Alex Clare

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Alex Clare
Clare performing on 28th of January 2013 at Capitol Offenbach.
Clare performing on 28th of January 2013 at Capitol Offenbach.
Background information
Birth nameAlexander George Claire[1][2]
Born14 September 1985 (age 28)
Southwark, London, England, United Kingdom
OriginGolders Green, London
GenresAlternative rock, electronica, blue-eyed soul, drum and bass, dubstep,[3] electro house, R&B, soul
Occupation(s)Singer, songwriter, musician
Instrument(s)Vocals, guitars, synthesizer, drums, keyboard, ukulele, harmonica, sequencer, sampler
Years active2010–present
LabelsIsland, Universal Republic, Republic
Websitealexclare.com

Alexander George Claire better known as Alex Clare (born 14 September 1985) is a British singer-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 (Donny Hathaway, 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 Beckenham and thereafter Westminster Kingsway College from 2002 studying 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.

Personal life

Clare's upbringing was "very, very secular", and he became more religious during the mid-2000s.[18][19] 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, 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 and studies the Tanya.[20]

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.[21] Clare sold his story to the News of the World, which published it under the headline "Bondage Crazed Amy Just Can't Beehive in Bed".[22] He lives in Golders Green, an area in northwest London, but often travels to Jerusalem when his work permits.[23]

Discography

Albums

List of studio albums, with selected chart positions and certifications
Title Album details Peak chart positions Certifications
UK
[24] 		AUT
[25] 		BEL
(WA)
[26] 		FRA
[27] 		GER
[28] 		SWI
[29] 		US
[30]
The Lateness of the Hour 17 16 190 95 8 49 48

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
[24] 		AUT
[25] 		BEL
(WA)
[26] 		CAN
[33] 		DEN
[34] 		FRA
[27] 		GER
[28] 		NL
[35] 		SWI
[29] 		US
[36]
"Up All Night"[37] 2010 — — — — — — — — — — The Lateness of the Hour
"Too Close" 2011 4 6 36 14 29 9 1 33 12 7
"Treading Water" 179 — — — — — 59 — — —
"Hummingbird" 2012 — — — — — — — — — —
"—" 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
[41] 		AUS
[42] 		BEL
(FL)
[43] 		BEL
(WA)
[26] 		NL
[35] 		NZ
[44]
"Not Giving In"
(Rudimental featuring John Newman and Alex Clare) 		2012 14 12 4 27 71 11 Home
"Endorphins"
(Sub Focus featuring Alex Clare) 		2013 10 — — — — — Torus
"Give It All"
(Don Diablo featuring Alex Clare and Kelis) 		2013 — — — — — — TBA

Other appearances

"Give You Up" (Rudimental featuring Alex Clare) from the album Home

Music videos

As lead artist

List of music videos, showing year released and director
Title Year Director(s)
"Up All Night" 2010 Blake Claridge[45]
"Too Close" 2011 Ian Bonhote[46]
"Treading Water" Sam Pilling[47]

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[48]

Awards and nominations

Year Organisation Award Work Result
2013 BRIT Awards British Single of the Year[49] "Too Close" Nominated

References

  1. ^ Alex Clare Biography. StarPulse. Retrieved 2 June 2013
  2. ^ Songwriter/Composer: CLAIRE 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. ^ a b "Alex Clare – Diplo and Switch's Superstar Turn". 1 December 2010. Archived from the original on 26 July 2011. Retrieved 17 June 2011. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  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. ^ 3FM.nl Alex Clare Biografie
  11. ^ "Queens' May Ball 2011". Queensball.com. Retrieved 1 January 2012.
  12. ^ a b "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.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  15. ^ "2012-05-05 Top 40 Official UK Singles Archive - Official Charts". The Official Charts Company. 5 May 2012. Retrieved 5 May 2012.
  16. ^ a b 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. ^ "Amy Winehouse's ex, Alex Clare, hits the big time". The Jewish Chronicle. 14 June 2012. Retrieved 17 September 2012.
  19. ^ Schreiber, Abby (23 July 2012). "Alex Clare Talks Hit Single, "Too Close" (And the Commercial That Made It Famous)". Papermag. Retrieved 17 September 2012.
  20. ^ JTA, Chavie Lieber. http://www.timesofisrael.com/british-pop-star-balances-stardom-and-orthodoxy/
  21. ^ http://www.timesofisrael.com/british-pop-star-balances-stardom-and-orthodoxy/
  22. ^ "Amy Winehouse". Daily Telegraph. 23 July 2011.
  23. ^ British pop sensation balances stardom, Orthodoxy
  24. ^ a b Peak chart positions for singles and albums in the United Kingdom:
  25. ^ a b "Discographie Alex Clare". austriancharts.at. Hung Medien. 20 April 2012. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |work= (help)
  26. ^ a b c "Discographie Alex Clare". ultratop.be/fr/. Hung Medien. 18 November 2012. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |work= (help) Cite error: The named reference "BEL (WA)" was defined multiple times with different content (see the help page).
  27. ^ a b "Discographie Alex Clare". lescharts.com. Hung Medien. 18 November 2012. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |work= (help)
  28. ^ a b "Discographie Alex Clare". charts.de. Hung Medien. 18 November 2012. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |work= (help)
  29. ^ a b "Discographie Alex Clare". hitparade.ch. Hung Medien. 2 April 2012. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |work= (help)
  30. ^ "Alex Clare Album & Song Chart History: Billboard 200". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. 18 November 2012.
  31. ^ "The Lateness Of The Hour". Amazon.com. 18 November 2012. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |work= (help)
  32. ^ a b "Gold–/Platin-Datenbank (Alex Clare)" (in German). Bundesverband Musikindustrie. Retrieved 18 November 2012.
  33. ^ "Alex Clare Album & Song Chart History: Billboard Canadian Hot 100". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. 18 November 2012.
  34. ^ "Discography Alex Clare". danishcharts.com. Hung Medien. 18 November 2012. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |work= (help)
  35. ^ a b "Discografie Alex Clare". dutchcharts.nl. Hung Medien. 18 November 2012. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |work= (help)
  36. ^ "Alex Clare Album & Song Chart History: Hot 100". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. 18 November 2012.
  37. ^ "Up All Night – EP by Alex Clare". iTunes Store. Apple. Retrieved 18 November 2012.
  38. ^ "Austrian certifications – Alex Clare" (in German). IFPI Austria. Retrieved 18 November 2012.
  39. ^ "The Official Swiss Charts and Music Community: Awards (Alex Clare)". swisscharts.com. Hung Medien. Retrieved 18 November 2012. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |work= (help)
  40. ^ "American certifications – Clare, Alex". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved 9 October 2012.
  41. ^ Peak positions for the featured singles in the United Kingdom:
  42. ^ "Discography Alex Clare". australian-charts.com. Hung Medien. 18 November 2012. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |work= (help)
  43. ^ "Discographie Alex Clare". ultratop.be/nl/. Hung Medien. 18 November 2012. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |work= (help)
  44. ^ "Discography Alex Clare". charts.org.nz. Hung Medien. 18 November 2012. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |work= (help)
  45. ^ "Up All Night | Alex Clare | Music Video". MTV Music. MTV Networks. Retrieved 18 November 2012.
  46. ^ "Too Close | Alex Clare | Music Video". MTV Music. MTV Networks. Retrieved 18 November 2012.
  47. ^ "Treading Water | Alex Clare | Music Video". MTV Music. MTV Networks. Retrieved 18 November 2012.
  48. ^ Gottlieb, Steven (22 October 2012). "Watch It: Rudimental f. Alex Clare "Not Giving In" (Josh Cole, dir.)". Video Static. Retrieved 18 November 2012.
  49. ^ "BRIT Awards 2013: Best British Single". Capital FM. 10 January 2013. Retrieved 11 January 2013.

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Alex Clare.

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