James Blunt says he's never had a good review, well he's getting one now for his documentary James Blunt: One Brit Wonder which has just hit Netflix.
The 90-minute doc follows his 2022 tour, while frequently switching back in time to tell his back story. It's honest, funny, and at times moving as the self-deprecating pop star remembers how he suddenly became a national hate figure. Recalling quite how unpopular he got is the one point in the film where Blunt looks a bit lost for words and genuinely hurt.
And who can blame him? OK, his 2004 smash hit song 'You're Beautiful' might not be to everyone's taste, but the reaction to it from the press and some pop stars looks cruel looking back. Blunt comments: "It felt like I was just back at school and being bullied, but being bullied by a nation." Is being a posh singer who went to Harrow so bad?
Comedians mocked him, fellow musicians shunned him and the tabloids had a field day exposing his private life. Indeed one of the funniest moments of the documentary is his stoic father flicking through the press cuttings scrapbook he lovingly kept on his son. Getting to some lurid tabloid tales, he says: "Quite a lot of sleazy stories in those early days... which are better forgotten."
Blunt had his musical dream, achieving incredible success with his debut album 'Back to Bedlam', only to find his dream quickly turning into a nightmare. It’s worth noting just how popular his first album was. It sold over three million copies in the UK, which made it the bestselling album of the 2000s. He also had global success, including in the US.
One of the great advantages of the documentary is all the really early footage of Blunt. Indeed, there's so much it's like James knew someone would make a documentary of his life! Some of the most interesting is the footage of his pre-pop star days in the army. He jokes that to escape a wet training course in Wales he volunteered to go to Kosovo in 1999 as part of a NATO peacekeeping force at the height of the Kosovo War. James recalls a gripping race against the Russians to secure a key airport which might have led to World War Three. He also talks about the terrible things he saw and how he coped. His army experiences proved useful later in life in reminding him however bad the backlash got things could be a lot worse.
We also see footage of James in his second show in 2004 at Ipswich football stadium supporting Elton John. To the audience, James quips: "I know you haven't come here to see me, but my grandmother's here. So Granny, this song is called 'High', it’s about sex and drugs." One Ipswich lad who was there paying attention was a young Ed Sheeran and in the doc, the self-confessed "big fan" speaks about how much of an influence James has been.
Ultimately, James dealt with the constant Twitter trolling by fighting back with jokes. And gosh it's worked. Suddenly people saw another side to James. Maybe he wasn’t the posh drip they imagined to be.
I promise I only started singing when the police needed people to evacuate the train. https://t.co/i73m5ifQSqDecember 8, 2023
Give me a shout if this doesn’t work. @NZPolice https://t.co/AM2dZ6asMSFebruary 12, 2022
James Blunt: One Brit Wonder is on Netflix now.
