Newton Faulkner | |
|---|---|
 Faulkner performing in Cambridge in July, 2011 | |
| Background information | |
| Birth name | Sam Newton Battenberg Faulkner |
| Born | (1985-01-11)11 January 1985 (age 40) Reigate,Surrey, England |
| Genres | Folk rock,pop rock,indie rock,acoustic |
| Occupation(s) | Musician, songwriter |
| Instrument(s) | Vocals, guitar |
| Years active | 2006–present |
| Labels | Aware Records Sony BMG Battenberg Records[1] |
| Website | www |
Sam Newton Battenberg Faulkner (born 11 January 1985) is an English singer-songwriter and musician fromReigate,Surrey. He is known for his percussive style of guitar playing.[2]In 2007 Faulkner's debut studio albumHand Built by Robots was certified double platinum in the United Kingdom. The album topped theUK Albums Chart in August 2007. It was promoted by three singles, "Dream Catch Me", "I Need Something" and "Teardrop". "Dream Catch Me" reached number seven on theUK Singles Charts.[3]
Faulkner's second studio album,Rebuilt by Humans, was released in 2009 and charted at number 3 on the UK Albums Chart.[3] After an accident to his right wrist,[4] he said that he had "been put back together again by humans". An EP titledSketches was released in April 2012, followed by a third studio albumWrite It on Your Skin, which was released in July 2012 and reached number one on the UK Albums Chart. Faulkner's fourth album,Studio Zoo, was released in 2013 and reached number ten on the chart; the recording of the album was displayed through alive stream.[3] His fifth studio album,Human Love, was released in November 2015; Faulkner cut off hisdreadlocks during the recording of the album to re-invent his appearance.[citation needed]
In 2016, Faulkner was cast as Johnny in the musicalAmerican Idiot,[5] which is based on songs from the bandGreen Day. He played the role on the UK Tour, and continued in the role when the show returned to theWest End at theArts Theatre in July 2016.[6] This was followed by the release of his sixth album,Hit the Ground Running, in 2017. In November and December 2018, Faulkner starred as theSung Thoughts of the Journalist in the40th anniversary musical version of Jeff Wayne'sWar of the Worlds.[citation needed]
In December 2018, a Christmas-themed track called "Wake Up" was previewed on his website to promote the forthcoming release ofThe Very Best of Newton Faulkner...So Far, featuring 31 songs: selected songs from his six studio albums, three new tracks, and recordings of "all the covers I play live, from 'Bohemian Rhapsody' to 'Send Me on My Way' and a track I promised myself I'd never record!"[7][8] Faulkner released his seventh album,The Interference (Of Light) in 2021. The album was recorded inisolation during theCOVID-19 pandemic and through a live stream, similar toStudio Zoo.[citation needed]
Faulkner is the second child of Sally and Keith Faulkner. He has an older brother, Toby Faulkner and a younger sister, Charlotte (Lottie) Faulkner.[9] Faulkner attendedthe Hawthorns School inBletchingley, Surrey. He began playing guitar at the age of 13 (after a few attempts at thedrums andpiano) and attended theItalia Conti Academy of Theatre Arts. He grew his trademark reddreadlocks at age 15. He then moved on to theAcademy of Contemporary Music inGuildford in 2002, where he spent two years gaining both diploma and the higher diploma award under the tutelage ofEric Roche.[citation needed]
His first band was aGreen Day cover band, in which he played bass guitar.[citation needed] His experience on the stage grew as he formed 'Half A Guy', a funk rock group, with bandmates Matt Buchanan (credited in Newton'sHand Built by Robots tab book), Dave Elvy and Nicola Crawshaw. 'Half A Guy' recorded two demo CDs and lasted two years before splitting.[citation needed] He then spent time recording and playing gigs under the name Newton Battenberg Faulkner, including the Lapagestock festival on 11 June 2005.[citation needed]
Faulkner made appearances in 2006 onBBC Radio 2 and he secured a Publishing deal with Peermusic UK who asked theIndependent on Sunday to tell its readers to "watch this face".[10] Faulkner performed at the 2006South by Southwest music festival and atGuilfest 2007.
He subsequently signed withSony BMG records and in July 2007 he released his début albumHand Built By Robots. He supportedJames Morrison on his February UK tour,Paolo Nutini on his UK tour in April, andJohn Mayer on his September dates in the UK. He also supportedThe John Butler Trio on a number of European dates.
In 2007, Faulkner's debut studio albumHand Built by Robots was certified double platinum in the United Kingdom.Hand Built By Robots made No.1 in the UK Album Chart in August 2007. He released three singles from the album, "Dream Catch Me", "I Need Something" and "Teardrop". "Dream Catch Me" was selectedJo Whiley'sPet Sound on her dailyRadio 1 show and made No.7 on the UK Singles Charts. This gave the track exposure and was highly commented on by listeners to Jo's show by SMS and e-mail. On 29 July, "Dream Catch Me" reached No. 7 in theUK Singles Chart.His fourth single from the album, a cover ofMassive Attack's "Teardrop", was released in December 2007. A new video for "I Need Something" was released in March along with a United States version of the video for "Dream Catch Me".
Faulkner has performed at several major UK summer music festivals. In 2007 and 2008 he played atGlastonbury Festival,V Festival,Connect Music Festival 2007, atRadio 1's Big Weekend 2008,Lollapalooza 2008 in Grant ParkChicago,Oxegen inIreland and at theIsle of Wight Festival 2008.[11]
Faulkner released his second studio album,Rebuilt by Humans, in 2009, which made No.3UK Albums Chart.On a video blog streamed live from Newton Faulkner's website on 22 June 2009, he stated that the new album would be calledRebuilt By Humans. In December 2008, Faulkner slipped on some ice and badly injured his wrist, into which doctors fitted a metal plate. Effectively, he explained, he had "been put back together again by humans".[citation needed] The first single from the album was "If This Is It" and released in September 2009.[citation needed]
In 2009 Faulkner played atLatitude Festival,Cois Fharraige in the Republic of Ireland, and at theCrossing Border Festival in theNetherlands, which was his last performance for theRebuilt By Humans launch tour.
In 2010, "Dream Catch Me" was featured in the US filmShe's Out of My League. In early 2010, Faulkner featured on theHamish & Andy radio show in Australia, playing "I Hate Mondays" (which Faulkner wrote the music for and which was arranged byHarry Connick Jr and written by Michael "Horgs" Horgan), and this song charted at No.1 on the Australian AppleiTunes Store. Faulkner again performed at several UK festivals –Glastonbury Festival 2010,OxegenIreland,T in the Park 2010 inScotland,Latitude Festival 2010, and the Beautiful Days music festival in Devon. In October 2010, he played a surprise set at the ACM Awards show at Indig02 at theO2 Arena inLondon and in November 2010, he appeared at the 'Christmas Lights switch-on' inBarnstaple.
Faulkner took part in the 2010-2011Edinburgh New Year'sHogmanay Celebration.[12]
In 2011 he played at "Movistar Summer Experience" in Pinamar,Argentina in February and at the 'Beach Break Live' in Wales. Faulkner headlined the 'Avebury Rocks Charity Concert' in July 2011, and this event raised money for a Cancer Charity theLove Hope Strength Foundation.In July 2011, he played at theCambridge Folk Festival. In 2011 Faulkner performed at the Bath Forum as a part of the 'International Guitar Foundation'.
In 2011, a portrait of Faulkner painted by British artistJoe Simpson was exhibited around the UK including a solo exhibition atThe Royal Albert Hall.[13]
Also in 2011, his track "Over and Out" was covered by the Irish vocal pop groupWestlife and was included in the band's second major compilation album and twelfth major overall albumGreatest Hits.
An EP namedSketches was released on 17 April 2012 and contained three new tracks. It was taken off iTunes on 21 April 2012,[14] and was updated and re-released on 21 May 2012.
At several shows on his 2012 tour, Faulkner announced that his third studio album would be titledWrite It on Your Skin, and a track called "Clouds" would be the album's first single.[15] In June 2012, "Clouds" receivedBBC Radio 1 airplay.Write It on Your Skin was released on 9 July 2012 and reached number one on the UK Albums Chart.[3]
Faulkner performed two live gigs at Edinburgh'sThe Edge Festival in August 2012 withReverieme. In September he played at Weyfest. In the Autumn of 2012, Newton and his brother Toby co-wrote several tracks withJanet Devlin for her upcoming debut album.[16]
In 2012, Faulkner played a UK wide tour for his albumWrite It on Your Skin, and in 2013 he toured Australia.
The recording of Faulkner's fourth albumStudio Zoo was being streamed live online,24/7 for five weeks from 11 June 2013, with regular updates on the social networks. His home studio in East London was set up with four cameras, to follow every detail of recording the album..
I am as excited as I am terrified by the prospect of having a house full of cameras film me while trying to record an album. The entire recording process will be streamed live and nothing has been recorded in advance – apart from some particularly good hand claps recorded in Paris. The album will be made before your very eyes, no tricks, no producer and no engineer, just me, a guitar and a few surprise guests.[17]
On 16 June 2013 Faulkner played the main stage at theIsle of Wight Festival 2013 with live streaming as part of the Studio Zoo project. He played "Dream Catch Me", "I Need Something", "Brick by Brick", "Orange Skies" and a cover ofQueen's "Bohemian Rhapsody", among others.[18]
The albumStudio Zoo was released on 26 August 2013. It debuted at no. 10 at UK Albums Chart, becoming Faulkner's fourth top 10 studio album.
Faulkner's fifth studio album,Human Love, was released on 20 November 2015.[19] A music video for the album's lead single,[20] a cover ofMajor Lazer's song "Get Free", was released the same day and featured a live take of Newton cutting off the long dreadlocks that had been a part of his instantly recognisable image since his teens. A second single, "Up Up and Away", was subsequently released and accompanied by a video featuring choreographed dance routines performed while Newton jogged along a river bank.[21]
Newton's sixth studio album was released on 1 September 2017. The opening track "Smoked Ice Cream" is a track that he had played live for years that had no title until a suggestion was shouted out from a crowd at a gig[22] Shortly before the release of Hit The Ground Running, Newton recorded an acoustic version of the fullHand Built by Robots album, and released it on YouTube as a video album, showing him playing each song in a different setting in and around his house[23] with each song segueing into the next in the same way and in the same order as the original record.
