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)
For The Love
Jamie Cullum Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
My head's a TV
And you're on every channel
Did no one ever tell you bout the dirty truth?
We're all a bit mental
So write your history
As a pretty little work of fiction
We'll exhume a fable
You can, you can, you can shut your mouth
You can, you can, you can shut your mouth
'Cause everybody's fighting battles
That you don't know anything about
Come on, come on, take a look in my house
Every time I touch the piano I'm just full of doubts
Just another bit of secrecy
Every time you feel like giving up
Every time you'd swear you'd had enough
Just remember what you're dreaming of
But when you do it, you do it for the love
Yeah, when you do it, you do it for the love
Ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh
Ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh
This old sweater
Holds a trace of the bonfire
We threw your teenage diaries on to the flames
Too sad to remember
A patient memory
And a single neon tear
Watch it dance like grass in a hurricane
Through another year
I tried to hide my feelings for too long
I just wanted everyone to get along
'Cause everybody's fighting battles
Underneath another thunderstorm
Come on, come on, don't you wanna be heard
Your savior's just somebody who's been under-researched
Not just another bit of secrecy
Every time you feel like giving up
Every time you'd swear you'd had enough
Just remember what you're dreaming of
But when you do it, you do it for the love
Yeah, when you do it, you do it for the love
Love, love
When you do it, you do it for the love
Yeah, when you do it, may as well do it for the love
The lyrics to "A Time For Love" by Jamie Cullum are a powerful message about the struggles and complexities of life, and the importance of perseverance for the things you love. The song begins with the metaphor of the head as a TV, with the person speaking watching every channel - this represents the overwhelming and all-consuming nature of negative thoughts and emotions. Yet despite this, the singer urges the listener to see beyond their own battles and take a look at others' struggles as well - to understand that everyone carries their own burdens.
The second verse sees the singer reflecting on past memories and emotions. They describe a sweater that holds a trace of a bonfire, where they threw teenage diaries onto the flames, representing the pain of letting go of the past. The final lines of the song reinforce the message of the power of perseverance - that even in the midst of hardship, it is important to remember what you're dreaming of and do it for the love of it.
The lyrics are accompanied by a beautiful and melancholic piano melody that fits perfectly with the introspective and emotional nature of the lyrics. The song was released in 2003 as part of Jamie Cullum's "Pointless Nostalgic" album.
Line by Line Meaning
My head's a TV
My thoughts are constantly racing and changing, coming at me like different channels on a TV
And you're on every channel
You're always on my mind, no matter what I'm thinking about
Did no one ever tell you bout the dirty truth?
Has no one ever warned you about how difficult life can be?
We're all a bit mental
We all have our own issues and quirks that can make us a little crazy
So write your history
Document your life and experiences in a way that's meaningful to you
As a pretty little work of fiction
Create a story about your past that's beautiful and idealized, even if it's not entirely accurate
So many bones rattlin' in the coffin of your youth
There are a lot of experiences and memories from your past that still have an impact on you, even if they're buried deep down
We'll exhume a fable
We'll revisit those memories and experiences, but instead of dwelling on the past, we'll construct a new story around them
You can, you can, you can shut your mouth
You have the choice to keep quiet when you don't want to share your struggles or experiences
Cause everybody's fighting battles
Everyone is struggling with their own challenges in life
That you don't know anything about
Even if someone seems fine on the surface, you don't necessarily know what they're dealing with behind closed doors
Come on, come on, take a look in my house
Take a closer look at my life and what I'm going through
Every time I touch the piano I'm just full of doubts
I doubt myself every time I sit down to play the piano, despite my talent and success
Just another bit of secrecy
Another thing I keep to myself instead of sharing with others
Every time you feel like giving up
Whenever you reach a low point and feel like quitting
Every time you'd swear you'd had enough
Whenever you feel like you can't handle any more struggles or obstacles
Just remember what you're dreaming of
Remember your goals and aspirations and what's motivating you to keep going
But when you do it, you do it for the love
But ultimately, you pursue your passions and dreams out of a deep love for them
This old sweater
This piece of clothing that holds memories and emotions from the past
Holds a trace of the bonfire
It still smells like the fire it was near at one point
We threw your teenage diaries on to the flames
We got rid of something from the past that brought up painful memories
Too sad to remember
It was too difficult to keep those memories alive
A patient memory
A memory that's been carefully preserved and treasured
And a single neon tear
A single tear that's brightly colored and stands out against the darkness
Watch it dance like grass in a hurricane
Watch the tear move around and swirl around like a blade of grass caught in a windstorm
Through another year
Another year of life and experiences that have come and gone
I tried to hide my feelings for too long
I kept my emotions and struggles to myself for an extended period of time
I just wanted everyone to get along
I wanted to avoid conflict and maintain harmony among everyone around me
Underneath another thunderstorm
Through another difficult and challenging time in life
Come on, come on, don't you wanna be heard
Encouraging someone who's struggling to speak up and share their experiences with others
Your savior's just somebody who's been under-researched
Sometimes the people who have the most profound impacts on our lives are the ones who go unnoticed or unrecognized
Yeah, when you do it, you do it for the love
Reiterating that ultimately, we pursue our passions and dreams because of the deep love we have for them
Love, love
The ultimate force that drives us forward and compels us to keep going, even through difficult times
When you do it, you do it for the love
Restating the message of the song that when we do things we're passionate about, we do them for the love and fulfillment they bring us
Yeah, when you do it, may as well do it for the love
There's really no point in doing something if you're not doing it out of love or passion, so you might as well go all in on something you truly care about
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: Jamie Cullum, Jayson M. Dezuzio, Martin Terefe, Sasha Yatchenko
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind