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)
Photograph
Jamie Cullum Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Right next to her red, sunburnt face,
It all had happened in that long tall grass,
About a mile from her old place,
And I can't remember how it started and if it lasted that day in the sun.
We said that we were going to study hard,
We held our books instead of hands,
I can't deny I was so full of fear.
It's just another story caught up in another photograph I found.
And it seems like another person lived that life a great many years ago from now,
When I look back on my ordinary, ordinary life,
I see so much magic, though I missed it at the time.
When I look back on my ordinary ordinary, ordinary life,
I see so much magic, though I missed it at the time.
And there's the first time that I tried that stuff,
I think I look a little green,
I remember throwing up behind a bush,
And I found it hard to use my feet,
And who's that easily led little boy who's really off his head?
It was the same night that I kissed that girl,
The tall one with the auburn hair,
I remember laughing cause to kiss me,
The had to sit down on a chair!
She tasted like the schnapps she'd drunk,
And the cigarette she'd stolen from her mum.
And it's just another story caught up in another photograph I found.
When I look back on my ordinary, ordinary life,
I see so much magic, though I missed it at the time.
When I look back on my ordinary ordinary, ordinary life,
I see so much magic, though I missed it at the time.
The song "Photograph" by Jamie Cullum is a nostalgic reflection on the significant moments in the singer's past. The first verse describes the memory associated with a photograph of a girl. The photograph captures a moment in the past where they were in the long tall grass near her old place. The singer cannot remember the details of that day completely, but he remembers the girl's name and her sunburnt face. It suggests that this moment might have been a part of fleeting love or romance that took place under the sun.
The second verse talks about a different memory. This time the singer reflects upon an experience with a girl where they sat together holding books instead of hands, as they promised to study hard. The girl held a blanket over cans of beer, indicating that the moment was not appropriate and possibly underage by legal standards. The singer reflects that he was "full of fear," which could imply that he was afraid of reprimand or just nervous about the situation itself.
Overall, "Photograph" is a song that encourages us to look back at our lives and appreciate the magic that existed within it, though we may have missed it at the time. It is a message that reminds us to cherish our memories and appreciate the present.
Line by Line Meaning
Her name was written on a photograph,
He found a photo with her name on it.
Right next to her red, sunburnt face,
The photo showed her with a sunburnt face.
It all had happened in that long tall grass,
The event in the photo happened in tall grass.
About a mile from her old place,
The event happened about a mile from where she used to live.
And I can't remember how it started and if it lasted that day in the sun.
He can't remember how the event in the photo started or how long it lasted.
We said that we were going to study hard,
They made a promise to study hard.
We held our books instead of hands,
They held books instead of hands.
She held a blanket over cans of beer,
She covered cans of beer with a blanket.
I can't deny I was so full of fear.
He was afraid.
It's just another story caught up in another photograph I found.
The event in the photo is just another story he found in a photo.
And it seems like another person lived that life a great many years ago from now,
The person in the photo seems like a different version of himself from years ago.
When I look back on my ordinary, ordinary life,
Reflecting on his ordinary life.
I see so much magic, though I missed it at the time.
He realizes there was magic in his life that he didn't notice before.
And there's the first time that I tried that stuff,
It was his first time trying something.
I think I look a little green,
He looked sick.
I remember throwing up behind a bush,
He remembers throwing up behind a bush.
And I found it hard to use my feet,
He had difficulty standing or walking.
And who's that easily led little boy who's really off his head?
He questions who he was at that time.
It was the same night that I kissed that girl,
He kissed a girl on the same night.
The tall one with the auburn hair,
The girl he kissed had tall, auburn hair.
I remember laughing cause to kiss me,
He remembers laughing because the girl had to sit down to kiss him.
The had to sit down on a chair!
She had to sit on a chair to reach his height.
She tasted like the schnapps she'd drunk,
The girl tasted like schnapps she had consumed.
And the cigarette she'd stolen from her mum.
She had a cigarette she had taken from her mother.
When I look back on my ordinary, ordinary life,
Reflecting on his ordinary life.
I see so much magic, though I missed it at the time.
He realizes there was magic in his life that he didn't notice before.
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: JAMIE CULLUM
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
harrkur
When I look back on my ordinary, ordinary life,
I see so much magic, though I missed it at the time.
when I look back on my ordinary, ordinary life,
I see so much magic, though I missed it at the time.
And there's the first time that I tried that stuff,
I think I look a little green,
I remember throwing up behind a bush,
and I found it hard to use my feet,
and who's that easily led little boy who's really off his head?
It was the same night that I kissed that girl,
the tall one with the auburn hair,
I remember laughing coz to kiss me,
she had to sit down on a chair!
she tasted like the schnapps she'd drunk,
and the cigarette she'd stolen from her mum.
And it's just another story caught up in another photograph I found.
When I look back on my ordinary, ordinary life,
I see so much magic, though I missed it at the time.
When I look back on my ordinary, ordinary life,
I see so much magic, though I missed it at the time.
João Navarro
Pianista brilhante! Músico completo e uma inspiração gigante na fusão do jazz com o pop 👏👏👏
Ina Jai
Came back to this song because I remembered how beautiful and meaningful the lyrics are 😃
Michael Hosp
Love his songs <3
Martin Vlček
Poetic. Tender. Smart. Full of Energy.
Scott Wilcox
Love this song
ᜂᜐᜓ
wish someone would make a karaoke version of this song!, love this song so much!👌👌👌
cathybelle81
I just love this song.
Susanne Kirchharz
me too
J Walt
This is how I wish my first love could have been!
ぷいぷい
素晴らしい。