Jeremy Thomas McRae Blackall (born 19 March 1969), better known by his stage name Tom McRae, is an English singer-songwriter.

Career

The son of two

Church of England The Church of England (C of E) is the established Christian church in England and the mother church of the international Anglican Communion. It traces its history to the Christian church recorded as existing in the Roman province of Britain ...

vicars A vicar (; Latin: ''vicarius'') is a representative, deputy or substitute; anyone acting "in the person of" or agent for a superior (compare "vicarious" in the sense of "at second hand"). Linguistically, ''vicar'' is cognate with the English pref ...

, McRae sang in the church choir and as a teen experimented with his mother's guitar. Initially trying to emulate his heroes,

Billy Bragg Stephen William Bragg (born 20 December 1957) is an English singer-songwriter and left-wing activist. His music blends elements of folk music, punk rock and protest songs, with lyrics that mostly span political or romantic themes. His music is ...

Bob Dylan Bob Dylan (legally Robert Dylan, born Robert Allen Zimmerman, May 24, 1941) is an American singer-songwriter. Often regarded as one of the greatest songwriters of all time, Dylan has been a major figure in popular culture during a career sp ...

Paul Simon Paul Frederic Simon (born October 13, 1941) is an American musician, singer, songwriter and actor whose career has spanned six decades. He is one of the most acclaimed songwriters in popular music, both as a solo artist and as half of folk roc ...

Neil Young Neil Percival Young (born November 12, 1945) is a Canadian-American singer and songwriter. After embarking on a music career in Winnipeg in the 1960s, Young moved to Los Angeles, joining Buffalo Springfield with Stephen Stills, Richie Furay ...

Kate Bush Catherine Bush (born 30 July 1958) is an English singer, songwriter, record producer and dancer. In 1978, at the age of 19, she topped the UK Singles Chart for four weeks with her debut single "Wuthering Heights (song), Wuthering Heights", ...

, U2, he began to write his own songs and develop his own style. At the age of 18, he went to City of London Polytechnic achieving a degree in politics and government, and forming his first band, "The Ministers of Orgasm". Subsequently, McRae was involved in bands "Raising Cain" and "Orchid Lounge". A chance meeting with recording engineer and record producer Roger Bechirian, (

Elvis Costello Declan Patrick MacManus Order of the British Empire, OBE (born 25 August 1954), known professionally as Elvis Costello, is an English singer-songwriter and record producer. He has won multiple awards in his career, including a Grammy Award in ...

, Squeeze,

Carlene Carter Carlene Carter (born Rebecca Carlene Smith; September 26, 1955) is an American country music singer and songwriter. She is the daughter of June Carter Cash and her first husband, Carl Smith. As of 2020, since 1978, Carter has recorded 12 album ...

The Undertones The Undertones are a rock band formed in Derry, Northern Ireland in 1974. From 1975 to 1983, the Undertones consisted of Feargal Sharkey (vocals), John O'Neill (rhythm guitar, vocals), Damian O'Neill (lead guitar, vocals), Michael Bradle ...

), led to a working relationship. Bechirian helped to shape McRae's soft-spoken sound, which later gained McRae a deal with Dave Bates's db Records (db records). In 2000, director Scott Walker chose McRae to perform at the Meltdown Festival in the

Royal Festival Hall The Royal Festival Hall is a 2,700-seat concert, dance and talks venue within Southbank Centre in London. It is situated on the South Bank of the River Thames, not far from Hungerford Bridge, in the London Borough of Lambeth. It is a Grade I l ...

. McRae's confessional, self-titled debut appeared in autumn 2001, during the height of the new acoustic movement and earned him comparisons to Nick Drake and

. Critics raved and McRae gained nominations 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 ...

, a '' Q'' magazine award and the

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 ...

for Best Newcomer. By then, McRae was working with Oliver ("Oli") Kraus, cellist, and in 2003 was joined by Olli Cunningham on keyboards. McRae's second album, ''Just Like Blood'', was released in the UK in February 2003 produced by

Ben Hillier Ben Hillier is an English songwriter and pop-rock record producer who is part of the creative team 140 dB. He produced the notable albums ''Playing the Angel'', ''Sounds of the Universe'' and ''Delta Machine'' by Depeche Mode, ''Think Tank' ...

, whose credits include

Elbow The elbow is the region between the arm and the forearm that surrounds the elbow joint. The elbow includes prominent landmarks such as the olecranon, the cubital fossa (also called the chelidon, or the elbow pit), and the lateral and the media ...

, Martha Wainwright and Blur. McRae then moved to California, where he wrote and recorded his next album, ''

All Maps Welcome ''All Maps Welcome'' is the third studio album from British singer-songwriter Tom McRae Jeremy Thomas McRae Blackall (born 19 March 1969), better known by his stage name Tom McRae, is an English singer-songwriter. Career The son of two C ...

'', which was released in May 2005. In 2005, McRae supported

Tori Amos Tori Amos (born Myra Ellen Amos; August 22, 1963) is an American singer-songwriter and pianist. She is a classically trained musician with a mezzo-soprano vocal range. Having already begun composing instrumental pieces on piano, Amos won a full ...

on the UK/Ireland leg of her ''Original Sinsuality'' tour. Having played many times in the

Hotel Café The Hotel Café is a live music venue located off an alley on the Cahuenga Boulevard strip in Hollywood, California, United States, that has become known for helping to establish the careers of new singer-songwriters in the 2000s. The venue began ...

in Los Angeles and having been one of the artists on the first U.S

Hotel Cafe Tour Cary Brothers (born 1974) is an American indie rock singer-songwriter originally from Nashville, Tennessee, United States. After moving to Los Angeles and becoming a regular performer at the influential Hotel Cafe venue, Brothers first gained ...

, McRae brought the Tour to the UK in 2006, introducing his fans to many other singer-songwriters which most notably included Steve Reynolds,

Joe Purdy Joe Purdy is an American singer/songwriter who has released fourteen albums over the last fifteen years. In 2017, Purdy made his acting debut in ''American Folk.'' Career Purdy's albums ''Paris in the Morning'' and ''You Can Tell Georgia'' h ...

, Cary Brothers, and

Jim Bianco Jim Bianco (born March 25, 1976) is an independent musician, singer, songwriter and producer based in Los Angeles, California. Biography Early life Born in Brooklyn, New York, on March 25, 1976, Bianco is the youngest child of James Bianco, Jr ...

. The Hotel Cafe Tour saw the artists participating in each other's songs. The tour also featured a variety of special guests, including

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 ...

Justin Currie Justin Robert Currie (born 11 December 1964) is a Scottish singer and songwriter best known as a founding member of the band Del Amitri. Career Del Amitri Justin Currie was born in Glasgow and established the band Del Amitri in the early 1980s ...

Colin MacIntyre Colin MacIntyre (born 8 April 1971) is a Scottish musician and novelist. A singer, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist, he has released five albums under the name Mull Historical Society as well as two albums under his own name. His most succe ...

and Aqualung. McRae's fourth album, ''

King of Cards ''King of Cards'' is the fourth studio album from British singer-songwriter Tom McRae Jeremy Thomas McRae Blackall (born 19 March 1969), better known by his stage name Tom McRae, is an English singer-songwriter. Career The son of two Churc ...

'', was recorded in

Suffolk Suffolk () is a ceremonial county of England in East Anglia. It borders Norfolk to the north, Cambridgeshire to the west and Essex to the south; the North Sea lies to the east. The county town is Ipswich; other important towns include Lowes ...

and released in May 2007. In spring 2008, McRae once again brought the Hotel Cafe Tour to the UK, and for the first time, also took it to continental Europe. This time he was accompanied by Cary Brothers, Brian Wright,

Catherine Feeny Catherine Feeny (born 1976) is an American singer-songwriter based in Portland, Oregon. She grew up in Norristown, Pennsylvania, studied in Washington, D.C., and relocated to Los Angeles, where she started seriously writing her own songs.(J ...

Greg Laswell Greg Laswell (born April 26, 1974) is an American musician, recording engineer, and record producer from San Diego, California. He attended high school at Valley Christian High School in Cerritos, California. He has released 7 studio albums: '' ...

, Jim Bianco and Jason (or Dr.) Kanakis. Again, there were special guests at each location, including

Eddi Reader Sadenia "Eddi" Reader MBE (born 29 August 1959) is a Scottish singer-songwriter, known for her work as frontwoman of Fairground Attraction and for an enduring solo career. She is the recipient of three BRIT Awards. In 2003, she showcased the wo ...

and

Turin Brakes Turin Brakes are an English band, comprising original duo of Olly Knights and Gale Paridjanian, and long-term collaborators Rob Allum and Eddie Myer. They had a UK top 5 hit in 2003 with their song "Painkiller (Summer Rain)". Since starting ou ...

. McRae was a guest vocalist for the band "Wills and the Willing" at a number of festivals in the UK in summer 2008, and had a headline slot at the Offset festival in August. In autumn 2008, he toured the North Eastern states of America and Canada. McRae's fifth studio album, '' The Alphabet of Hurricanes'', was produced in his own recording studio, Gunpoint, in East London. The album was recorded over three years in varied settings, and, thanks to a deal with Cooking Vinyl was released in February 2010. The "Alphabet of Hurricanes" Tours, which sold-out at a number of venues, were rescheduled to fit in with the album release. Towards the end of 2010, McRae was involved in the Crossing Border festival in the Netherlands, playing with the Matangi Quartet who are based in that country. He released a second live album, '' Tom at Tut's'' with songs and banter garnered from 2 full band gigs at

King Tut's Wah Wah Hut King Tut's Wah Wah Hut, also known as King Tut's, is a live music venue and bar on St. Vincent Street, Glasgow, Scotland. It is owned and managed by Glasgow-based gig promoters DF Concerts. The Glasgow live music venue takes its name from a ...

in Glasgow in 2004. In the spring of 2011, Tom toured the UK and Europe with a UK string quartet, and did a solo tour in Germany. 2012 saw the arrival of his sixth studio album ''From the Lowlands'', being the long-awaited second part of the ''Alphabet of Hurricanes'', and Tom's first solo tour in France, the UK and Ireland which was met with sold-out venues. A further leg of the solo tour in April 2013 coincided with a commercial release of "From the Lowlands". On 7 September 2013, instrumental music composed by McRae was performed as part of a multimedia art installation of video-artist Klaus Verscheure "14 EMOTIONS/Allegoria

Via Dolorosa The ''Via Dolorosa'' (Latin, 'Sorrowful Way', often translated 'Way of Suffering'; ar, طريق الآلام; Hebrew: ויה דולורוזה) is a processional route in the Old City of Jerusalem. It represents the path that Jesus would have t ...

" by the Belgian group Spectra Ensemble at the Transformator/Happening (festival of metamorphosis) in

Zwevegem Zwevegem () is a municipality located in the Belgian province of West Flanders. The municipality comprises the towns of Heestert, Moen, Otegem, Sint-Denijs and Zwevegem. On January 1, 2019, Zwevegem had a total population of 24,648. The total ...

, Belgium. In 2014, among other writing projects, McRae wrote the song, "Love More or Less" for

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 ...

's album,

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 ...

and worked on his seventh album, "Did I Sleep and Miss the Border", released on 11 May 2015. He continued writing songs and music for other artists but was able to release his eighth album "Ah, the World! Oh, the World" in September 2017, with a companion book, and his UK tour to promote the album, quickly sold out.

Discography

Albums

*''

Tom McRae Jeremy Thomas McRae Blackall (born 19 March 1969), better known by his stage name Tom McRae, is an English singer-songwriter. Career The son of two Church of England vicars, McRae sang in the church choir and as a teen experimented with his m ...

'' 2 October 2000 (db records) *'' Tom McRae (Bonus CD Live at Bikini in Toulouse, France On 29 March 2001)'' 2001 (

db records DB Records (stylized as DB RECS) was a record label owned by Danny Beard, active from 1978 to 1997. The label was operated out of the Wax'n'Facts record store in the Atlanta, Georgia neighborhood of Little Five Points. Through the 1980s, the ...

) *''

Just Like Blood ''Just Like Blood'' is the second studio album from British singer-songwriter Tom McRae. The All Music review said "McRae's anguished lyrics and hushed, processed vocals prove to be the album's undoing." Track listing # "A Day Like Today" # "Yo ...

'' UK: 18 February 2003, UK #26; US: 21 September 2004 (

) *''

'' UK: 2 May 2005, UK #47; US: 31 May 2005 (

RCA The RCA Corporation was a major American electronics company, which was founded as the Radio Corporation of America in 1919. It was initially a patent trust owned by General Electric (GE), Westinghouse, AT&T Corporation and United Fruit Comp ...

) *''

'' 14 May 2007 ( V2) *'' The Alphabet of Hurricanes'' 22 February 2010 ( Cooking Vinyl) *''From The Lowlands (Alphabet of Hurricanes Part 2)'' 2012 *''Did I Sleep And Miss The Border'' 2015 *''Ah, the World! Oh, the World!'' 2017

Live EPs and albums

*''Black Session'' (Live, 25 March 2003), 2005 *''Tom McRae'' (Live 2007), 2007 *''The Strongroom Sessions'' (EP Promo) (Live, 28 February 2007), 2007 ( V2) *''Recorded at Gunpoint'' (EP Promo) 2010 *''The Streetlight Collection (B-Sides & Rarities)'' 2010 *''The Prospect Tapes'' (Original Demos Recorded in LA, 2004), 2010 *''Tom at Tut's'' (Extended Live Album 2004 Full Band Tour), 2011

Singles and EPs

*"Sampler 2 Titres (French Magazine Magic! Promo)" 2000 *"The End of the World News" 2000 *"You Cut Her Hair" 2000 *"Fortress Radio Session (Live Promo)" 2000 *"A&B Song" / "Street Light" 2001 *"Turn On a Friend – Give Them This Disc (Promo)" 2001 *''Cover Me.'' (3-track Promo EP) 2002 *# "Sadly Beautiful" *# "Pale Blue Eyes" *# "Oh Yeah (On the Radio)" *''Four Songs from 'The Obscure' Nominee'' Brits (4-track Sampler) 2002 *"Just Like..." (Promo) 2002 *# "A Day Like Today" *# "Sad Song For The Left Hand Alone" *# "You Cut Her Hair" *"Karaoke Soul" 2002 – UK No. 48 *"A Day Like Today" (Promo) 2003 *"The Girl Who Falls Downstairs" 2005 *# "The Girl Who Falls Down Stairs (Radio Edit)" *# "Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds" *"Bright Lights" (Promo) 2007 *"Set the Story Straight" (Promo) 2007 *"Lipstick" (featuring Wills & The Willing) (Promo) 2008 *"Please" (Promo) 2010 *"Out of the Walls" (Download Promo) 2010 *"Still Love You" (Promo) 2010

Other projects

McRae was once cast in an independent film as Gram Parson's ghost. Funding for the film fell through and all that remains is his screen test. Tom McRae contributed to a compilation album, ''Hope 2003'', in support of children in Iraq who were effected by war. He also contributed a

cover version In popular music, a cover version, cover song, remake, revival, or simply cover, is a new performance or recording by a musician other than the original performer or composer of the song. Originally, it referred to a version of a song release ...

of "

Wonderful Christmastime "Wonderful Christmastime" is a Christmas song by English musician Paul McCartney. Recorded during the sessions for his solo album '' McCartney II'' (1980), it was released in November 1979 following Wings' final album ''Back to the Egg'' earlie ...

" to a Christmas

compilation album A compilation album comprises Album#Tracks, tracks, which may be previously released or unreleased, usually from several separate recordings by either one or several Performing arts#Performers, performers. If by one artist, then generally the tr ...

: ''Maybe This Christmas Tree'' released in 2004. In August 2005, McRae visited the country of

Niger ) , official_languages = , languages_type = National languagesThe Observer ''The Observer'' is a British newspaper published on Sundays. It is a sister paper to ''The Guardian'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', whose parent company Guardian Media Group Limited acquired it in 1993. First published in 1791, it is the w ...

'' and wrote an article about the famine titled
"This is not just another act of God – this is ingrained poverty".
McRae provided some of the vocals on "Lipstick", a 2008 single by "Wills and the Willing" having written parts of the song after listening to the original material. The song was written in response to the London bombings. Along with Bob Harris,

Guy Clark Guy Charles Clark (November 6, 1941 – May 17, 2016) was an American folk and country singer-songwriter and luthier. He released more than 20 albums, and his songs have been recorded by other artists, including Jerry Jeff Walker, Jimmy Buffet ...

and others, McRae is one of the commentators on the film '' We Dreamed America'', released as a DVD in 2008. This documentary examines the connections between British and American roots music. McRae wrote the song, "Love More or Less" for

's album,

and worked on his seventh album, "Did I Sleep and Miss the Border" due for release on 11 May 2015.

Use of McRae's songs in film and television

McRae contributed music to the soundtracks of the movies ''Uno'' (2004) and ''Unsuitable'' (2005). His music also featured in the film '' The Bubble''. "São Paulo Rain" was featured in a sixth-season episode of ''

Buffy the Vampire Slayer ''Buffy the Vampire Slayer'' is an American supernatural fiction, supernatural drama television series created by writer and director Joss Whedon. It is based on the Buffy the Vampire Slayer (film), 1992 film of the same name, also written by W ...

''. The episode is entitled "Entropy." "Set the Story Straight" was featured in a second-season episode of ''

Kyle xy ''Kyle XY'' is an American science fiction television series produced by ABC Family. The central character is a teenage boy (Matt Dallas) who awakens naked in a forest outside Seattle, Washington, with no more knowledge or abilities than a newbo ...

''. "Still Lost" was featured in the third-season episode "Electric Kiss" of ''Kyle XY''. "I Ain't Scared of Lightning" was featured in the second season of British drama '' Skins''. "Karaoke Soul" and "Stronger Than Dirt" appear in the American television series '' ''Rescue Me'''' and "Karaoke Soul" is featured in its

soundtrack A soundtrack is recorded music accompanying and synchronised to the images of a motion picture, drama, book, television program, radio program, or video game; a commercially released soundtrack album of music as featured in the soundtrack o ...

. "2nd Law" and "You Cut Her Hair" were part of the soundtrack for the film ''Jekyll + Hyde''. "Walking 2 Hawaii" was used in ''

Hollyoaks ''Hollyoaks'' is a British soap opera which began airing on Channel 4 on 23 October 1995. It was created by Phil Redmond, who had previously conceived the soap opera ''Brookside (TV series), Brookside''. Since 2005, episodes have been aired on ...

''. "You Only Disappear" was featured in an episode of the American drama ''

Without a Trace ''Without a Trace'' is an American police procedural drama television series created by Hank Steinberg that aired on CBS from September 26, 2002 to May 19, 2009 with the total of seven seasons and 160 episodes. The series focuses the cases of ...

''. "For The Restless" was used in one episode of the German television series ''

Alles was zählt ''Alles was zählt'' ("All That Matters") is a German television soap opera first broadcast on RTL on 4 September 2006. Plot The original plot revolved around Diana Sommer's dream to become a world class ice skater. She fell in love with Jul ...

''. "You Only Disappear" was used for a contemporary routine choreographed by Dee Caspary on Season 7 of ''

So You Think You Can Dance ''So You Think You Can Dance'' is a franchise of reality television shows in which contestants compete in dance. The first series of the franchise, created by '' Idols'' producers Simon Fuller and Nigel Lythgoe, premiered in July 2005 and has ...

''. "Overthrown" was used in the third-season episode "Everyone Leaves" of '' Six Feet Under''. His cover of

was used in the TV version of film Lost Christmas starring

Eddie Izzard Edward John Izzard (; born 7 February 1962) is a British stand-up comedian, actor and activist. Her comedic style takes the form of what appears to the audience as rambling whimsical monologues and self-referential pantomime. Izzard's stand- ...

but was not used in the DVD version. In 2018 he collaborated with fashion brand Kenzo for its fragrance Flower by Kenzo. "Sung by Kim Tae-Ri and San Francisco residents, ..the track ''What a Way to Win a War'' is from his latest album. A real collaboration took place in which Tom McRae rewrote and reinterpreted part of the lyrics of his original piece, in order to bring them into resonance with the universe of FLOWER BY KENZO." Since the 2018 collaboration with fashion brand KENZO, the song , What a Way to Win a War, has been used for a second year. In 2020 McRae scored Adam & Eve, the second of a trilogy of art installations with Belgian artist Klaus Verscheure. This was performed in Paris for the Nuits Blanches Festival. In 2022 "You Cut Her Hair" was featured in episode 4 of

The English (TV series) ''The English'' is a revisionist western television miniseries produced by the BBC and Amazon Prime, written and directed by Hugo Blick. It stars Emily Blunt and Chaske Spencer. It premiered in the United Kingdom on BBC Two and iPlayer on 10 N ...

References

External links

The official Tom McRae website
* {{DEFAULTSORT:McRae, Tom English male singers English rock singers English songwriters English male guitarists English rock musicians People from Chelmsford Living people British male songwriters 1969 births