James Morrison

James Morrison Catchpole (born 13 August 1984) is an English singer, songwriter and guitarist.

He rose to recognition for his 2006 debut single "You Give Me Something", which peaked within the top five on the UK Singles Chart, received platinum certification by the British Phonographic Industry (BPI), and became a hit song in several European regions.

Following its success, he signed with Polydor Records to release his debut studio album Undiscovered (2006), which peaked atop the UK Albums Chart.

He released his debut album Undiscovered on 31 July 2006.

The album received generally positive reviews, with The Sun claiming, "There isn't a bad track on it".

An equally positive review by The Times stated that "Undiscovered may prove to be the least apposite album title for years".

It topped the UK Albums Chart on its first week of its release.

The album sold over 1 million copies around the world by the end of 2006., making Morrison the best-selling male solo artist of 2006 in the UK.

The album's second single was "Wonderful World", which broke into the top ten in the UK after its CD single release, peaking at No. 8. The song fared just as well in the Netherlands, where it peaked at No. 8. This was his second top ten single after the success of "You Give Me Something".

On 18 December 2006 Morrison's third single, "The Pieces Don't Fit Anymore," was released.

It peaked at No. 30 in the UK.

Morrison was scheduled to play at the 2006 V Festival in one of the smaller tents.

At the Brit Awards 2007, Morrison won the Brit Award for Best British Male from three total nominations, namely British Breakthrough Act and Song of the Year for the aforementioned.

The fourth single from Undiscovered was the title song, "Undiscovered," which was released on 13 March 2007.

"Undiscovered" peaked at No. 63.

The song fared better in the Netherlands, where it peaked at No. 30.

His second album, Songs for You, Truths for Me (2008) entered the top five of the UK Albums Chart and peaked the Irish Albums Chart.

It was supported by the UK top ten singles "You Make It Real" and "Broken Strings" (featuring Nelly Furtado).

After its release, he departed Polydor in favour of Island Records.

In 2010, he wrote the single "Quello che dai" for Italian singer Marco Carta, which debuted at number one in Italy's chart.

Morrison was born in the town of Rugby, Warwickshire, where he was surrounded by the influence of his parents' record collection; his mother was a fan of soul and his father enjoyed folk and country.

He began playing guitar when his uncle Joe showed him how to play a blues riff.

As a teenager he started busking when he lived in Porth, Newquay, Cornwall, in a local pub called the Phoenix, Watergate Bay.

He used to practise playing his guitar on the promenade looking over Porth beach.

He took GCSE music at Treviglas Community College.

After some years of covering other musicians' songs, he eventually started to write his own.

He attributes his distinctive voice to a severe bout of whooping cough that nearly killed him when he was a baby.

Morrison has alluded to an unhappy childhood affected by poverty and illness; he said of his hometown, "The best thing is I've got memories of being a kid there, and the worst thing is I've got memories of being a kid there."

When Morrison was only a few weeks old, he contracted whooping cough and was given a 30% chance of survival from doctors, who believed that if he survived he would be severely brain damaged.

He states that he "went blue and stopped breathing and [doctors] had to resuscitate me four times."

After the experience, his parents divorced when he was four years old, and he suffered from low self esteem at school, where he was ostracized for being involved in music rather than sports.

He finally gained confidence when he moved to Cornwall as a teenager, where people were more accepting of his musical inclinations.

According to Morrison, he was influenced by music from a very young age, listening to artists such as Stevie Wonder, Otis Redding, Van Morrison, and Al Green.

Morrison said that the first time he heard Stevie Wonder's voice he was close to tears, and he has since been fascinated by the way he uses his voice.

Working in Derby, Morrison found an Irish bar called Ryan's Bar & Scream, which runs an open mic night on Wednesdays and Sundays.

Ben Wilson and Morrison became acquainted with Kevin Andrews, who produced Morrison's first demo tape and co-wrote the song "One Last Chance," which later was re-recorded and appeared on his debut studio album, Undiscovered.

His demos were eventually picked up by Polydor Records.

He achieved worldwide success with debut single "You Give Me Something", which reached No. 2 in the Netherlands and the No. 5 spot in the UK.

His third album, The Awakening (2011) peaked atop the chart once more, while his fourth album, Higher Than Here (2015) peaked within the top ten.

Outside of his recording career, Morrison has been credited with songwriting work for other artists including Demi Lovato, Olly Murs, Kelly Clarkson, and Clay Aiken.