Alex Clare

Alex Clare
Clare performing on 28 January 2013 at Capitol Offenbach.
Background information
Birth name	Alexander George Clare[1][2]
Born	(1985-09-14) 14 September 1985 Southwark, London, England
Origin	Golders Green, London
Genres	Alternative rock electronica blue-eyed soul drum and bass dubstep[3] electro house R&B soul
Occupation(s)	Singer songwriter
Instruments	Vocals guitars synthesizer drums keyboard ukulele harmonica sampler sequencer trumpet programming
Years active	2010–present
Labels	Island Republic ETC
Associated acts	Diplo Switch Mike Spencer Rudimental John Newman
Website	alexclare.com

Alexander George "Alex" Clare (born 14 September 1985) is a British singer and songwriter.^[4] Clare adopted his current stage name, Alex Clare, in 2010, replacing Alexander G. Muertos, a pseudonym he first used whilst still at school. His debut album, The Lateness of the Hour, was released in the UK on 11 July 2011 on Island Records^[5] and was produced by Mike Spencer and Major Lazer.^[6]

The biggest hit from the album, "Too Close", peaked at number 4 on the UK Singles Chart and number 7 on the US Billboard Hot 100. The song was nominated for the Brit Award for Best British Single at the 2013 Brit Awards.^[7]

Early life

Clare was born in Southwark, London, England. He grew up listening to his father’s jazz records and was drawn to blues and soul artists like Donny Hathaway or Stevie Wonder, which eventually led to interests in drum and bass, dubstep and UK garage. Though Clare took up the trumpet and drums as a youngster, he eventually placed an emphasis on guitar and songwriting, playing open mic nights with original material.^[8]

Clare attended Bishop Challoner School in Bromley and thereafter Westminster Kingsway College from 2002, studying for an NVQ in catering.

Music career

A demo earned him a deal with demi the Island label in the UK. His debut album, The Lateness of the Hour, produced by Mike Spencer and Major Lazer^[6] was released in July 2011. The first single from the album was "Up All Night", followed by "Too Close" and "Treading Water".

On 19 May 2011, Reggie Yates made Alex Clare's cover of Prince's "When Doves Cry" his Song of the Day.^[9] A day later, the Dutch radio station 3FM announced single "Too Close" to be the '3FM's Megahit of that week.^[10]

On 21 June 2011, Clare performed at the Queens' College, Cambridge May Ball.^[11] On 14 August 2011, Clare performed at the Summer Well festival in Buftea, Romania. Following the disappointing performance of the album, Clare was dropped from his record contract with Universal Island in the UK.^[12]

In March 2012, Clare's song "Too Close" was featured in several Internet Explorer 9 advertisements.^[13] Following its use, the song debuted at number 68 on the US Billboard Hot 100,^[14] and later reached number 7, becoming his first top 10 hit. Clare saw success on the German charts too, reaching number one. On 16 May 2012, Clare's song peaked at number 4 on the UK Singles Chart.^[15] Soon after the song appearance in charts, Universal Republic signed Clare to a distribution deal that allowed The Lateness Of The Hour to be released in America in March 2012.^[12][16] In mid-2012 it was announced that Universal Republic was going defunct moving artists from its roster to Republic Records including Alex Clare.^[17]

In 2012 he sang the role of Voice of Humanity on the album Jeff Wayne's Musical Version of The War of the Worlds – The New Generation along with Gary Barlow, Joss Stone and Liam Neeson.

In May 2014, Clare released the video for his single "War Rages On" as the lead single from his second album Three Hearts, which was released on 11 August 2014.^[18] "War Rages On" has also served as the title sequence to the popular BBC Drama, Our Girl. On 8 October 2014, ASCAP named members Alex Clare and Jim Duguid Songwriters of the Year for "Too Close".^[19]

In October 2016, Clare's first single from his debut album, Up All Night was used as the opening theme for BBC Three Science-Fiction series Class.

In November 2016 he released the album Tail of Lions.^[20]

Personal life

Clare's upbringing was "very, very secular", and he became more religious during the mid-2000s.^[21][22] He is now an Orthodox Jew, and as such will not perform, travel or work on the Jewish Sabbath or religious holidays. Clare has said he lost one record deal opportunity due to his Sabbath observance,^[23] but has found other ways to continue his career successfully. Clare also keeps a strictly kosher diet. While on tour, Clare maintains a schedule of learning Jewish topics in the Talmud.^[24]

In 2006, before gaining critical success, Clare dated British singer Amy Winehouse, but the relationship lasted less than a year.^[16] They met while he was performing and working at a bar she frequented, the Hawley Arms in Camden, North London.^[24]

He lived in Golders Green, an area in northwest London,^[25] but moved to Jerusalem Israel in late 2015 together with his family.^[20]

Discography

Studio albums

Singles

As lead artist

As featured artist

Other appearances

Music videos

As lead artist

As featured artist

Awards and nominations

References

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Alex Clare.

• Official website