The final pieces in the jigsaw were a TV advertising campaign with Woolworths and a contract with one of the industry's most influential publicists, Barbara Charone, whose clients include Madonna and Elton himself. There were live dates with Katie Melua, then stadium shows supporting Elton John, who has in turn supported Blunt by offering advice and publicly describing "You're Beautiful" - Blunt's new single - as a modern-day "Your Song". Soon she hooked him up with producer Tom Rothrock, whose work with Elliott Smith (and Beck, and Badly Drawn Boy) she considered an appropriate match for Blunt's intensely personal songs.Once the album was completed, Blunt went out on the road and has not stopped for 18 months. In the audience was Linda Perry, the songwriter-producer with the golden touch (Pink, Christina Aguilera, Gwen Stefani), and she signed him up to her label, Custard. He then hired a band to travel to America with him for a showcase performance at the South by South West festival in Austin, Texas. Within weeks he had been taken on by Elton John's management company and negotiated a songwriting deal with EMI. It earned him valuable live experience, made him some key contacts and gave him a head start when he finally left. Talented new singer-songwriter James Blunts debut album, Back to Bedlam, is quite possibly one of the best albums of the year. By day he would march around Buckingham Palace, and at night he would take his guitar to pubs and clubs, trying out the songs that became Back to Bedlam. After ending his tour of active duty, Blunt volunteered to spend his final six months on ceremonial duty in London in order to get his musical career under way.
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