Alex Clare

Alex Clare

Clare performing on 28 January 2013 at Capitol Offenbach.
Background information
Birth name Alexander George Clare[1][2]
Born (1985-09-14) 14 September 1985
Southwark, London, England
Origin Golders Green, London
Genres
Occupation(s)
  • Singer
  • songwriter
Instruments
  • Vocals
  • guitars
  • synthesizer
  • drums
  • keyboard
  • ukulele
  • harmonica
  • sampler
  • sequencer
  • programming
Years active 2010–present
Labels
Associated acts
Website alexclare.com

Alexander George "Alex" Clare (born 14 September 1985) is a British singer and songwriter.[4] Clare adopted his current stage name, Alex Clare, in 2010, replacing Alexander G. Muertos, a pseudonym he first used whilst still at school. His debut album, The Lateness of the Hour, was released in the UK on 11 July 2011 on Island Records[5] and was produced by Mike Spencer and Major Lazer.[6]

The biggest hit from the album, "Too Close", peaked at number 4 on the UK Singles Chart and number 7 on the US Billboard Hot 100. The song was nominated for the Brit Award for Best British Single at the 2013 Brit Awards.[7]

Early life

Clare was born in Southwark, London, England. He grew up listening to his father’s jazz records and was drawn to blues and soul artists like Donny Hathaway or Stevie Wonder, which eventually led to interests in drum and bass, dubstep and UK garage. Though Clare took up the trumpet and drums as a youngster, he eventually placed an emphasis on guitar and songwriting, playing open mic nights with original material.[8]

Clare attended Bishop Challoner School in Bromley and thereafter Westminster Kingsway College from 2002, studying for an NVQ in catering.

Music career

A demo earned him a deal with the Island label in the UK. His debut album, The Lateness of the Hour, produced by Mike Spencer and Major Lazer[6] was released in July 2011. The first single from the album was "Up All Night", followed by "Too Close" and "Treading Water".

On 19 May 2011, Reggie Yates made Alex Clare's cover of Prince's "When Doves Cry" his Song of the Day.[9] A day later, the Dutch radio station 3FM announced single "Too Close" to be the '3FM's Megahit of that week.[10]

On 21 June 2011, Clare performed at the Queens' College, Cambridge May Ball.[11] On 14 August 2011, Clare performed at the Summer Well festival in Buftea, Romania. Following the disappointing performance of the album, Clare was dropped from his record contract with Universal Island in the UK.[12]

In March 2012, Clare's song "Too Close" was featured in several Internet Explorer 9 advertisements.[13] Following its use, the song debuted at #68 on the US Billboard Hot 100,[14] and later reached #7, becoming his first Top 10 hit. Clare saw success on the German charts too, topping the charts at #1. On 16 May, Clare's song peaked at #4 on the UK Singles Chart.[15] Soon after the song appearance in charts, Universal Republic signed Clare to a distribution deal that allowed The Lateness Of The Hour to be released in America in March 2012.[12][16] In mid-2012 it was announced that Universal Republic was going defunct moving artists from its roster to Republic Records including Alex Clare.[17]

In 2012 he sang the role of Voice of Humanity on the album Jeff Wayne's Musical Version of The War of the Worlds – The New Generation along with Gary Barlow, Joss Stone and Liam Neeson.

In May 2014, Clare released the video for his single "War Rages On" as the lead single from his second album Three Hearts, which was released on 11 August 2014.[18] "War Rages On" has also served as the title sequence to the popular BBC Drama, Our Girl. On 8 October 2014, ASCAP named members Alex Clare and Jim Duguid Songwriters of the Year for "Too Close".[19]

Personal life

Clare's upbringing was "very, very secular", and he became more religious during the mid-2000s.[20][21] He is now an Orthodox Jew, and as such will not perform, travel or work on the Jewish Sabbath or religious holidays. Clare has said he lost one record deal opportunity due to his Sabbath observance,[22] but has found other ways to continue his career successfully. Clare also keeps kosher and travels with his own sets of pots and pans. While on tour, Clare maintains a schedule of learning Jewish topics in the Talmud.[23]

In 2006, before gaining critical success, Clare dated British singer Amy Winehouse, but the relationship lasted less than a year.[16] They met while he was performing and working at a bar she frequented, the Hawley Arms in Camden, North London.[23]

He lives in Golders Green, an area in northwest London, but often travels to Jerusalem when his work permits.[24]

Discography

Studio albums

List of studio albums, with selected chart positions and certifications
Title Album details Peak chart positions Certifications
UK
[25]		 AUT
[26]		 BEL
[27]		 FRA
[28]		 GER
[29]		 SWI
[30]		 US
[31]
The Lateness of the Hour 17 16 190 95 8 49 48
Three Hearts 98 — — — 43 74 —
"—" denotes a recording that did not chart or was not released in that territory.

Singles

As lead artist

List of singles as lead artist, with selected chart positions and certifications, showing year released and album name
Title Year Peak chart positions Certifications Album
UK
[25]		 AUT
[26]		 BEL
[27]		 CAN
[35]		 DEN
[36]		 FRA
[28]		 GER
[29]		 NL
[37]		 SWI
[30]		 US
[38]
"Up All Night" 2010 — — — — — — — — — — The Lateness of the Hour
"Too Close" 2011 4 5 36 14 29 9 1 33 12 7
"Treading Water" 179 — — — — — 59 — — —
"Hummingbird" 2012 — — — — — — — — — —
"War Rages On" 2014 53 — — — — — — — — — Three Hearts
"—" denotes a recording that did not chart or was not released in that territory.

As featured artist

List of singles as featured artist, with selected chart positions, showing year released and album name
Title Year Peak chart positions Album
UK
[42]		 AUS
[43]		 BEL
(FLA)
[27]		 BEL
(WA)
[44]		 NL
[37]		 NZ
[45]
"Not Giving In"
(Rudimental featuring John Newman and Alex Clare)		 2012 14 12 54 77 71 11 Home
"Endorphins"
(Sub Focus featuring Alex Clare)		 2013 10 — 134 — — — Torus
"Give It All"
(Don Diablo featuring Alex Clare and Kelis)		 — — — — — — Non-album single

Other appearances

Title Year Album
"Give You Up"
(Rudimental featuring Alex Clare)		 2012 Home
(Deluxe Version)

Music videos

As lead artist

List of music videos, showing year released and director
Title Year Director(s)
"Up All Night" 2010 Blake Claridge[46]
"Too Close" 2011 Ian Bonhote[47]
"Treading Water" Sam Pilling[48]

As featured artist

List of music videos, showing year released and director
Title Year Director(s)
"Not Giving In"
(Rudimental featuring John Newman and Alex Clare)		 2012 Josh Cole[49]

Awards and nominations

Year Organisation Award Work Result
2013 BRIT Awards British Single of the Year[50] "Too Close" Nominated
2014 ASCAP Awards Night Songwriter of the Year (with Jim Duguid)[19] "Too Close" Won

References

  1. ↑ Alex Clare Biography. StarPulse. Retrieved 2 June 2013
  2. ↑ Songwriter/Composer: CLARE ALEXANDER GEORGE. BMI Repertoire. Retrieved 2 June 2013
  3. ↑ O'Brien, Jon (19 July 2011). "The Lateness of the Hour - Alex Clare". AllMusic. Retrieved 7 January 2013.
  4. ↑ Lester, Paul (3 December 2010). "New band of the day – No 923: Alex Clare". London: guardian.co.uk. Retrieved 19 May 2011.
  5. ↑ "Alex Clare album release".
  6. 1 2 "Alex Clare – Diplo and Switch’s Superstar Turn". 1 December 2010. Archived from the original on 26 July 2011. Retrieved 17 June 2011.
  7. ↑ "Brit Awards: Emeli Sande gets four nominations". BBC News. Retrieved 10 January 2013
  8. ↑ Kellman, Andy. "Alex Clare". Pandora. Retrieved 12 November 2012.
  9. ↑ "SONG OF THE DAY #20 When Does cry - Alex Clare". Reggie Yates. 19 May 2011. Retrieved 1 January 2012.
  10. ↑ "Biografie - Artiest - Biografie - NPO 3FM - Serious Radio". 3fm.nl.
  11. ↑ "Queens' May Ball 2011". Queensball.com. Retrieved 1 January 2012.
  12. 1 2 "Alex Clare Talks Microsoft Ad, Amy Winehouse & Career Re-Start". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. 14 April 2012. Retrieved 20 April 2012.
  13. ↑ "The Web Comes to Life With New Internet Explorer Ad Featuring Singer Alex Clare". Microsoft.com. 5 March 2012. Retrieved 17 September 2012.
  14. ↑ Trust, Gary; Caulfield, Keith (28 March 2012). "Chart Moves: Carly Rae Jepsen Hits Hot 100 Top 20; Alex Clare's Microsoft Boost; Shinedown's 'Bully' Bows". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved 29 March 2012.
  15. ↑ "2012-05-05 Top 40 Official UK Singles Archive - Official Charts". The Official Charts Company. 5 May 2012. Retrieved 5 May 2012.
  16. 1 2 Maeve McDermott (15 July 2012). "Meet Alex Clare, the voice behind 'Too Close'". USA Today.
  17. ↑ "Alex Clare now with Republic Records". Retrieved 24 November 2012.
  18. ↑ "Alex Clare (2) - Three Hearts". Discogs. Retrieved 2015-11-10.
  19. 1 2 "Co-writers Alex Clare and Jim Duguid, Bastille's Dan Smith and Universal Music Publishing Honored in London". ASCAP. 2014-10-09. Retrieved 2014-10-15.
  20. ↑ "Amy Winehouse's ex, Alex Clare, hits the big time". The Jewish Chronicle. 14 June 2012. Retrieved 17 September 2012.
  21. ↑ Schreiber, Abby (23 July 2012). "Alex Clare Talks Hit Single, "Too Close" (And the Commercial That Made It Famous)". Papermag. Retrieved 17 September 2012.
  22. ↑ Tzvi Gluckin. Judaism, Sacrifice, and the Education of Alex Clare. aish.com Retrieved 4 September 2014
  23. 1 2 "British pop star balances stardom and Orthodoxy". The Times of Israel. Retrieved 2015-11-10.
  24. ↑ "British pop sensation balances stardom, Orthodoxy". The Jerusalem Post - JPost.com.
  25. 1 2 Peak chart positions for singles and albums in the United Kingdom:
  26. 1 2 "Discographie Alex Clare". austriancharts.at. Hung Medien. 2012-04-20.
  27. 1 2 3 "Discographie Alex Clare". ultratop.be. Retrieved 2015-11-10.
  28. 1 2 "Discographie Alex Clare". lescharts.com. Hung Medien. 2012-11-18.
  29. 1 2 "Discographie Alex Clare". charts.de. Hung Medien. 2012-11-18.
  30. 1 2 "Discographie Alex Clare". hitparade.ch. Hung Medien. 2012-04-02.
  31. ↑ "Alex Clare Album & Song Chart History: Billboard 200". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. 2012-11-18.
  32. ↑ "The Lateness Of The Hour". Amazon.com. 2012-11-18.
  33. 1 2 "Gold–/Platin-Datenbank (Alex Clare)" (in German). Bundesverband Musikindustrie. Retrieved 18 November 2012.
  34. ↑ "Three Hearts". Amazon.com. 2014-08-11.
  35. ↑ "Alex Clare Album & Song Chart History: Billboard Canadian Hot 100". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. 2012-11-18.
  36. ↑ "Discography Alex Clare". danishcharts.com. Hung Medien. 2012-11-18.
  37. 1 2 "Discografie Alex Clare". dutchcharts.nl. Hung Medien. 2012-11-18.
  38. ↑ "Alex Clare Album & Song Chart History: Hot 100". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. 2012-11-18.
  39. ↑ "Austrian certifications – Alex Clare" (in German). IFPI Austria. Retrieved 18 November 2012. Enter Alex Clare in the field Interpret. Click Suchen
  40. ↑ "The Official Swiss Charts and Music Community: Awards (Alex Clare)". swisscharts.com. Hung Medien. Retrieved 18 November 2012.
  41. ↑ "American certifications – Clare, Alex". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved 9 October 2012.
  42. ↑ Peak positions for the featured singles in the United Kingdom:
  43. ↑ "Discography Alex Clare". australian-charts.com. Hung Medien. 2012-11-18.
  44. ↑ "Discographie Alex Clare". ultratop.be/fr/. Hung Medien. 2012-11-18.
  45. ↑ "Discography Alex Clare". charts.org.nz. Hung Medien. 2012-11-18.
  46. ↑ "Up All Night | Alex Clare | Music Video". MTV Music. MTV Networks. Retrieved 18 November 2012.
  47. ↑ "Too Close | Alex Clare | Music Video". MTV Music. MTV Networks. Retrieved 18 November 2012.
  48. ↑ "Treading Water | Alex Clare | Music Video". MTV Music. MTV Networks. Retrieved 18 November 2012.
  49. ↑ Gottlieb, Steven (22 October 2012). "Watch It: Rudimental f. Alex Clare "Not Giving In" (Josh Cole, dir.)". Video Static. Retrieved 18 November 2012.
  50. ↑ "BRIT Awards 2013: Best British Single". Capital FM. 2013-01-10. Retrieved 2013-01-11.

External links

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