Rag'n'Bone Man (32) was the discovery of the 50th Montreux Jazz Festival last year. He then landed a mega hit with "Human" and won the critics' prize at the Brit Awards. But it was a long road to get there.
"A lot of kids don't even know what jazz and soul are anymore. I want to help with that."
When you look at him like that, you are torn. On the one hand, Rory Graham, Rag'n'Bone Man's official name, reminds you of a strict bouncer, and at the same time he seems as friendly as Santa Claus. Graham refuses to be pigeonholed. Not even with his music.
More than a year ago, when the program of the 50th Montreux Jazz Festival was presented, a newcomer was present as a small foretaste: Rag'n'Bone Man. Weeks later, at his real performance in Montreux, the Briton stood with his debut single
the first place in the charts with his debut single "Human".
Rory Graham's original job taught him to be sensitive.
Graham was practically born into music: Even his parents were musical, his father played guitar and his mother sang. Graham grew up in Uckfield, a small town in the south of England. His parents separated at an early age and he grew up with his mother and his older and younger sister - the latter suffering from a mental disability.
Graham later worked as a caregiver for Asperger's patients when he was unable to make a living from music: "It was completely natural for me, even as a child I was surrounded by people who suffered from various forms of autism," he told the German magazine Der Spiegel. "Many think they can't do it because they don't know how to communicate. But if you dare, it gives you a great sense of empathy and compassion. It's a very good exercise in meeting people without prejudice."
As a teenager, Graham discovered a love of music, but first hip-hop. He recorded mixtapes with his friends and even started a pirate radio station. Even then, he called himself Rag'n'Bonez - a reference to the British comedy series "Steptoe and Son", which was about two second-hand dealers.
It all became clear to him in the pub.
It was a blues evening in a pub that got the then 19-year-old Graham thinking: "My father persuaded me to sing in a pub. Afterwards, this old guy came up to me and said that my voice was insane and that I should sing more. This direct reaction had a big impact." To pursue his musical goal further, Graham moved from Uckfield first to Brighton and later to the capital London. Today he lives in Brighton again.
