David Gray (musician)

Early life and career

Gray was born in Sale, Trafford and grew up in Altrincham before moving with his family to Solva, Pembrokeshire. He went on to attend Carmarthenshire College of Art and Liverpool School of Art.

Gray's first two albums A Century Ends and Flesh were issued in 1993 and 1994 respectively and led to Gray becoming popular in folk-rock circles, but both failed in terms of commercial sales. In 1996 Gray released his third album, Sell, Sell, Sell. With his first two albums having been entirely composed of acoustic folk music, this album used his now-trademark blend of folk, alternative rock and electronics for the first time. Despite critical acclaim, the album did not chart, but the song "Late Night Radio" received some airplay on alternative UK radio stations. On the 1997 Mary Black album Shine, Gray contributed five songs.

1998–2002: White Ladder and rise to fame

The re-release of Gray's fourth record album, White Ladder, in 2000 on ATO Records, brought him commercial success and critical attention. The album included his best-known songs: "This Year's Love", "Babylon", "Please Forgive Me" and "Sail Away". White Ladder was originally released on Gray's own label IHT Records in November 1998. After its re-release, combined with the release and success of single "Babylon", it sold 100,000 copies in Ireland alone, making it number one for six weeks, and it remains the biggest-selling album in Ireland. In June 2000, "Babylon" hit No. 5 in the UK Singles Chart; it remains his biggest UK hit to date. In the United States, the album received a boost from jam-band leader Dave Matthews, who made it the first release by ATO Records, the record company he co-founded. "Babylon" was also the first of three US chart entries for Gray to date.

The album was No. 1 on the UK Albums Chart, two years and five months after its original release, spending a total of 151 weeks on the chart. Aside from "Please Forgive Me", which charted at No. 72 on the UK Singles Chart, all other single releases charted within the Top 20: the re-released "Please Forgive Me" charted at number 18, and "Say Hello, Wave Goodbye" and "Sail Away" peaked at number 26.

The year 2001 also saw the release of two compilation albums of Gray's early works and unreleased material, The EPs 1992-1994 and Lost Songs 95-98, both of which followed White Ladder into the Top 20 in the UK Albums Chart.

In November 2002, Gray released the follow-up to White Ladder, entitled A New Day at Midnight. The new release did not receive the same critical acclaim as its predecessor, but still went straight in at number 1, famously beating Pop Idol runner-up Gareth Gates's debut album What My Heart Wants to Say to the summit and selling nearly 150,000 copies in its first week of release. It went on to achieve platinum status within a year, eventually being certified four times platinum overall, and was the second-biggest selling album by a UK artist in 2002, behind Pop Idol winner Will Young's debut album From Now On. A New Day at Midnight produced two further UK Top 30 hits in "The Other Side" and "Be Mine" and a minor US hit with "Dead in the Water".

Later career

After a three-year hiatus which saw him wind down his recording and touring schedule due to exhaustion, Gray returned with his seventh album, Life in Slow Motion, in September 2005. Like its predecessor, it topped the UK Albums Chart in its first week of release. After the much-criticised A New Day at Midnight, Life in Slow Motion was hailed as a return to form by many critics. Lead single "The One I Love" was a Top 10 hit in the UK in October 2005 and spent three months in the UK chart. Following the relative commercial failure of follow-up singles "Hospital Food" and "Alibi", Gray again went into hiatus during 2006.

In March 2007, Gray released the compilation album Shine: The Best of the Early Years. On 7 July 2007, Gray performed with Damien Rice at the UK leg of Live Earth at Wembley Stadium in London. Gray released a compilation CD of live covers entitled A Thousand Miles Behind exclusively through his official website on 8 October that year on CD and digital download. On 13 November, Gray released the album Greatest Hits, which includes many of his best known songs as well as two new songs, including the lead single "You're the World to Me".

On 28 May 2009, Gray announced that his new album, entitled Draw the Line, would be released on 14 September in the UK and on 22 September in the United States. The album features guest appearances by Annie Lennox and Jolie Holland. The album's first single, "Fugitive", was released on 7 September 2009, coinciding with the start of an expansive world tour. On 19 September, Gray performed his self-proclaimed first pool-side concert at the Rooftop Pool at The Colonnade Hotel in Boston for the Mix 104.1 End of Summer Bash. Gray performed songs from the new album, including "Fugitive", "Draw the Line" and "Jackdaw".

In an interview for Hot Press, released on 3 December 2009, Gray revealed to Jackie Hayden that he was working on his next album, Foundling. Gray said that one of the tracks would be called "The Old Chair". According to Gray, "It features just a drum kit and me on my Steinway piano. It's very quiet." Originally, Foundling was to be released on 14 September 2010 in the United States. In an interview with the Miami Herald, Gray reiterated that it would be released in September 2010. However, it was released in the UK on 16 August. and in the US on 17 August. Foundling is a double album: the first CD consists of eleven new songs and the second bonus CD consists of eight previously unreleased songs. A ninth previously unreleased song is included when Foundling is ordered through the iTunes store.

David Gray signed a global agreement with Kobalt Label Services for the release of his tenth studio album, titled Mutineers. His first in four years, it was recorded at The Church Studios in London and produced by Andy Barlow (Lamb). The release took place on 17 June 2014. It was announced that Gray would support the new release with a North American tour through April and May, followed by an eight-date UK tour in June and July that included a show at the Royal Albert Hall in London.

2016: The Best of David Gray

Gray released the compilation The Best of David Gray, on CD, double CD and LP on 14 October 2016, featuring a selection of tracks from his back catalogue as well as two new recordings. The album, released in conjunction with IHT Records, has already been released as a dynamic playlist on Spotify that automatically changes shape every Monday. David Emery of Kobalt Label Services told MBW that the format would give Kobalt and Gray the opportunity to keep the artist’s 850,000-plus monthly listeners on Spotify engaged. He said, "We didn't just want to make a static playlist – Kobalt has the technology to create something special that changes and adapts with David Gray as an artist. We have noticed that the tracks that are most popular for [David Gray] change over time on Spotify, and a lot of that is driven by playlists. This provides the chance to see an instant reaction to new tracks, just as much as older tracks."

Kobalt said that the "Best of David Gray Weekly" playlist benefits from its "advanced proprietary software", which makes the most popular tracks from the artist more prominent as each week goes by. "This is ever-changing, and essentially controlled by how David Gray fans are listening to his music," he explained. Gray commented: "What we have on our hands with 'The Best of David Gray Weekly' is an ever-evolving 'Best Of' that is different every week, every month, every year, every decade. The more you stream a track, any David Gray song, the higher in the playlist it appears."

Musical direction

Gray's early music was in a contemporary folk-rock, singer-songwriter mode; his primary instrument was acoustic guitar, with occasional piano. 1996's Sell, Sell, Sell featured some rock arrangements and electric instrumentation. Starting with the release of White Ladder, Gray began to make significant use of computer-generated music to accompany his voice and acoustic instrumentation, a technique which differentiates him from many of his peers. A New Day at Midnight continued this direction, although lyrically it was darker in tone than White Ladder and the instrumentation much more downbeat. In the liner notes, Gray dedicated the album to his father, who died in 2001. Gray also provided vocals on the electronic-based band Orbital's 2001 single "Illuminate". Despite the move to more complex music, Gray has used small-scale, often home-based, recording methods and equipment and espoused a do-it-yourself approach to music production. However, 2005's Life in Slow Motion was a collaboration with the record producer Marius de Vries.

Band

Former longterm band members:

Discography

Tours

Gray has been touring since 1993. Prior to his breakthrough album White Ladder in 1998, Gray had been the supporting act for the likes of Kirsty MacColl, Dave Matthews Band and Radiohead, He has had multiple tour dates in many different places such as Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, South Africa, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom and the United States.

Personal life

Gray married his wife Olivia in Los Angeles, California in 1993, and together they have had two daughters: Ivy and Florence. He lives in London, having moved to Hampstead in 2009. Gray is also the brother-in-law of Phil and Paul Hartnoll of Orbital.

In 2011, a portrait of Gray was painted by British artist Joe Simpson. The painting was exhibited around the UK including at a solo exhibition at the Royal Albert Hall.

David Gray is a Manchester United supporter.

Venus in Furs

The fictional band Venus in Furs was formed in 1998 for the film Velvet Goldmine. (The band is named after the Velvet Underground song "Venus in Furs" whose title and lyrics in turn reference a novel of that name by Leopold von Sacher-Masoch.) Gray's drummer, Craig "Clune" McClune, provided drums in the band, which also included Thom Yorke and Jonny Greenwood of Radiohead, Andy Mackay of Roxy Music and Bernard Butler of Suede.