegas, co-produced the album. The singles "Something in My ...
'', was nominated for the 2001
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 ...
. Since 2007 he has been writing for other artists, including
Sophie Ellis-Bextor Sophie Michelle Ellis-Bextor (born 10 April 1979) is an English singer and songwriter. She first came to prominence in the late 1990s as the lead singer of the indie rock band Theaudience. After the group disbanded Ellis-Bextor went solo and ach ...
and
Paloma Faith Paloma Faith Blomfield (born 21 July 1981) is an English singer and actress. Her debut studio album, '' Do You Want the Truth or Something Beautiful?,'' was released in 2009 and was certified double platinum in the UK. The album spawned the sin ...
, and has performed with
Marianne Faithfull Marianne Evelyn Gabriel Faithfull (born 29 December 1946) is an English singer and actress. She achieved popularity in the 1960s with the release of her hit single " As Tears Go By" and became one of the lead female artists during the British I ...
and
the Libertines The Libertines are an English rock band, formed in London in 1997 by frontmen Carl Barât (vocals/guitar) and Pete Doherty (vocals/guitar). The band, centred on the songwriting partnership of Barât and Doherty, has also included John Hassall ...
. His music is influenced by
Tom Waits Thomas Alan Waits (born December 7, 1949) is an American musician, composer, songwriter, and actor. His lyrics often focus on the underbelly of society and are delivered in his trademark deep, gravelly voice. He worked primarily in jazz during ...
, Nick Cave, and
Jeff Buckley Jeffrey Scott Buckley (November 17, 1966 – May 29, 1997), raised as Scott Moorhead, was an American singer, songwriter, and guitarist. After a decade as a session guitarist in Los Angeles, Buckley amassed a following in the early 1990s by ...
, among others.


Career

Harcourt was born Edward Henry Richard Harcourt-Smith on 14 August 1977, in
Wimbledon, London Wimbledon () is a district and town of Southwest London, England, southwest of the centre of London at Charing Cross; it is the main commercial centre of the London Borough of Merton. Wimbledon had a population of 68,187 in 2011 which includes ...
, England. /sup> The youngest of three, Harcourt is the son of Maj. Charles Harcourt-Smith of the Life Guards and also a former diplomat, and his wife Sabrina, an art historian. Ed began to study piano at the age of nine and achieved grade 8 when he was 17. He declined the offer to study music, citing "the idea of having to analyze, dissect and everything f one piece of musicwould completely destroy any enjoyment". Before going solo, Harcourt played the bass and keyboards for Snug, a band formed at school in the mid-1990s by Harcourt, James Deane, Ed Groves and Johnny Lewsley. The band recorded two albums and a handful of singles together before dissolving. In 2000, Harcourt recorded his debut mini-album ''
Maplewood EP ''Maplewood'' is an EP by Ed Harcourt. It was released in 2000. Harcourt recorded the album on a four-track in his grandma's Sussex house, and it was originally intended as a demo. Upon signing the artist to a record contract, Heavenly Records ...
'' straight to a
4-track recorder Multitrack recording (MTR), also known as multitracking or tracking, is a method of sound recording developed in 1955 that allows for the separate recording of multiple sound sources or of sound sources recorded at different times to create a ...
at Wootton Manor. After signing with
Heavenly Records Heavenly Recordings is a London-based independent record label founded by Jeff Barrett in 1990. Heavenly released the first albums from Saint Etienne, Beth Orton and Doves, and early singles by Manic Street Preachers. Current Heavenly artists ...
and releasing ''Maplewood'' in November 2000, Harcourt recorded his debut studio album ''
Here Be Monsters ''Here Be Monsters'' is the debut album by Ed Harcourt, released in 2001. It was nominated for the Mercury Music Prize in 2001. Tim Holmes, one-half of British dance music duo Death In Vegas, co-produced the album. The singles "Something in My ...
'' with producers
Gil Norton Gil Norton (born in Liverpool) is an English record producer known for his work with alternative rock bands such as Pixies, Echo & the Bunnymen, Foo Fighters, Tribe, Jimmy Eat World, Dashboard Confessional, Feeder, The Distillers, Maxïmo ...
and Tim Holmes. The album was released in June 2001, and charted 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 ...
at No. 84. One month after its release, the album was nominated for the 2001
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 ...
. He later described the period as "very strange for me, I was naive, I knew nothing. I was used to making music in my room, so it felt very odd being on stage". In the US he signed with Capitol Records. Following the non-album single release of the Brian Wilson cover " Still I Dream of It" in October 2002, Harcourt recorded and released his second album ''
From Every Sphere ''From Every Sphere'' is the second album by British singer-songwriter Ed Harcourt, released in 2003. Heavenly Records labelmate Jimi Goodwin of Doves plays tambourine on the first single "All of Your Days Will Be Blessed”, Harcourt’s only ...
'' in February 2003. The album became his highest-charting release in the UK, peaking at No. 39. The album also performed moderately well across Europe, peaking at No. 6 in Sweden, No. 25 in Norway, and No. 103 in France. ''From Every Sphere'' also yielded his highest-charting single to date, "All of Your Days Will Be Blessed", at No. 35. A second single, "Watching the Sun Come Up", was less successful, peaking at No. 79. After a steady schedule of tour dates in the UK, Harcourt's third album, '' Strangers'', was released in September 2004. The album peaked at No. 57 in the UK and at No. 7 in Sweden, and produced the singles "This One's for You", "Born in the '70s", and "Loneliness." Through 2005 Harcourt played some live dates with a side-project he called ''Wild Boar''. In August 2005, the B-sides and rarities compilation '' Elephant's Graveyard'' was released as a digital download. In the same year he performed at the annual Meltdown Festival in London, supporting the
Brian Jonestown Massacre The Brian Jonestown Massacre is an American musical project and band led and started by Anton Newcombe. It was formed in San Francisco in 1990. The group was the subject of the 2004 documentary film called '' Dig!'', and have gained media not ...
and joining the curator
Patti Smith Patricia Lee Smith (born December 30, 1946) is an American singer, songwriter, poet, painter and author who became an influential component of the New York City punk rock movement with her 1975 debut album ''Horses''. Called the "punk poet ...
for a rendition of "
Pissing in a River "Pissing in a River" is a rock song written by Patti Smith and Ivan Král, and released as a lead single from the Patti Smith Group's 1976 album ''Radio Ethiopia''. It was featured in both the 1980 movie ''Times Square'' and the 1997 independent ...
". He was also part of the ensemble that performed the William Blake inspired
Songs of Innocence ''Songs of Innocence and of Experience'' is a collection of illustrated poems by William Blake. It appeared in two phases: a few first copies were printed and illuminated by Blake himself in 1789; five years later, he bound these poems with a ...
. Harcourt's fourth album '' The Beautiful Lie'' was released in June 2006 to generally favourable reviews, with
Allmusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databa ...
describing the album as "an invigorating and frequently gorgeous affair, essential for old fans and a good place to start for newcomers." The album was not as successful on the UK charts, peaking at No. 97. ''The Beautiful Lie'' was co-produced with
Jari Haapalainen Jari Haapalainen (born 1971) is a Finnish-Swedish musician, songwriter and producer.The Magic Numbers The Magic Numbers are an English pop rock band consisting of two brother-and-sister pairs, from Hanwell in west London. The group was formed in 2002, releasing their debut album titled '' The Magic Numbers'' on 13 June 2005. Their follow-up al ...
, who sing backing vocals on "Revolution in the Heart";
Graham Coxon Graham Leslie Coxon (born 12 March 1969) is an English musician, singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist and painter who came to prominence as a founding member of the rock band Blur. As the group's lead guitarist and secondary vocalist, Cox ...
, who plays guitar on first single "Visit from the Dead Dog"; and Ed's wife Gita, who plays violin throughout and sings duet vocals on the track "Braille". He later described the release as "the bête noire of the albums". Harcourt recorded several tracks with the French
jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a m ...
trumpeter
Erik Truffaz Erik Truffaz (born 3 April 1960 in Chêne-Bougeries, Switzerland) is a French jazz trumpeter, infusing elements of hip hop, rock and roll and dance music into his compositions. Early life Truffaz was introduced to music by his father, a saxop ...
for the album ''Arkhangelsk'', released in early 2007. He also performed live with Truffaz's group to promote the album, and they filmed a Take-Away Show video session shot by
Vincent Moon Vincent Moon (real name Mathieu Saura, born 25 August 1979) is an independent filmmaker, photographer, and sound artist from Paris. He was the main director of the Blogotheque's Take Away Shows, a web-based project recording field work music vid ...
. In October 2007, Harcourt released the compilation album '' Until Tomorrow Then: The Best of Ed Harcourt'', collecting material from the first seven years of his recording career. With the release he completed his obligations with Heavenly/EMI and the contract was not renewed. As a consequence he stepped away from his solo career as he was "really bored and sick of myself and my music. I had tried for seven years to make it and break into the mainstream and it didn't happen". In 2009, Harcourt signed with
Dovecote Records Dovecote Records was a New York-based independent record label. It was run by its founder, Carter Matschullat, and was distributed by Redeye Distribution in the US. Artists and projects Dovecote's roster included Wise Blood, SSION, Hooray fo ...
in the United States to release ''The Beautiful Lie'' stateside, as well as his new EP '' Russian Roulette'' which appeared in May of that year. Also in 2009, Harcourt composed the original music for the soundtrack to the ''
Donnie Darko ''Donnie Darko'' is a 2001 American science fiction psychological thriller film written and directed by Richard Kelly and produced by Flower Films. It stars Jake Gyllenhaal, Jena Malone, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Drew Barrymore, Mary McDonnell, ...
'' sequel ''
S. Darko ''S. Darko'', pronounced "S Dot Darko", is a 2009 American science fiction thriller film directed by Chris Fisher and starring Daveigh Chase, Briana Evigan, and Ed Westwick. It is the sequel to the 2001 cult film ''Donnie Darko''. In ''Donnie Da ...
''. In early 2010, he wrote a song called "Isabel" for the
SOS Children's Villages SOS Children's Villages is an independent, non-governmental, nonprofit international development organization headquartered in Innsbruck, Austria. The organization provides humanitarian and developmental assistance to children in need and protect ...
Emergency Relief Fund in Haiti. Harcourt's fifth studio album ''
Lustre Lustre or Luster may refer to: Places * Luster, Norway, a municipality in Vestlandet, Norway ** Luster (village), a village in the municipality of Luster * Lustre, Montana, an unincorporated community in the United States Entertainment * '' ...
'' was released on 14 June 2010, the first on his record label Piano Wolf Recordings. The album was produced by
Ryan Hadlock Ryan Hadlock is an American record producer, best known for his production work on platinum-selling album '' The Lumineers'' by The Lumineers. Career Hadlock has been around music his entire life, as his parents Joe and Manny Hadlock, started ...
at
Bear Creek Studio Bear Creek Studio is a residential recording studio located in Woodinville, Washington, situated in a barn on a 10 acre farm. Known for its "rural farmhouse" location, a number of artists have recorded at the studio, including: Brandi Carlile, ...
s. In February 2013, Harcourt released the album ''Back into The Woods'' through CCCLX, the new label set-up by his manager Sean Adams. It was recorded during a one-day session helmed by Pete Hutchings at the Abbey Road Studios and featured his wife Gita on violin and Arnulf Lindner (cello). The release was supported by a headlining tour around England. In January 2014, Harcourt released ''Time of Dust'', a six-track mini-album on CCCLX. It includes the duet "Come Into My Dreamland" with
Kathryn Williams Kathryn Williams (born 15 February 1974, Liverpool, England) is an English singer-songwriter who to date has released 14 studio albums, written and arranged for a multitude of artists, and was nominated for the 2000 Mercury Music Prize. Willi ...
. In 2015 he performed the 17-minute piece "Restoration" for the Belgian charity MusicFund. It was inspired by the BBC documentary ''Our World: Saving Gaza's grand piano'' broadcast that featured the work of the charity. In August 2016, Harcourt released his seventh solo album ''Furnaces'', produced by Flood. It was described as "gently apocalyptic pop with billowy choruses".


Live

Harcourt performed with
Patti Smith Patricia Lee Smith (born December 30, 1946) is an American singer, songwriter, poet, painter and author who became an influential component of the New York City punk rock movement with her 1975 debut album ''Horses''. Called the "punk poet ...
and her band as well as
Marianne Faithfull Marianne Evelyn Gabriel Faithfull (born 29 December 1946) is an English singer and actress. She achieved popularity in the 1960s with the release of her hit single " As Tears Go By" and became one of the lead female artists during the British I ...
during the 2005 Meltdown Festival and her 2014 tour. Harcourt opened for
The Gutter Twins The Gutter Twins was a musical collaboration between rock musicians Greg Dulli and Mark Lanegan. Dulli and Lanegan had regularly contributed to each other's projects since 2000, most notably in Dulli's Twilight Singers; of the duo's origins, Dul ...
on their European tour in 2008, as well as joining the group on stage to play guitar on some songs, most notably on their appearance on '' Later... with Jools Holland'', performing the single "Idle Hands.". In December 2013 Harcourt made a guest appearance with
Laura Jansen Laura Jansen (born 4 March 1977) is a Dutch-American musician. Before gaining fame in the Netherlands, Jansen became a fixture in the constellation of artists associated with Los Angeles nightclub Hotel Café – a national launching pad f ...
at Bush Hall, London to sing "A Call to Arms". On 26 June 2015,
The Libertines The Libertines are an English rock band, formed in London in 1997 by frontmen Carl Barât (vocals/guitar) and Pete Doherty (vocals/guitar). The band, centred on the songwriting partnership of Barât and Doherty, has also included John Hassall ...
were the surprise special guests on the Pyramid stage at Glastonbury Festival 2015, with Harcourt joining them on stage to play piano. He also joined the band on stage during the
Reading and Leeds Festivals The Reading and Leeds Festivals are a pair of annual music festivals that take place in Reading and Leeds in England. The events take place simultaneously on the Friday, Saturday and Sunday of the August bank holiday weekend. The Reading Fe ...
Headline slots in August 2015. In the summer of 2017, while on tour supporting
The Afghan Whigs The Afghan Whigs are an American rock band from Cincinnati, Ohio. They were active from 1986 to 2001 and have since reformed as a band. The group – with core members Greg Dulli (vocals, rhythm guitar), Rick McCollum (lead guitar), and John Cu ...
, Harcourt played rhythm guitar on stage with the band at their concert at
NorthSide Festival (Denmark) NorthSide Festival, or simply NorthSide, is a three-day music festival held every year in June in Aarhus, Denmark. It has three stages with rotating artists and several sideshow events and happenings. The first festival commenced in 2010 and sinc ...
as well as performing an exclusive, solo mini-concert, at a nearby allotment garden. On 22 October 2017, Harcourt played (as band leader) the whole '' Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band'' album live at the
Philharmonie de Paris The Philharmonie de Paris () ( en, Paris Philharmonic) is a complex of concert halls in Paris, France. The buildings also house exhibition spaces and rehearsal rooms. The main buildings are all located in the Parc de la Villette at the northeaste ...
for
Arte Arte (; (), sometimes stylized in lowercase or uppercase in its logo) is a European public service channel dedicated to culture. It is made up of three separate companies: the Strasbourg-based European Economic Interest Grouping ARTE, plu ...
TV show with a little help from
Carl Barât Carl Ashley Raphael Barât (; born 6 June 1978) is a British musician and actor, best known for being the co-frontman with Pete Doherty of the garage rock band The Libertines. He was the frontman and lead guitarist of Dirty Pretty Things, and ...
and Pete Doherty (
The Libertines The Libertines are an English rock band, formed in London in 1997 by frontmen Carl Barât (vocals/guitar) and Pete Doherty (vocals/guitar). The band, centred on the songwriting partnership of Barât and Doherty, has also included John Hassall ...
),
Barrie Cadogan Little Barrie is an English rock group consisting of Barrie Cadogan (vocals, guitar) and Lewis Wharton (bass, vocals). Virgil Howe contributed drums and vocals from 2007 until his death in 2017. Their sound has drawn from a mixture of influenc ...
( Primal Scream),
Danny Goffey Daniel Robert Goffey (born 7 February 1974) is an English musician and singer-songwriter. He is best known as the drummer and backing vocalist for Supergrass. He briefly toured with Babyshambles in 2010, following their drummer's departure. C ...
and
Gaz Coombes Gaz Coombes (born 8 March 1976) is an English musician and singer-songwriter. He is best known as the lead vocalist and guitarist of the English alternative rock band Supergrass. He first entered the music scene aged 14 as the lead singer of the ...
( Supergrass), Steve Mason and others.


Songwriting

After the release of the Best Of collection ''Until Tomorrow Then'' in 2007, Harcourt changed career and became a songwriter for other acts. In 2008, he co-wrote the title track for the Paloma Faith album ''Do You Want The Truth Or Something Beautiful?,'' which reached #64 in the UK singles chart''.'' In 2013 Harcourt worked with
Sophie Ellis-Bextor Sophie Michelle Ellis-Bextor (born 10 April 1979) is an English singer and songwriter. She first came to prominence in the late 1990s as the lead singer of the indie rock band Theaudience. After the group disbanded Ellis-Bextor went solo and ach ...
on her fifth studio album
Wanderlust Wanderlust is a strong desire to wander or travel and explore the world. Etymology The first documented use of the term in English occurred in 1902 as a reflection of what was then seen as a characteristically German predilection for wandering ...
, which Harcourt co-wrote and produced. He has written for and performed with Marianne Faithful on her
Give My Love to London ''Give My Love to London'' is the 20th solo album by British singer Marianne Faithfull. The 11-track album was released on 29 September 2014 on the Dramatico and Naïve record labels. In America and Canada, it was issued on 10 November by Easy ...
project in 2014. Other artists include
Jamie Cullum Jamie Cullum (born 20 August 1979) is an English jazz-pop singer, songwriter and radio presenter. Although primarily a vocalist and pianist, he also accompanies himself on other instruments, including guitar and drums. He has recorded nine stu ...
,
James Bay James Bay (french: Baie James; cr, ᐐᓂᐯᒄ, Wînipekw, dirty water) is a large body of water located on the southern end of Hudson Bay in Canada. Both bodies of water extend from the Arctic Ocean, of which James Bay is the southernmost pa ...
and
Lisa Marie Presley Lisa Marie Presley (born February 1, 1968) is an American singer-songwriter. She is the only child of singer and actor Elvis Presley and actress Priscilla Presley, as well as the sole heir to her father's estate. Presley has developed a caree ...
. In 2015, Harcourt provided vocals for the track "Villain" from the album 8:58, a project by
Paul Hartnoll Paul Hartnoll (born 19 May 1968) is one of two brothers (the other being Phil Hartnoll) who make up the electronic dance act Orbital. History Hartnoll played in a local band during the mid-1980s, Noddy and the Satellites, featuring clarinetis ...
.


Personal life

He is married to the singer and musician Gita Harcourt-Smith, née Langley, singer and songwriter in The Langley Sisters. Together, the couple have two children – a daughter, Roxy, and a son, Franklyn.


References in popular culture

In the video game '' Silent Hill: Downpour'', his song "Here Be Monsters" is played in the "Surprise" ending and "From Every Sphere" plays on WLMN FM radio. The song "Watching The Sun Come Up" also plays in the end credits of the video game ''
Alan Wake's American Nightmare ''Alan Wake's American Nightmare'' is an action-adventure video game developed by Remedy Entertainment and published by Microsoft Studios. The game is a downloadable follow-up and spin-off to its predecessor, ''Alan Wake''. The game is an Xbox ...
''. The song "Born In The 70s" was also featured in the soundtrack for the show ''
The Inbetweeners ''The Inbetweeners'' is a British coming-of-age television teen sitcom, which originally aired on E4 from 2008 until 2010 and was created and written by Damon Beesley and Iain Morris. The series follows the misadventures of suburban teenager ...
''. In 2014, he wrote and performed the song "The Way That I Live" for the
Burberry Burberry is a British luxury fashion house established in 1856 by Thomas Burberry headquartered in London, England. It currently designs and distributes ready to wear, including trench coats (for which it is most famous), leather accessorie ...
Christmas film ''From London with Love''.


Discography

* ''
Here Be Monsters ''Here Be Monsters'' is the debut album by Ed Harcourt, released in 2001. It was nominated for the Mercury Music Prize in 2001. Tim Holmes, one-half of British dance music duo Death In Vegas, co-produced the album. The singles "Something in My ...
'' (25 June 2001) * ''
From Every Sphere ''From Every Sphere'' is the second album by British singer-songwriter Ed Harcourt, released in 2003. Heavenly Records labelmate Jimi Goodwin of Doves plays tambourine on the first single "All of Your Days Will Be Blessed”, Harcourt’s only ...
'' (17 February 2003) * '' Strangers'' (13 September 2004) * '' The Beautiful Lie'' (5 June 2006) * ''
Lustre Lustre or Luster may refer to: Places * Luster, Norway, a municipality in Vestlandet, Norway ** Luster (village), a village in the municipality of Luster * Lustre, Montana, an unincorporated community in the United States Entertainment * '' ...
'' (14 June 2010) * ''
Back into the Woods ''Back into the Woods'' is the sixth studio album by British singer-songwriter Ed Harcourt, released in 2013 in the UK. The album was written over the course of a month after Harcourt completed recording '' Lustre''. The album was recorded in Ab ...
'' (25 February 2013) * '' Time of Dust'' (January 2014) * ''Furnaces'' (August 2016) * ''Beyond the End'' (November 2018) * ''Monochrome to Colour'' (September 2020)


References


External links

*
Official Myspace profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Harcourt, Ed 1977 births Living people English pianists English male singer-songwriters Heavenly Recordings artists Capitol Records artists British male pianists People from Lewes 21st-century English singers 21st-century pianists 21st-century British male singers