James Blunt: "The army was my school of life"

James Blunt (43) strikes an unusual note: on his new album and in an interview. The Brit talks about techno clubs, Verbier and his job in the Queen's bodyguard.

James Blunt, do you sometimes worry that people might take you too seriously?
James Blunt: Not really, why?

Because you jokingly write things to your followers on Twitter like: "If you thought 2016 was bad - I'm releasing an album in 2017."
The fans understand my irony. Only my PR people are sometimes a bit nervous. They must feel like advisors to a very famous person, whose name I won't mention now, who also tweets very often and uncontrollably.

All right. As far as your new album "The Afterlove" is concerned: it's not as bad as advertised, but it takes some getting used to.
What do you mean by that?

Up until now, you stood for cuddly singer-songwriter pop. Now you've spiced it up electronically, including computer-altered vocals and electro beats.
It doesn't feel like a break in style to me, because I really enjoy listening to dance music in my private life. I love partying in the techno clubs in Ibiza, where I live. My friends also like the new songs. They say: "Finally we don't have to lie to you anymore."

The video for the song "Love Me Better" is also set in a club. But you're not partying, you're sitting in a corner watching the others dance. Is that something you know from your own life?
I was in the military for six years and did exactly that as a reconnaissance officer: I observed. But in the video I'm rather indifferent. In the accompanying song, I sing about having enough superficial nights behind me and now looking for something for eternity.

You've obviously found what you were looking for. Two years ago, you married the noblewoman Sofia Wellesley, granddaughter of the 8th Duke of Wellington. And you became the father of a son.
Things like that are life-changing. But I like to keep my privacy. It's not for nothing that I own a house in Switzerland, in Verbier to be precise.

You are a village celebrity there. They even named a ski lift after you.
Crazy, isn't it? I've known Verbier for a very long time. I was lucky that the army sent me there to ski for four seasons. Incidentally, I was best in the Super-G discipline.

Your speed record?
The highest that was measured was 130 kilometers per hour. But I think the machine was broken. I was definitely faster (laughs).

You own the La Vache piste restaurant in Verbier. You recently went there with singer-songwriter Ed Sheeran. He contributed to your new album.
During the day I was his ski instructor, at night we wrote songs together.

You just said in an interview that he makes up stories. He claimed that you were indirectly responsible for a scar he got at a party.
Oh, he wasn't being serious. We're still good friends.

Sheeran is the most successful British pop artist at the moment. He makes similar music to you and also has a new album coming out. How smart is it to collaborate with your biggest rival?
Very smart, because in the music business you always work with people who can take you further. It's not a boxing ring where you fight against each other and only one person is left standing at the end. There's room for many. Ed and I are both managed by Elton John's company. He was also the one who introduced us to each other.

James Blunt (43) doesn't want to lose touch with young listeners. In addition to Ed Sheeran, Stephan Moccio, responsible for hits by Miley Cyrus and The Weeknd, also contributed to the fifth album. The result is a wild potpourri that often lacks a signature: "Don't Give Me Those Eyes" sounds like Elton John, "California" could be sung by Rihanna. Only towards the end of the album do the acoustic songs with the nasal vocals that Blunt is known for. They still suit him best.

When you started out twelve years ago, you were one of the few singer-songwriters in mainstream pop.
Yes, that's true.

Today it's teeming with guitar-playing men who show their soulful side, for example Hozier, James Bay, Jack Garratt. Do you feel like the father figure of this scene?
When Ed Sheeran tells me that he came to one of my concerts when he was 14, then yes. But not otherwise. Father figures in this scene are more likely to be musicians like David Gray or Damien Rice, who have also influenced me.

Rolling Stone" magazine voted "You're Beautiful" the seventh most annoying song of all time. Right behind "Mambo No. 5" by Lou Bega. How much do you still like playing that song?
It's my biggest hit. If I don't play it at the end of a concert, I'm depriving the audience of something. It's a happy moment for me too, because it means I can go and have a beer straight away.

You studied sociology with a scholarship from the elite University of Bristol. In return, you had to serve for at least four years after graduating. Didn't you find that tedious?
On the contrary, I really enjoyed it and added another two years.

You were stationed in Kosovo for NATO during the war. Even then, you sang a serenade for the troops from time to time.
I had to be very careful about which song I chose in this disheartening environment where people were killing each other.

Did you have to kill?
It feels strange to talk about such things in a civilian environment. It's better to ask a soldier how many lives he has saved. In Kosovo it was thousands.

Would you recommend a military career to your son?
I certainly wouldn't advise him against it. The army was my school of life. I grew up in a privileged environment and come from a safe country. Thanks to the army, I had contact with people from a wide variety of social backgrounds.

Last but not least, you were also a member of the Royal Life Guards. Did you parade around Buckingham Palace in one of those cute fur hats?
No, I was on a horse. I was with the Horse Guards. Those are the ones with the spiked hats that have a kind of tail made of white horsehair attached to them. I also wore armor. It was an amazing experience.

Were you allowed to keep this helmet?
Unfortunately not.

JAMES BLUNT - THE AFTERLOVE TOUR
Wed November 8, 2017, Arena de Genève Geneva
Thu November 9, 2017, Hallenstadion Zurich
TICKETS

This article was originally published in Sonntagsblick.