Rory Charles Graham (born 29 January 1985), known professionally as Rag'n'Bone Man, is an English singer. He is known for his deep
baritone
A baritone is a type of classical music, classical male singing human voice, voice whose vocal range lies between the bass (voice type), bass and the tenor voice type, voice-types. It is the most common male voice. The term originates from the ...
voice. His first hit single, "
Human
Humans (''Homo sapiens'') or modern humans are the most common and widespread species of primate, and the last surviving species of the genus ''Homo''. They are Hominidae, great apes characterized by their Prehistory of nakedness and clothing ...
", was released in 2016, and his first album
''Human'' was released in 2017. The album became the fastest selling debut album by a male in the UK for the decade and has since achieved 4×
Platinum certification. At the
2017 Brit Awards, he was named
British Breakthrough Act and received the
Critics' Choice Award and went on to receive a further
Brit Award for
Best British Single with the title track in 2018.
Following the album's success, Rag'n'Bone Man performed at headline shows and festivals around the globe and collaborated with a variety of artists from different genres, including
Bugzy Malone,
Logic
Logic is the study of correct reasoning. It includes both formal and informal logic. Formal logic is the study of deductively valid inferences or logical truths. It examines how conclusions follow from premises based on the structure o ...
, and
Calvin Harris. In May 2021, he released his second studio album, ''
Life by Misadventure''. It debuted at number one on the
UK Albums Chart and spent seven weeks in the top 10, making it the fastest-selling album by a solo artist in 2021
and gaining Gold certification in the UK.
Early life
Rory Charles Graham was born on 29 January 1985 in
Eastbourne,
East Sussex. He has a younger half-sister. He attended the
Ringmer Secondary School in
Ringmer, from which he was
expelled, and then enrolled at
Uckfield College in Uckfield. At the age of 15, he began
MCing with a
drum and bass crew using the handle Rag 'N' Bonez, inspired by watching repeats of the
BBC sitcom ''
Steptoe and Son''. While at school, he was part of a group of youths supported by
The Prince's Trust who developed a community project which involved painting and gardening in
Crowborough. He still supports the local
Brighton and Hove Albion football team.
Career
When he moved to
Brighton
Brighton ( ) is a seaside resort in the city status in the United Kingdom, city of Brighton and Hove, East Sussex, England, south of London.
Archaeological evidence of settlement in the area dates back to the Bronze Age Britain, Bronze Age, R ...
, his friend GI3MO formed the rap group Rum Committee and invited him to join them. He started performing at Slip-jam B, where he met people who helped him start his career. Over the next few years, they supported hip hop artists
Pharoahe Monch and
KRS-One at Brighton's Concorde 2, and released their own album titled ''Boozetown'' (2012) through
Bandcamp and other digital stores. Just weeks before the Rum Committee album release, Graham was asked to support
Joan Armatrading at
Brighton Dome. With no solo releases to his name to distribute on the night, he worked with Rum Committee producers GI3MO and Sherlock Bones to create his first official release, the eight-track EP ''Bluestown'' (2012), which included one feature from the rap artist Ceezlin.
2011–2015: ''Wolves'' and ''Disfigured''
In 2011, Graham started working with
UK hip hop label
High Focus Records, releasing a number of recordings with them such as a collaboration with MC and producer Leaf Dog titled ''Dog 'n Bone'' (2013) and a project with MC and producer Dirty Dike titled ''Put That Soul on Me'' (2014). Shortly afterwards, he began to collaborate with record producer
Mark Crew, who at the time was working on
Bastille's debut album ''
Bad Blood''. Graham signed a publishing deal with
Warner Chappell Music in 2013.
In 2014, in collaboration with Mark Crew, Graham released the EP ''Wolves'' through Best Laid Plans Records, containing nine tracks with guests including rapper
Vince Staples,
Stig of the Dump, and
Kae Tempest. Graham, along with
Skunk Anansie, also featured on Bastille's third mixtape, ''
VS. (Other People's Heartache, Pt. III)'', on the song "Remains". His follow-up in 2015, the EP ''Disfigured'', was also released through Best Laid Plans Records. The lead track "Bitter End" was playlisted on
BBC Radio 1 Xtra, and made it onto
BBC Radio 1
BBC Radio 1 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. It specialises in modern popular music and Contemporary hit radio, current chart hits throughout the day. The station provides alternative genres at night, including ...
's "In New Music We Trust" playlist.
2016–2020: ''Human''
Graham's first hit single, "
Human
Humans (''Homo sapiens'') or modern humans are the most common and widespread species of primate, and the last surviving species of the genus ''Homo''. They are Hominidae, great apes characterized by their Prehistory of nakedness and clothing ...
", was released on
Columbia Records in July 2016. It peaked at number one in the official singles charts in Austria, Belgium, Germany, and Switzerland. It was certified Gold in Austria, Belgium, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Sweden, and Switzerland.
"Human" was used as the theme music to two
Amazon Prime streaming television shows: ''
Oasis'' in 2017, and ''
Tom Clancy’s Jack Ryan'' in 2018. It was in the official launch trailer for the video game ''
Mass Effect: Andromeda'', in the trailer for the 2017 film ''
Thank You for Your Service'', in the television series ''
Inhumans'', and in the season 2 intro for the television series ''
Into the Badlands''. The song was also used in an advertisement aired during
Super Bowl LVII for the "
He Gets Us" campaign, in the outro for the 9th episode of season 3 of ''
Ash vs Evil Dead'', and in the 16th episode of season 7 of the series ''
Suits''.
Graham's debut album, also titled ''
Human
Humans (''Homo sapiens'') or modern humans are the most common and widespread species of primate, and the last surviving species of the genus ''Homo''. They are Hominidae, great apes characterized by their Prehistory of nakedness and clothing ...
'', was released on 10 February 2017. The album opens with the song "Human", features the single "
Skin", and has tracks produced by Mark Crew,
Two Inch Punch, and
Jonny Coffer. The album won the
BBC Music Award for Album of the Year in 2017 and he was nominated for Artist of the Year. Later in 2017, Graham collaborated with British
virtual band Gorillaz, appearing on the song "The Apprentice" from the deluxe edition of their fifth studio album ''
Humanz''.
Graham also sang and co-wrote one of the songs, "Broken People", from
Will Smith's 2017
Netflix film ''
Bright''.
In January 2019, Graham collaborated with Scottish DJ and record producer
Calvin Harris to record the song "
Giant
In folklore, giants (from Ancient Greek: ''wiktionary:gigas, gigas'', cognate wiktionary:giga-, giga-) are beings of humanoid appearance, but are at times prodigious in size and strength or bear an otherwise notable appearance. The word ''gia ...
". It peaked at number two on the
UK Singles Chart. He also collaborated with the Italian singer
Zucchero Fornaciari to write the song "Freedom", for the album ''D.O.C.''
2021: ''Life by Misadventure''
In January 2021, Graham released "
All You Ever Wanted", the lead single from his second studio album ''
Life by Misadventure''. He then collaborated with
Pink for the second single from the album, "
Anywhere Away from Here". Further singles from the album were "Alone", "Crossfire", and "Fall in Love Again".
The album was originally going to be released on 23 April 2021, but was postponed to 7 May 2021.
''Life by Misadventure'' debuted at number one on the
UK Albums Chart and spent seven weeks in the top 10, making it the fastest-selling album by a solo artist in 2021
and gaining Gold certification in the UK.
2024: ''What Do You Believe In?''
Graham's third studio album, ''What Do You Believe In?'', was released on 18 October 2024. The title of the album stemmed from a conversation Graham had with his son about the death of Graham's mother.
Personal life
Graham has a son with ex-wife Beth Rouy. He lives in
Heathfield, East Sussex.
Discography
* ''
Human
Humans (''Homo sapiens'') or modern humans are the most common and widespread species of primate, and the last surviving species of the genus ''Homo''. They are Hominidae, great apes characterized by their Prehistory of nakedness and clothing ...
'' (2017)
* ''
Life by Misadventure'' (2021)
*''What Do You Believe In?'' (2024)
Accolades
Tours
Headlining
* Human Tour (2017)
* Life by Misadventure Tour (2021–22)
* What Do You Believe In? Tour (2024–25)
Supporting
*
Robbie Williams Live (2025)
References
External links
*
Rag'n'Bone Man at Discogs
{{DEFAULTSORT:RagnBone Man
1985 births
Living people
Brit Award winners
Columbia Records artists
English baritones
English male singer-songwriters
English singer-songwriters
People from Uckfield
Male pop singers
Neo soul singers
English blues singers
21st-century English singers
21st-century British male singers
English soul singers