Joe Sumner
| Joe Sumner | |
|---|---|
 Sumner with band Fiction Plane as opening act for The Police, Madison Square Garden, New York, 1 August 2007 (photo Lionel Urman) | |
| Background information | |
| Birth name | Joseph Sumner |
| Born | 23 November 1976 |
| Genres | Rock, Pop |
| Occupation(s) | Musician, singer, songwriter |
| Instruments | Vocals, Bass |
| Years active | 2000–present |
| Associated acts | Fiction Plane, Sting, The Police, Eliot Sumner |
| Notable instruments | |
|
Gibson SG Fender Jazz Bass | |
Joseph "Joe" Sumner (born 23 November 1976) is a British musician, the lead singer and bass player in the UK band Fiction Plane.[1]
Biography
Sumner is the son of actress Frances Tomelty and singer/actor/activist Sting. He attended The Cambridge School of Weston in Weston, Massachusetts, then Richmond, The American International University in London and graduated with a degree in environmental science. In December 2011 he married his longtime girlfriend Kate Finnerty in Big Sur, California.
Career
Music
Sumner created a band with schoolmates Dan Brown (bass) and Olly Taylor (drums). Originally called "Santa's Boyfriend", the band played gigs in and around London and recorded two self-produced CDs: one self-titled and one entitled Swings and Roundabouts. After drummer Taylor left the band, the name was changed to Fiction Plane and they scored their first major label release, Everything Will Never Be OK (MCA Records, 2003).
After Dan Brown left the band in late 2006, they made their second full-length album Left Side of the Brain. It was released on 22 May 2007 on the indie label Bieler Bros. Records. The single "Two Sisters" was a hit from that album. In 2010, Fiction Plane released a third album called Sparks with their single "Push Me Around" on it plus many others. It was released in Continental Europe on 10 May. This album added 3 bonus tracks; "Angel Eyes", "Telephone Unknown", and an acoustic version of "Sadr City Blues". To date, it has not been released in North America.
In 2011, Joe joined forces with Austrian band Klimmstein in a bid to represent Austria in the Eurovision Song Contest 2011.[2] The Austrian national final, Düsseldorf, Wir kommen (as Düsseldorf is the host city in Germany where the 2011 song contest was held), was on 25 February 2011 where Klimmstein reached the Top 3.
Social video sites
In 2011, Joe founded social video startup Vyclone. The app was released in 2012 and featured on Apple's "best of 2012" list. It is currently used to allow fans of So You Think You Can Dance to contribute to the show. In 2013, Joe founded the social video startup Weev, in conjunction with actor Stephen Moyer of True Blood.
References
- ↑ Chadbourne, Eugene. "Biography: Joe Sumner". AMG. Retrieved 19 May 2010.
- ↑ Joe Sumner with Klimmstein selected for pre-contest of the Eurovision Songcontest 2011 | Fiction Plane
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