Back to Bedlam

Back To Bedlam is the debut album from British musician James Blunt, released by Custard Records in 2004. Tom Rothrock produced and mixed the album, he and Jimmy Hogarth produced the track "Wisemen", and Linda Perry produced the final song, "No Bravery". Blunt had a part in the writing of every song on the album. The album had a slow climb in the UK Albums Chart, but eventually reached #1 in July 2005 and has since become the best-selling album of that year. The album also reached #1 on the Billboard Heatseekers chart and subsequently broke into the top ten of the American Billboard 200 (its highest position there so far is #2). It has been certified double platinum in the US. It has been on the New Zealand album charts for 32 weeks and has gone #1 with a 6x Platinum certification.

Track listing

"High" – 4:03 (J. Blunt; R. Ross)
"You're Beautiful" –– 3:33 (J. Blunt; S. Skarbek; A. Ghost)
"Wisemen" – 3:42 (J. Blunt; J. Hogarth; S. Skarbek)
"Goodbye My Lover" – 4:18 (James Blunt; S. Skarbek)
"Tears And Rain" – 4:04 (James Blunt; Chambers)
"Out of My Mind" – 3:33 (J. Blunt)
"So Long, Jimmy" – 4:24 (J. Blunt; J. Hogarth)
"Billy" – 3:37 (J. Blunt; S. Skarbek; A. Ghost)
"Cry" – 4:06 (J. Blunt; S. Skarbek)
"No Bravery" – 4:00 (J. Blunt; S. Skarbek)

Note: James Blunt contributes all lyrics, and is assisted on writing the music.

B-Sides (Non Album Tracks)

"Sugar-Coated"
"In A Little While"
"Fall At Your Feet"
"Close Your Eyes"
"Where Is My Mind"

Note: Some of Back To Bedlam's B-Sides appear on the Chasing Time: The Bedlam Sessions album.

Album Information

James Blunt played a large proportion of the instruments on the album, and also collaborated with several other musicians. Those listed in the album sleeve are: Mike "Leroy" Tarantino (lead guitar, electric guitar, Mississippi guitar), Mr. Nau (Wurlitzer, piano, Hammond, sustain guitar, backing vocals, tack piano), S. Krivstov (bass guitar, backing vocals), C. Paxon (drums, backing vocals), E. Gorfain and The Section (strings), Jimmy Hogarth (acoustic guitar, keyboard), S. Skarbek (Mid 8 Rhodes), A. Ghost (backing vocals), "Gumby" Goodwin (electric guitar, backing vocals, slide guitar), M. Chait (sample guitar, electric guitar, guitar), G. Chambers (guitar feedback), Tom Rothrock (backing vocals, slide guitar), W. Vincent (bass guitar), Linda Perry (guitar), P. Ill (bass guitar), B. McCloud (drums).

The opening song appears to be a description of love lost and the pain of watching a beautiful sunrise on your own. "So Long, Jimmy" is a tribute to the late great Jimi Hendrix, along with Jim Morrison (member of The Doors) ^*. Blunt describes the song "Goodbye My Lover" as a death march, but refuses to give any further details. The lyrics in the final two tracks seem to reflect the time that Blunt spent in the military. Indeed, the final song on the album, "No Bravery", was written whilst Blunt was serving in war-torn Kosovo.

UK Chart Run

"Back To Bedlam" - UK Top 75 Albums Chart
Week	01	02	03	04	05	06	07	08	09	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	22	23	24	25	26	27	28	29	30
Position	56	73 (re)	71 (re)	53	34	16	11	4	5	4	3	2	2	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	3	1	2	4	3	3	2	5	5

UK Top 75 Albums Chart
Week	31	32	33	34	35	36	37	38	39	40	41	42	43	44	45	46	47	48	49	50	51	52	53	54	55	56	57	58
Position	8	8	14	14	10	7	4	2	2	2	1	3	6	3	2	3	7	10	10	12	16	18	23	23	31	33	37	37

Back To Bedlam was first released in October 2004. However, it didn't chart until late March 2005 (No. 56). It fell off the chart after a week, but then re-entered fourteen days later (No. 73), but then fell off the charts again. Due to the success of its single "You're Beautiful", the album re-entered for a second time at No. 71 in late April 2005. It eventually climbed to No. 1, as did "You're Beautiful". The album stayed there for 10 non-consecutive weeks, and was the best selling album of 2005 in the UK. By the end of the year, the album had sold 2.5 million copies and was certified 8x platinum. To date the album has sold 3.0 million copies, therefore is now certified 10x Platinum.

Where the album re-entered the charts, re is indicated under the chart position to show this.

US Chart Run

US Billboard 200
Week	01	02	03	04	05	06	07	08	09	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	22	23	24	25	26	27	28	29	30	31	32
Position	187	179	194	144	108	128	141	158	76	47	54	49	30	16	13	9	11	9	12	8	5	9	2	2	3	7	7	10	7	15	13	10

US Billboard 200
Week	33	34	35	36	37	39	40	41	42	43	44	45	46	47	48	49	50	51	52	53	54	55	56	57	58	59	60	61	62	63	64
Position	18	25	9	17	25	27	38	34

External links

Lyrics — Back to Bedlam Lyrics website

2004 albums | Debut albums | Australian number one albums