Tom McRae

Tom McRae
Background information
Birth name	Jeremy Thomas McRae Blackall
Born	1969, Essex, England
Website	www.tommcrae.com

Tom McRae, born Jeremy Thomas McRae Blackall, is a singer-songwriter from England. The son of two Church of England vicars, he was born in Essex in 1969, and grew up in Chelmsford. McRae sang in the church choir and as a teen would borrow his mother's guitar. Initially trying to emulate his heroes, Bob Dylan, Paul Simon, Neil Young, Kate Bush, U2, he began to write his own songs and develop his own style. Age 18, he went to London Guildhall University to study politics and government ^[1] and was soon forming bands. A chance meeting with sound engineer Roger Bechirian (Elvis Costello, Squeeze, Carlene Carter) led to a working relationship. Bechirian helped to shape McRae's soft-spoken sound, which later gained McRae a deal with Mercury's db Records. Tom 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 Bob Dylan. Critics raved and McRae gained nominations for the Mercury Music Prize and the BRIT Award 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 U.K. in February 2003 produced by Ben Hillier, whose credits include Elbow, Martha Wainwright and Blur. In 2004, McRae was nominated for a GRAMMY Award. Following this, he moved to California, where he wrote and recorded his next album, All Maps Welcome, which was released in May 2005. McRae's fourth album, King of Cards, recorded in Suffolk was released in May 2007.

McRae is recognized for his intelligent and sensitive songwriting, his haunting vocals and the energy and warmth which he puts into his live gigs. In 2005, McRae supported Tori Amos on the UK leg of her Original Sinsuality tour. Having played many times in the Hotel Cafe in Los Angeles, he brought the Hotel Cafe Tour to the UK in 2006, intoducing his fans to many other singer-songwriters, including Steve Reynolds, Joe Purdy, Cary Brothers and Jim Bianco. The Hotel Cafe Tour saw the artists participating in each others songs. The tour also featured a variety of special guests, including Kathryn Williams, Justin Currie, Colin MacIntyre and Aqualung (musician). McRae is touring Canada and the North East of USA in September, continental Europe in October and Scotland and Ireland in November. He plans to bring the Hotel Cafe Tour back to Europe in February 2008.

Discography

Albums

Tom McRae August 21, 2001 (Arista)

Just Like Blood U.K.: February 18, 2003 U.S.: September 21, 2004 (Nettwerk)

All Maps Welcome U.K.: May 2, 2005 U.S.: May 31, 2005 (RCA)

King of Cards May 14, 2007 (V2)

Other projects

McRae contributed music to the soundtracks of the movies Uno (2004) and Unsuitable (2005). And his music has featured in the film "The Bubble" by Gal Uchovsky. He also contributed a strikingly melancholic cover version of "Wonderful Christmastime" to a Christmas compilation CD: "Maybe This Christmas Tree" produced in 2004.

In August 2005, McRae visited Niger, Africa at the request of The Observer and wrote an article for them about the famine. The article is titled, This is not just another act of God - this is ingrained poverty.

"Lipstick", a single by "Wills and the Willing" is due to be released in early 2008. McRae provides the vocals for sections he added after hearing the original material, which had been written in response to the London bombings.

References

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to:

Tom McRae

• The official Tom McRae website
• The Unsuitable Website
• Information about Uno
• Tomination - Unofficial Fansite
• Myspace Tom McRae
• For the restless : a Tom McRae fansite with Discography, Tour info, Photos and more
• Tom McRae interview and reviews on Record Overplayed webzine

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