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)
Lover
Jamie Cullum Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Parading in a wake of sad relations as their shoes fill up with water
Maybe I'm too young to keep good love from going wrong
But tonight you're on my mind so you never know
I'm broken down and hungry for your love with no way to feed it
Where are you tonight, you know how much I need it
Too young to hold on and too old to break free and run
Fun
And he's much too blind to see the damage he's done
Cause sometimes a man must awake to find that really he has no one
So I'll wait for you and I'll burn
Will I ever see your sweet return
Oh will I ever learn
Oh lover, you should've come over
Cause it's not too late
Lonely is the room, the bed is made, the open window lets the rain in
Burning in the corner is the only one who dreams he had you with him
My body turns and yearns for a sleep that will never come
Fun
And he's much too blind to see the damage he's done
Cause sometimes a man must awake to find that really he has no one
So I'll wait for you and I'll burn
Will I ever see your sweet return
Oh will I ever learn
Oh lover, you should've come over
Cause it's not too late
Cause it's not too late
The opening lines of Jamie Cullum’s song “Lover” from the album “Twentysomething” paint a picture of a dreary and melancholic scene. Looking out of the door, the singer sees the rain pouring down on mourners at a funeral. As they parade in a wake of sad relations, their shoes are filling up with water. Despite the depressing scene, he cannot help but think about his lover. He considers himself too young to keep good love from going wrong but still has hopes of their love rekindling. The lyrics are poignant and reflective of a man grappling with his emotions.
The song’s chorus is about longing and waiting for the lover’s return. The singer feels broken down and hungry for his love but cannot seem to locate him. He is too old to break free yet young to hold on. Hence, he waits, burns, and wonders whether he will ever see his lover’s return. He is aware of the gravity of the mistake committed by his partner and his blindness to the damage caused. In the end, the singer understands that he was too late in expressing his love, and now all he can do is wait and hope.
Line by Line Meaning
Looking out the door I see the rain fall upon the funeral mourners
I see rain pour down on the mourners standing outside during the funeral.
Parading in a wake of sad relations as their shoes fill up with water
The family members of the deceased walk mournfully, water filling up their shoes.
Maybe I'm too young to keep good love from going wrong
Maybe I'm too inexperienced to prevent love failing.
But tonight you're on my mind so you never know
I'm thinking of you tonight, so anything could happen.
I'm broken down and hungry for your love with no way to feed it
I'm mentally exhausted and craving your love, but don't know how to satisfy it.
Where are you tonight, you know how much I need it
Where are you tonight? You know how much I crave your love.
Too young to hold on and too old to break free and run
I am stuck in a relationship that I can't keep, but also can't leave due to my age.
And he's much too blind to see the damage he's done
He is completely oblivious to the harm he has caused.
Cause sometimes a man must awake to find that really he has no one
Sometimes a person realizes they have nobody in their life when they wake up.
Lonely is the room, the bed is made, the open window lets the rain in
The room is empty and the bed is made, while the open window lets in the rain.
Burning in the corner is the only one who dreams he had you with him
The only person in the room is imagining having you by their side.
My body turns and yearns for a sleep that will never come
My body desires to sleep but is unable to, even if it wants to.
So I'll wait for you and I'll burn
I will keep waiting for you, even if it hurts me.
Will I ever see your sweet return
Will I ever have you back in my life again?
Oh will I ever learn
Will I ever understand why love is so difficult?
Oh lover, you should've come over
Oh, my love, you should have come to me earlier.
Cause it's not too late
Because it is not too late for us to be together once again.
Lyrics © Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd., Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: Jeffery Scott Buckley
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Xia Vang
Saw Jamie Cullum in concert many many years ago. Pure talent.
María Buttironi
Jamie has the virtue to make amazing covers without ruining the originals. <3
robyn Herrick
*Better :)
Nicolas Hopkins
@robyn Herricklmao sure buddy
Renata Rodriguez
Let the guy sing.. he knew he was never in a competition with Jeff, but he felt it, loved it, and found his own way to share it. Any fans of Jeff should be happy when someone with an audience shares his music. It touched too few before it was over, and Jamie's just passing it on here.
Mike
Well said Renata
Adam Taylor
I love the way that Jamie Cullum changed the entire feel of the song
IMO thats the best way to cover a song (in the same way that Jeff Buckley changed the feeling in Hallelujah)
PS I love both musicians
Adam Taylor
***** May I make a suggestion?
I think that the only thing that would make him role in his grave is hearing your sheer amount of anger at a cover song. Like really, grow up. Are you an edgy teen or something? THey are the only people who use the words "fucking faggot"...
Jamie took a much more minimalistic approach to this song than Jeff's original, and I like the fact that he hasn't straight up copied it. I think that if you want to cover a song, then change the way it feels or don't bother. That is especially true for a song written by Jeff as he had such an incredible voice that mimicking it will always disappoint.
Will Lenk
Idk about that it’s pretty similar tempo / rhythm section to the original and I think the same key. I think yes he “changed“ the feel, but that’s only to say he kind of vacated the emotional feeling of the vocal, which doesn’t really serve it well. But yea I mean, you’re right— no need to get upset that he was inspired enough and gave it a crack!
alysson santos
Loved this version ! Love you Jamie