Back to Bedlam

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Back to Bedlam
Back to Bedlam cover
Studio album by James Blunt
Released October 11, 2004
Recorded 2004
Genre Folk rock
Pop
Length 39:28
Label Custard Records
Producer Tom Rothrock, Jimmy Hogarth, Linda Perry
Professional reviews
James Blunt chronology
Back to Bedlam
(2004)		 Chasing Time: The Bedlam Sessions
(2006)
Singles from Back to Bedlam
  1. "High"
    Released: October 18, 2004
  2. "Wisemen"
    Released: March 7, 2005
  3. "You're Beautiful"
    Released: May 30, 2005
  4. "Goodbye My Lover"
    Released: December, 2005
Alternative cover
CD cover
CD cover

Back to Bedlam is the debut album from British singer-songwriter James Blunt, released by Custard Records in 2004. Much of the album is acoustic-tinged rock and folk pop. Tom Rothrock produced and mixed the album, he and Jimmy Hogarth produced the track "Wisemen", and Linda Perry produced the final song, "No Bravery". Blunt had a part in the writing of every song on the album. The album had a slow climb in the UK Albums Chart, but eventually reached #1 in July 2005 and has since become the best-selling album of that year and of the 21st Century in Britain. It has been on the New Zealand album charts for 32 weeks and has gone #1 with a 6× Platinum certification.

The album also reached #1 on the Billboard Heatseekers chart and subsequently broke into the top ten of the American Billboard 200 (its highest position there so far is #2). It has been certified double platinum in the United States. It has also been listed by Soundscan as the 6th best selling album for 2006 with sales of 2.14 million copies.

In Australia, it reached #1 on the ARIA Albums Chart where it's certified 8x Platinum with sales of over 560,000 copies. ARIA also certified it as the best selling album of 2006.

To date the album has sold about 14 million copies worldwide. The album also entered the Guinness Book of World Records, with most albums sold in a year in the UK, when it sold 2,368,000 copies in 2005.[1] However, the album was awarded as a "worst album of the year" by the NME magazine.[2]

Contents

[edit] Track listing

  1. "High" – 4:03 (James Blunt; Ricky Ross)
  2. "You're Beautiful" –– 3:33 (J. Blunt; Sacha Skarbek; Amanda Ghost)
  3. "Wisemen" – 3:42 (J. Blunt; Jimmy Hogarth; S. Skarbek)
  4. "Goodbye My Lover" – 4:18 (J. Blunt; S. Skarbek)
  5. "Tears and Rain" – 4:04 (J. Blunt; Guy Chambers)
  6. "Out of My Mind" – 3:33 (J. Blunt)
  7. "So Long, Jimmy" – 4:24 (J. Blunt; J. Hogarth)
  8. "Billy" – 3:37 (J. Blunt; S. Skarbek; A. Ghost)
  9. "Cry" – 4:06 (J. Blunt; S. Skarbek)
  10. "No Bravery" – 4:00 (J. Blunt; S. Skarbek)

(All lyrics by James Blunt; assistance on music except for "Out of My Mind", music by James Blunt)

[edit] Album information

James Blunt played a large portion of the instruments on the album, and also collaborated with several other musicians:

[edit] Licensing of tracks

Eight of the ten songs on the album were licensed for use in television shows, movies, advertising campaigns and/or promo/trailer spots a total of 34 times. This included "Tears and Rain," "So Long Jimmy" and "Cry," tracks that had not been released as singles.[3]

[edit] Charts

Back to Bedlam was released in October 2004. However, it didn't chart until late March 2005 (No. 56). It fell off the chart after a week, but then re-entered fourteen days later (No. 73), but then fell off the charts again. Due to the success of its single "You're Beautiful", the album re-entered for a second time at No. 71 in late April 2005. It eventually climbed to No. 1, as did "You're Beautiful". The album stayed there for 10 non-consecutive weeks, and was the best selling album of 2005 in the UK. By the end of the year, the album had sold 2.5 million copies and was certified 8x platinum. To date the album has sold 3.0 million copies, therefore is now certified 10x Platinum in the UK.

In Canada the album has sold more than 600,000 copies, and was certified 6x platinum.[4]

[edit] Certifications, peaks and sales

Country Peak Position Certification (If Any) Sales/shipments
Argentina 1 8x Platinum [5] 160,000+
Australia 1 (12 Weeks) 4x Platinum [6] 560,000+
Austria 1 (2 Weeks) Platinum [7] 30,000+
Belgium 1 (3 Weeks) Platinum [8] 50,000+
Canada 6x Platinum [9] 600,000+
Denmark 1 (3 Weeks) 2x Platinum [10] 80,000+
Finland 10
France 2 (7 Weeks) Diamond [11] 1,000,000+
Germany 1 (1 Weeks) 7x gold [12] 700,000+
Greece 1 2x Platinum [13] 70,000[14]
Ireland 1 (14 Weeks) 14x Platinum [15] 210,000+
Japan Platinum [16] 250,000+
Mexico Gold [17] 50,000+
Netherlands 2 Platinum [18] 80,000+
New Zealand 1 (12 Weeks) 7x Platinum [19] 105,000+
Norway 1 (5 Weeks)
Portugal 2 (3 Weeks) 2x Platinum [20] 40,000+
Spain Gold [21] 40,000+
Sweden 1 (1 Week) 2x Platinum [22] 120,000+
Switzerland 1 (10 Weeks) 3x Platinum [23] 120,000+
United Kingdom 1 (10 Weeks) 10x Platinum [24] 3,045,780+
United States 2 2x Platinum [25] 2,200,000+ [26]
Preceded by
X&Y by Coldplay		 UK Albums Chart number-one album
July 17 - August 28, 2005		 Succeeded by
Wonderland by McFly
Preceded by
Wonderland by McFly		 UK Albums Chart number-one album
September 12, 2005		 Succeeded by
Life in Slow Motion by David Gray
Preceded by
First Impressions of Earth by The Strokes		 UK Albums Chart number-one album
January 8, 2006		 Succeeded by
Stars of CCTV by HARD-Fi
Preceded by
Monkey Business by Black Eyed Peas		 Australian ARIA Albums Chart number-one album
August 29 - September 19, 2005		 Succeeded by
Have a Nice Day by Bon Jovi
Preceded by
Curtain Call: The Hits by Eminem		 Australian ARIA Albums Chart number-one album
January 9 - February 6, 2006		 Succeeded by
State of Emergency by The Living End
Preceded by
The Hard Road by Hilltop Hoods		 Australian ARIA Albums Chart number-one album
April 17 - May 1, 2006		 Succeeded by
10,000 Days by Tool

[edit] References

  1. ^ Daily Express: The World's Greatest Newspaper :: News
  2. ^ James Blunt Wins “Worst Album” at NME Award - It was high time this happened - Softpedia
  3. ^ Poletta, Michael. "Beautiful and the Beat", Billboard, 2007-07-21. 
  4. ^ "Canadian Recording Industry Association". September 2006 publication. Retrieved December 24, 2006.
  5. ^ CAPIF
  6. ^ ARIA
  7. ^ IFPI Austria
  8. ^ IFPI Belgium – July 1st, 2006
  9. ^ CRIA
  10. ^ IFPI Denmark
  11. ^ Disque En France
  12. ^ IFPI Germany
  13. ^ Warner Music Greece
  14. ^ Ticketnet.gr
  15. ^ IRMA – Irish Charts Certifications
  16. ^ RIAJ Certification Awards May 2006
  17. ^ AMPROFON
  18. ^ NVPI
  19. ^ RIANZ – September 11th, 2006
  20. ^ AFP – Week 11, Year 2007
  21. ^ PRMUSICAE
  22. ^ IFPI Sweden – Hitlistan Top 60
  23. ^ IFPI Switzerland
  24. ^ BPI
  25. ^ Billboard – Ask Billboard
  26. ^ Billboard – Ask Billboard

[edit] External links

v • d • e
James Blunt
Albums
Singles
Related