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)
Introduction to London Skies
Jamie Cullum Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Clear cut and pale on a cold winter's day,
Shapes and cool light wander the streets like an army of strays,
On a cold winters day.
Chorus:
Will you let me romanticize,
The beauty in our London Skies,
You know the sunlight always shines,
Patient moments chill to the bone under infinite greys,
Vision hindered mist settling low like a ghostly ballet,
On a cold winter's day.
Chorus
Bridge:
Nothing is certain except everything you know can change,
you worship the sun but now,
can you fall for the rain...
Chorus
The song Introduction To London Skies by Jamie Cullum paints a beautiful yet melancholic picture of London in winter. The lyrics describe the city as a place where shapes and cool light wander the streets like an army of strays, imparting a sense of emptiness and loneliness in the atmosphere. The refrain of the song, "Will you let me romanticize the beauty in our London Skies," is a plea to the listener to see beyond the grim exterior of the city and appreciate the beauty that lies within.
The chorus makes use of the metaphor of the sunlight always shining behind the clouds of London Skies. This metaphor implies that despite the gloom and the greyness of the city, there's always hope and beauty to be found. The bridge of the song talks about the fleeting nature of things and how nothing is certain. It's a reminder to the listener to appreciate the present moment and to recognize that change is inevitable. The lyrics underscore the idea that even though change can be daunting, it can also be beautiful and transformative.
Line by Line Meaning
Paint a picture,
Describing a visual scene with words
Clear cut and pale on a cold winter's day,
The image is clear and easy to see, but it is cold and colorless
Shapes and cool light wander the streets like an army of strays,
The shapes and colors in the city are aimless and wandering like strays
On a cold winters day.
Reiterating the setting of the scene
Will you let me romanticize,
Asking permission to view the scene with a romanticized lens
The beauty in our London Skies,
Acknowledging the beauty of the London sky
You know the sunlight always shines,
Despite the clouds, the sun still shines
Behind the clouds of London Skies.
Explaining that the sun is merely hidden by the clouds
Patient moments chill to the bone under infinite greys,
The cold and colorless day seems to drag on endlessly
Vision hindered mist settling low like a ghostly ballet,
The misty air feels like a ghostly dance that makes it hard to see
On a cold winter's day.
Reiterating the setting of the scene
Nothing is certain except everything you know can change,
Reminding us that things can change unpredictably
you worship the sun but now,
Previously reliable sources of comfort might not be reliable anymore
can you fall for the rain...
Asking the listener to embrace something new and unexpected
Chorus
Reiterating the beauty of the London sky and the hope that lies within it
Contributed by Peyton W. Suggest a correction in the comments below.