Ed Harcourt

A prolific singer songwriter, Ed Harcourt ploughed a path previously trodden by the likes of Elliott Smith, David Gray and Jeff Buckley and became recognised as a popular troubadour and songsmith. He started out with a gang of school friends in the mid-1990s who evolved into indie rockers Snug and made a couple of albums. Harcourt then signed a deal with Heavenly Records on the strength of the EP Maplewood, recorded at his grandmother's home in Sussex. Produced by Tim Holmes (of Death in Vegas), debut album Here Be Monsters (2001) was nominated for the Mercury Music Prize and won great critical acclaim for its lo-fi, rootsy, folk rock. The follow-up From Every Sphere (2003) made the UK Top 40, but the introverted, dark Americana of Strangers (2004) and The Beautiful Lie failed to make a big commercial breakthrough. He went on to write songs for Patti Smith, Paloma Faith and Lissie and, after a six year break, returned with a more lavish, bombastic, orchestral sound on his fifth studio album Lustre (2010).

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