Дэвид Грей: Путь к успеху британского музыканта

British singer songwriter (born 1968)

David Peter Gray (born 13 June 1968) is a British singer songwriter. He released his first album in 1993 and received worldwide attention after the release of White Ladder five years later. White Ladder was the first of three UK chart toppers in six years for Gray; it became the fifth best selling album of the 2000s in the UK and ranked as the tenth best selling album of the 21st century in the United Kingdom in October 2019. Gray is also known for the hit single "Babylon" from the White Ladder album. He has received four Brit Award nominations, including two nominations for Best British Male.

Gray was born in 1968 in Sale, Cheshire, England, and lived in Altrincham before moving with his family at the age of nine to Solva, Pembrokeshire, Wales, where his parents took over a gift shop and started a clothing business. "I had an amazing time growing up there My imagination could run wild It was that which gave me the kind of insane self belief I have, and had even then, that I could do something as unlikely as play music for a living." In 1996 Gray released his third album, Sell, Sell, Sell. The album was recorded at Pyramid Sound Studios in Ithaca, New York. Despite his dislike of the album, Gray continued to maintain residence in Ithaca on and off over the years. Despite critical acclaim, the album did not chart, but the song "Late Night Radio" received some airplay on alternative UK radio stations. On the 1997 Mary Black album Shine, Gray contributed five songs.

Originally released on Gray's own label IHT Records in November 1998, White Ladder was re released in 2000 on ATO Records. The re release brought him commercial success and critical attention. While his first three albums featured acoustic folk songs and guitar based alternative rock, White Ladder introduced his now trademark folktronic sound. The album included his best known songs: "This Year's Love", "Babylon", "Please Forgive Me" and "Sail Away". After its re release, combined with the release and success of single "Babylon", it sold 100,000 copies in Ireland alone, making it number one for six weeks, and according to a 2012 report was the biggest selling album ever in that country. In June 2000, "Babylon" hit No. 5 in the UK Singles Chart; it remains his biggest UK hit to date. In the United States, the album received a boost from jam band leader Dave Matthews, who made it the first release by ATO Records, the record company he co founded. "Babylon" was also the first of three US chart entries for Gray to date. The album was No. 1 on the UK Albums Chart, two years and five months after its original release, spending a total of 151 weeks on the chart. Aside from "Please Forgive Me", which charted at No. 72 on the UK Singles Chart, all other single releases charted within the Top 20: and in the United States on 17 August. Foundling is a double album: the first CD consists of 11 new songs and the second consists of eight previously unreleased songs. A ninth is available via iTunes. David Gray signed a global agreement with Kobalt Label Services for the release of his 10th studio album, Mutineers. His first in four years, it was recorded at The Church Studios in London and produced by Andy Barlow (Lamb). The release took place on 17 June 2014. It was announced that Gray would support the new release with a North American tour through April and May, followed by an eight date UK tour in June and July that included a show at the Royal Albert Hall in London. The Best of David Gray was released on CD, double CD and LP in October 2016, and included two new recordings. The album, released in conjunction with IHT Records, had already been released as a dynamic playlist on Spotify that automatically changed shape every week Gray commented: "What we have on our hands is an ever evolving 'Best Of' that is different every week, every month, every year, every decade." In March 2019, Gray released his 11th record, Gold in a Brass Age. It was produced by Ben de Vries, son of producer Marius de Vries, and was seen largely as a return to his signature "folktronica" sound. In the year 2020, Gray released a 20th anniversary edition of White Ladder. A deluxe set with bonus tracks and demos was also made available on both CD and vinyl formats. He embarked on an international tour to celebrate the anniversary, starting in Europe in February, but it was cut short due to the COVID 19 pandemic. Gray announced on 20 May 2020 via his social media channels that the tour had to be postponed. The tour kicked off in Belfast on the 17th of May 2022 nearly two years to the day it was cancelled. Gray has always credited Ireland for boosting his career with the original sales of White Ladder so it felt fitting to start the tour in Ireland. In January 2021, Gray announced that his 12th studio album was to be released on 19 February 2021. Entitled Skellig (named after the Skellig Islands in County Kerry, Ireland) it featured a title track and a single called "Heart and Soul". It was recorded at Edwyn Collins' Helmsdale studio in Sutherland and features David Kitt, Rob Malone and producer Ben de Vries as musicians on the record.

Gray's early music was in a contemporary folk rock, singer songwriter mode; his primary instrument was acoustic guitar, with occasional piano. 1996's Sell, Sell, Sell featured some rock arrangements and electric instrumentation. Starting with the release of White Ladder, Gray began to make significant use of computer generated music to accompany his voice and acoustic instrumentation. A New Day at Midnight continued this direction, although lyrically it was darker in tone than White Ladder and the instrumentation much more downbeat. In the liner notes, Gray dedicated the album to his father, who died in 2001. Despite the move to more complex music, Gray has used small scale, often home based, recording methods and equipment and espoused a do it yourself approach to music production. However, 2005's Life in Slow Motion was a collaboration with the record producer Marius de Vries. Gray is noted for his 'bobble headed' style of performing, often rocking his head in time vigorously to the music. Gray himself would comically play up this trait in the video for "Be Mine", in which his head eventually rolls off his body and gets thrown around in a variety of different locations.

Gray has been touring since 1993. Prior to his breakthrough album White Ladder in 1998, Gray had been the supporting act for the likes of Kirsty MacColl, The Corrs, Dave Matthews Band and Radiohead. He has had multiple tour dates in many different places such as Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, South Africa, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom and the United States.

Gray married his wife Olivia in Los Angeles, California in 1993, and together they have two daughters: Ivy and Florence. He lives in London, having moved to Hampstead in 2009. Gray is also the brother in law of Phil Hartnoll of Orbital. In 2011, a portrait of Gray was painted by English artist Joe Simpson. The painting was exhibited around the UK, including at a solo exhibition at the Royal Albert Hall. Gray is a Manchester United supporter. He is a patron of the charity Curlew Action. In 2022, Gray contributed a new song, "The Arc", to the album Simmerdim: Curlew Sounds, released in partnership with the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds and musician and producer Merlyn Driver.