Jake Bugg (born Jake Edwin Charles Kennedy on 28 February 1994) is an English singer-songwriter. His self-titled debut album, ''

Jake Bugg Jake Bugg (born Jake Edwin Charles Kennedy on 28 February 1994) is an English singer-songwriter. His self-titled debut album, ''Jake Bugg (album), Jake Bugg'', some of which was co-written with songwriter Iain Archer, was released in October 20 ...

'', some of which was co-written with songwriter Iain Archer, was released in October 2012 and reached number one on the

UK Albums Chart The Official Albums Chart is the United Kingdom's industry-recognised national record chart for album, albums. Entries are ranked by sales and audio streaming. It was published for the first time on 22 July 1956 and is compiled every week by the O ...

. His second album, '' Shangri La'', was released in November 2013 and his third, largely self-produced album '' On My One'', in June 2016. His fourth album '' Hearts That Strain'', a largely acoustic effort, produced by

Dan Auerbach Daniel Quine Auerbach (; born May 14, 1979) is an American musician, singer-songwriter, and record producer, best known as the guitarist and vocalist of The Black Keys, a blues rock band from Akron, Ohio. As a member of the group, Auerbach has ...

, was released in September 2017. After a gap of four years, in August 2021, Bugg released the more pop-influenced fifth album '' Saturday Night, Sunday Morning''.

Early life

Jake Bugg was born Jake Edwin Charles Kennedy in

Nottingham Nottingham ( , East Midlands English, locally ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area in Nottinghamshire, East Midlands, England. It is located south-east of Sheffield and nor ...

to musical parents who separated when he was young. His father, David Bugg, was a nurse, and his mother worked in sales, both parents having previously made recordings. He grew up in the Clifton council estate of Nottingham and started playing guitar at the age of 12 after being introduced to the instrument by his uncle Mark. He attended Farnborough School Technology College in Clifton. He has described a formative musical moment when, aged 12, he heard

Don McLean Donald McLean III (born October 2, 1945) is an American singer-songwriter and guitarist. Known as the "American Troubadour" or "King of the Trail", he is best known for his 1971 hit "American Pie (song), American Pie", an eight-and-a-half-minut ...

's " Vincent (Starry, Starry Night)" on an episode of ''

The Simpsons ''The Simpsons'' is an American animated sitcom created by Matt Groening and developed by Groening, James L. Brooks and Sam Simon for the Fox Broadcasting Company. It is a Satire (film and television), satirical depiction of American life ...

''. He was enrolled in a music technology course but, by the age of 16, he had dropped out and was writing and performing his own songs.

Career

2011: Beginnings

Bugg was selected to perform on the "BBC Introducing" stage at the

2011 The year marked the start of a Arab Spring, series of protests and revolutions throughout the Arab world advocating for democracy, reform, and economic recovery, later leading to the depositions of world leaders in Tunisia, Egypt, and Yemen ...

Glastonbury Festival The Glastonbury Festival of Contemporary Performing Arts (commonly referred to as simply Glastonbury Festival, known colloquially as Glasto) is a five-day festival of contemporary performing arts held near Pilton, Somerset, England, in most su ...

at age 16 after submitting material to their website, and subsequently signed to

Mercury Records Mercury Records is an American record label owned by Universal Music Group. It had significant success as an independent operation in the 1940s and 1950s. Smash Records and Fontana Records were sub labels of Mercury. Mercury Records released ...

. His songs were then placed on various BBC Radio playlists, with " Country Song" being used in a national TV beer commercial for Greene King IPA.

2012: ''Jake Bugg''

Bugg's self-titled debut album was released on 15 October 2012. Talking about Bugg and his debut, '' Clash'' hailed the "precocious talent fusing retro folk with blistering contemporary rock riffs". On 21 October 2012 the song " Two Fingers" charted at 28 in the UK while the album reached number one in the UK charts. The album has sold 604,100 copies in the United Kingdom and is the 57th best selling album of the 2010s decade. Bugg's touring band drummer Jack Atherton and bassist Tom "Robbo" Robertson performed on five songs on the album. On 22 May 2012, Bugg appeared on the BBC music programme '' Later... with Jools Holland''. In August 2012 Bugg was a supporting act for

Noel Gallagher's High Flying Birds Noel Gallagher's High Flying Birds are an English Rock music, rock band formed in 2010 as the solo moniker of Oasis (band), Oasis songwriter, guitarist, and vocalist Noel Gallagher. The touring band consists of former Oasis members Gem Archer ( ...

at Belsonic Music Festival, Belfast. On 1 October 2012, he performed live on the

BBC Radio 6 Music BBC Radio 6 Music is a British digital radio station owned and operated by the BBC. It primarily plays a wide range of alternative music, from established and emerging artists and bands. In 2002 it was the first national music radio station t ...

programme ''Live at Maida Vale''. In 2014, "Simple As This" was featured in the movie ''

The Fault in Our Stars ''The Fault in Our Stars'' is a novel by John Green. It is his fourth solo novel, and sixth novel overall. It was published on January 10, 2012. The title is inspired by Act 1, Scene 2 of Shakespeare's play ''Julius Caesar (play), Julius Caesar ...

''.

2013: ''Shangri La''

Bugg had been in Malibu working with

Rick Rubin Frederick Jay Rubin (, ; born March 10, 1963) is an American record producer. He is a co-founder of Def Jam Recordings, founder of American Recordings, and former co-president of Columbia Records. Rubin helped popularize hip hop by produci ...

and Iain Archer, and had had some interactions with

Chad Smith Chad Smith (born October 25, 1961) is an American musician who is the drummer of the rock band the Red Hot Chili Peppers. Smith has played with the Chili Peppers since 1988, appearing on ten of the band's studio albums and becoming the band's lo ...

from the

Red Hot Chili Peppers The Red Hot Chili Peppers are an American rock band formed in Los Angeles in 1982, consisting of Anthony Kiedis (vocals), Flea (musician), Flea (bass), John Frusciante (guitar), and Chad Smith (drums). Their music incorporates elements of a ...

, working on the drums to some of his songs, including the single " Broken". On 8 September 2013, Bugg tweeted, "2nd album done! Hope you're all well!" On 23 September 2013, Bugg announced his new album, ''Shangri La'', along with a new single, "

What Doesn't Kill You What does not kill me makes me stronger () is part of aphorism number 8 from the "Maxims and Arrows" section of Friedrich Nietzsche's ''Twilight of the Idols'' (1888). It is quoted or alluded to by many other works, with minor variants in wording. ...

". ''Shangri La'' was released on 18 November 2013. This album is named after the studio Bugg recorded it in. ''Shangri La'' includes

Elvis Costello Declan Patrick MacManus (born 25 August 1954), known professionally as Elvis Costello, is an English singer, songwriter, record producer, author and television host. According to ''Rolling Stone'', Costello "reinvigorated the literate, lyrical ...

's drummer Pete Thomas, and Chad Smith of the Red Hot Chili Peppers. The album has generally received positive reviews from the music community. Bugg was one of five nominees for the 2013 Brit Award for "British Breakthrough Act", which was voted on by

BBC Radio 1 BBC Radio 1 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. It specialises in modern popular music and Contemporary hit radio, current chart hits throughout the day. The station provides alternative genres at night, including ...

listeners. The award was won by

Ben Howard Benjamin John Howard (born 24 April 1987) is an English singer-songwriter, musician and composer. His self-released debut extended play (EP) ''Games in the Dark'' (2008) was followed by two more EPs, '' These Waters'' (2009) and '' Old Pine'' ...

. On 28 June, Bugg performed an afternoon set on the Pyramid Stage at the

2013 2013 was the first year since 1987 to contain four unique digits (a span of 26 years). 2013 was designated as: *International Year of Water Cooperation *International Year of Quinoa Events January * January 5 – 2013 Craig, Alask ...

, making him the first artist that has moved from the BBC Introducing Stage to the Main Pyramid stage in successive years. On 12 July, Bugg played the Radio 1 Stage at T in the Park. On 13 July he supported

The Rolling Stones The Rolling Stones are an English Rock music, rock band formed in London in 1962. Active for over six decades, they are one of the most popular, influential, and enduring bands of the Album era, rock era. In the early 1960s, the band pione ...

at Hyde Park in London. On 20 July, Bugg headlined at the Splendour festival in Nottingham. On 2 August, Bugg performed at the

Osheaga Festival The Osheaga Music and Arts Festival () is a multi-day music festival in Montreal, Quebec, that is held every summer at Parc Jean-Drapeau on Île Sainte-Hélène. The festival takes place on six stages with various audience capacities. Translated ...

in the Parc Jean-Drapeau, Montreal, Quebec. On 23–25 August, Bugg performed at the Reading and Leeds Festival on the Radio 1/NME stage. On 13 October, Bugg performed at the Fonda Theatre in Hollywood, California. The song "Me and You" was featured in the credits of the movie ''

Dumb and Dumber To ''Dumb and Dumber To'' is a 2014 American buddy comedy film produced, co-written and directed by the Farrelly brothers. It is the third film in the ''Dumb and Dumber'' franchise, and serves as a sequel to the 1994 film '' Dumb and Dumber''. T ...

''. That same month, he was also at the River Stage at Ottawa Bluesfest and performed at Paléo Festival near the

Lake Geneva Lake Geneva is a deep lake on the north side of the Alps, shared between Switzerland and France. It is one of the List of largest lakes of Europe, largest lakes in Western Europe and the largest on the course of the Rhône. Sixty percent () ...

Switzerland Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland ...

. His music was also featured in the movie ''

''. On 5 October 2014, at Cardiff, he played for the first time two new songs: "Down the Avenue" and "Hold on You". A new song, "Feel What's Good", was in the soundtrack of ''

The Giver ''The Giver'' is a 1993 young adult dystopian novel written by American author Lois Lowry and is set in a society which at first appears to be utopian but is revealed to be dystopian as the story progresses. In the novel, the society has take ...

''.

2016: ''On My One''

Speaking with NME in early 2015, Bugg said that he was working on his third album, of which "the content of the songs was much darker" than earlier work. On the 16 February 2016 he released free of charge a new song: " On My One". On 25 February, his new single " Gimme the Love" debuted on BBC Radio 1. Bugg also talked about the forthcoming album '' On My One'', announcing its release for June. On 26 February, he announced the album would be released on 17 June. He also shared the track list and revealed the artwork. In May 2016, a number of tour dates in London and Nottingham for June were announced. His 2012 single " Trouble Town" was used as the theme for each of the three BBC TV series '' Happy Valley'' broadcast in 2014, 2016 and 2023.

2017: ''Hearts That Strain''

On 2 August 2017, Jake Bugg's new single "How Soon the Dawn" was played on BBC Radio 1, hosted by

Annie Mac Annie Macmanus (born 18 July 1978), known professionally as Annie Mac, is an Irish DJ, broadcaster and writer. She hosted a variety of shows on BBC Radio 1, including BBC Switch and ''Future Sounds''. She also DJed in various locations, includ ...

. On 4 August, Bugg released the single on all platforms with a music video. He later announced his fourth studio album titled '' Hearts That Strain''. It was released on 1 September 2017. He will embark on an acoustic tour through November to support the new album. Jake Bugg also released a piano-laden song with

Noah Cyrus Noah Lindsey Cyrus (born January 8, 2000) is an American singer and actress. As a child actress, she voiced the titular character in the English dub of the film ''Ponyo'' (2008), and appeared in minor roles on shows including ''Hannah Montana'' ...

called "Waiting". In December 2018, Bugg signed to Sony's

RCA RCA Corporation was a major American electronics company, which was founded in 1919 as the Radio Corporation of America. It was initially a patent pool, patent trust owned by General Electric (GE), Westinghouse Electric Corporation, Westinghou ...

label in a bid to relaunch his career.

2021: ''Saturday Night, Sunday Morning''

On 26 October 2020, Bugg issued the single " All I Need". The song followed "Rabbit Hole" and "Saviours Of The City", the latter of which was the Nottingham singer-songwriter's first new music of 2020 when it was shared in April. He accompanied the release with a short film. On 19 March 2021, it was announced that Bugg was due to release his fifth album, '' Saturday Night, Sunday Morning'' in August 2021, featuring previously released singles "All I Need" and "Kiss Like the Sun". The album, his first effort under the Sony RCA label, was expected to be accompanied by a UK tour in Spring 2022. Bugg then joined

Liam Gallagher William John Paul Gallagher (born 21 September 1972) is an English singer and songwriter. He is the lead singer and co-founder of the rock band Oasis (band), Oasis and fronted the rock band Beady Eye from 2010 to 2014, before starting a succes ...

and John Squire as a special guest on their international tour, which commenced in March 2024 in promotion of their new self-titled album. Bugg played guitar on the Johnny Blue Skies album '' Passage du Desir'' in 2024.

2024: ''A Modern Day Distraction''

On 4 October 2024, Bugg released his sixth studio album ''A Modern Day Distraction'' under RCA Records. It was originally announced on 17 May 2024 to release on 20 September 2024, pre-order available, but the release date was pushed back for unknown reasons. With hints of

rock Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wale ...

and pop, this album features lots of guitars and a "lively, spontaneous feel." Bugg announced the dates of the Modern Day Distraction U.S tour, with tickets going on sale on July 19. There were four different shows with locations in New York, Illinois, Tennessee, and California, with dates in early to mid October, just days after the album was released. The lead single of the album, "Zombieland", and its official video were released the same day the album was announced, and was also the first song written on the album. Bugg said himself that he had started working on his seventh album, weeks before ''A Modern Day Distraction'' had come out.

Personal life and sponsorship

In April 2013, Bugg was reported to be in a relationship with English model, actress, and singer

Cara Delevingne Cara Jocelyn Delevingne ( ; born 12 August 1992) is an English model and actress. She signed with Storm Management after leaving school in 2009. Delevingne won Model of the Year at the British Fashion Awards in 2012 and 2014, and List of award ...

. In 2017, it was reported that Bugg was in a relationship with model Roxy Horner. The couple parted two years later. In June 2017, Bugg was confirmed as the shirt sponsor of his favourite and local football team,

Notts County Notts County Football Club is a professional association football, football club in Nottingham, England, which competes in EFL League Two, the fourth tier of Football in England, English football, following promotion and relegation, promotion ...

, taking the November slot in a season-long rotation. In September 2020 the club announced that Bugg would sponsor their away shirt during the 2020–2021 season.

Discography

Studio albums * ''

'' (2012) * '' Shangri La'' (2013) * '' On My One'' (2016) * '' Hearts That Strain'' (2017) * '' Saturday Night, Sunday Morning'' (2021) * ''A Modern Day Distraction'' (2024)

Television appearances

Awards and nominations

References

External links

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Bugg, Jake 1994 births Living people 21st-century English pianists English rock guitarists English rock pianists English rock singers English blues guitarists English male singer-songwriters Mercury Records artists Musicians from Nottinghamshire People from Clifton, Nottinghamshire 21st-century English guitarists NME Awards winners British indie folk musicians English male guitarists English male pianists 21st-century English male singers