Cullum was born in Romford, East London. He was brought up in Hullavington, Wiltshire, and educated at the independent fee-paying Grittleton House School and the sixth form at Sheldon School. He then went on to study English Literature, and minored in Film Studies, at Reading University where he graduated with First Class Honours.
His mother, Yvonne, is a secretary of Anglo-Burmese origin, whose family settled in Wales after Burma's independence; his father, John Cullum, worked in finance. His paternal grandfather was a British Army officer, while his paternal grandmother was a Jewish refugee from Prussia who sang in Berlin nightclubs.
Cullum married British model Sophie Dahl at a country hotel in the New Forest National Park in England on 9 January 2010.
Cullum released his first album, Jamie Cullum Trio—Heard it All, in 1999, of which 500 copies were made. Due to their rarity, original copies have sold for as much as £600 on eBay. The success of Heard It All Before resulted in Cullum being invited to appear on Geoff Gascoyne's album Songs of the Summer.
After graduating from Reading University, Cullum released a best-selling album, Pointless Nostalgic, which stirred interest from Michael Parkinson[2] and Melvyn Bragg.
Just after Cullum made his first television appearance, on Parkinson in April 2003, he signed a £1m contract[3] for three albums with Universal, who beat Sony in a bidding war. Cullum's third album, Twentysomething, released in October 2003, went platinum and became the #1 selling studio album by a jazz artist in the United Kingdom. Cullum ended 2003 as the UK's biggest selling jazz artist of all time.[3]
Although primarily a jazz musician, he performs in a wide range of styles and is generally regarded as a "crossover" artist with his musical roots firmly based in jazz. Cullum draws his inspiration from many different musicians and listens to an eclectic mix of music from Miles Davis[4] to Tom Waits and many more. Cullum has belonged to several bands, ranging from banging drums in a hip hop group to playing guitar in rock bands such as Raw Sausage and The Mystery Machine, in his teenage youth. Cullum names his elder brother, Ben Cullum, as his biggest musical influence, and the two continue to collaborate extensively.
Cullum is well known not only for his abilities on the piano, but also for his unique entertainment style and charisma. One of the many things that features in Jamie's concerts is the "stompbox" (not to be confused with an effect pedal for guitars), made from a small wooden block. The stompbox is used to amplify a musician's tapping foot. Jamie found this in Australia and uses it to enhance upbeat and fast-paced songs such as Seven Nation Army originally by the White Stripes and "Gold Digger", originally by Kanye West. He is also often found using a looping machine. This plays a heavy part in Cullum's versions of Seven Nation Army and Teardrop by Massive Attack. Cullum is also often found beatboxing at most gigs.
As well as the White Stripes and Kanye West, Cullum has performed work by Massive Attack, Rihanna, Pussycat Dolls, Radiohead, Gnarls Barkley, Elton John, Justin Timberlake, John Legend, Joy Division, Lady Gaga and many others. He has also performed with Kylie Minogue, Sugababes, Will.i.am and Burt Bacharach.
Cullum rarely works to a set list and on average his gigs last just over two hours. The gigs are largely improvised, rooted in jazz but not solely consisting of jazz music.
Cullum has played at many large music festivals, including Glastonbury Festival (in 2004 & 2009), Coachella 2005, 2006 South by Southwest, North Sea Jazz Festival, the Hollywood Bowl (performing with the Count Basie Orchestra) and the 2006 Playboy Jazz Festival. On the April 29th 2006 Cullum played his biggest ever crowd on Queensday in The Netherlands.
Discography:
1999 - Heard It All Before
2001 - Pointless Nostalgic
2003 - Twentysomething
2005 - Catching Tales
2009 - The Pursuit
2010 - Devil May Care
2013 - Momentum
2014 - Interlude
2018 - The song society playlist
2019 - Taller
2020 - The pianoman at christmas
2021 - The pianoman at christmas (The complete edition)
Fascinating Rhythm
Jamie Cullum Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
That pitter pats through my brain
So darn persistent, the day isn't distant
When it'll drive me insane
Comes in the morning
Without any warning
And hangs around all day
And hope it listens when I say
Fascinating rhythm
You got me on the go
Fascinating Rhythm, I'm all a quiver
What a mess you're making,
The neighbors want to know
Why I'm always shaking,
Just like my grandmother.
Each morning I get up with the sun
To find at night no work has been done
I know that once it didn't matter,
But now you doing wrong
When you start to patter, I'm so unhappy.
Won't you take a day off,
Decide to run along
Somewhere far away off
And make it snappy.
Oh how I long to be
The man I used to be,
Fascinating Rhythm
Why don't you stop picking on me.
In the lyrics to Jamie Cullum's song "Fascinating Rhythm," the singer describes a persistent rhythm that they can't seem to escape. The rhythm is described as "pitter pats" that go through their brain and won't leave them alone. The singer notes that the rhythm comes without warning in the morning and stays with them all day. The singer hopes to one day speak up to the rhythm and make it stop, but for now, it's driving them "insane."
The chorus of the song repeats the phrase "fascinating rhythm" and describes how it has the singer "on the go" and "all a quiver." The singer notes that the rhythm is causing a commotion with their neighbors who wonder why they're always shaking, "just like [their] grandmother." The second verse further emphasizes how the rhythm is affecting the singer's productivity and causing them unhappiness. The singer pleads with the rhythm to "take a day off" and leave them alone.
Line by Line Meaning
Got a little rhythm, a rhythm a rhythm
I have a consistent beat inside my head
That pitter pats through my brain
The beat in my head is subtle yet persistent
So darn persistent, the day isn't distant
The beat is so consistent that it might drive me crazy soon
When it'll drive me insane
The beat in my head is so relentless that it could lead me to madness
Comes in the morning
The beat in my head starts early in the day
Without any warning
The beat has no apparent cause or reason
And hangs around all day
The beat persists throughout the day
I have to sneak up to it, some day I'll speak up to it
I have to approach it carefully, but eventually I will confront it
And hope it listens when I say
I hope that I can successfully communicate with this rhythm in my head
Fascinating rhythm
The beat in my head is intriguing and fascinating
You got me on the go
The beat is causing me to be active and busy
Fascinating Rhythm, I'm all a quiver
The beat is so engaging that it's causing me to shake with excitement
What a mess you're making
The beat is disrupting my life
The neighbors want to know
The beat is causing a disturbance that others are noticing
Why I'm always shaking,
The beat is literally causing me to shake
Just like my grandmother.
This shaking reminds me of my grandmother, who may have had a similar experience
Each morning I get up with the sun
I start each day early
To find at night no work has been done
Despite starting early, I find myself unproductive by the end of the day
I know that once it didn't matter,
There was a time when my lack of productivity didn't bother me
But now you doing wrong
The beat in my head is causing me to not get work done, which is detrimental
When you start to patter, I'm so unhappy.
When the beat in my head becomes pronounced, I become unhappy and unproductive
Won't you take a day off,
I wish the beat would cease for a day
Decide to run along
I want the beat to go away
Somewhere far away off
I want the beat to leave and not come back
And make it snappy.
I want the beat to leave quickly
Oh how I long to be
I have a strong desire to go back to how things used to be
The man I used to be,
I long to be the person I was before this beat became a constant presence in my life
Fascinating Rhythm
The beat is still fascinating, even if it's causing problems
Why don't you stop picking on me.
I wish the beat would stop affecting me so negatively
Lyrics © Songtrust Ave, Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: Ira Gershwin, George Gershwin
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind