Rory Charles Graham (born 29 January 1985), known professionally as Rag'n'Bone Man, is an English singer. He is known for his deep

baritone A baritone is a type of classical music, classical male singing human voice, voice whose vocal range lies between the bass (voice type), bass and the tenor voice type, voice-types. It is the most common male voice. The term originates from the ...

voice. His first hit single, "

Human Humans (''Homo sapiens'') or modern humans are the most common and widespread species of primate, and the last surviving species of the genus ''Homo''. They are Hominidae, great apes characterized by their Prehistory of nakedness and clothing ...

", was released in 2016, and his first album ''Human'' was released in 2017. The album became the fastest selling debut album by a male in the UK for the decade and has since achieved 4×

Platinum certification Music recording certification is a system of certifying that a music recording has shipped, sold, or streamed a certain number of units. The threshold quantity varies by type (such as album, single, music video) and by nation or territory (see ...

. At the

2017 Brit Awards Brit Awards 2017 was held on 22 February 2017 and was the 37th edition of the British Phonographic Industry's annual pop music awards. The awards ceremony were held at The O2 Arena in London. Emma Willis hosted ''The Brits Are Coming'', the laun ...

, he was named British Breakthrough Act and received the Critics' Choice Award and went on to receive a further Brit Award for Best British Single with the title track in 2018. Following the album's success, Rag'n'Bone Man performed at headline shows and festivals around the globe and collaborated with a variety of artists from different genres, including

Bugzy Malone Aaron Daniel Davies (born 20 December 1990), known professionally as Bugzy Malone, is a British rapper and actor from Manchester, England. Malone has been described as one of the key artists instigating a "grime revival" moving the UK urban ...

Logic Logic is the study of correct reasoning. It includes both formal and informal logic. Formal logic is the study of deductively valid inferences or logical truths. It examines how conclusions follow from premises based on the structure o ...

, and

Calvin Harris Adam Richard Wiles (born 17 January 1984), known professionally as Calvin Harris (and sometimes under the stage name Love Regenerator), is a Scottish DJ, record producer, singer, and songwriter. His debut studio album, ''I Created Disco'' (2007 ...

. In May 2021, he released his second studio album, '' Life by Misadventure''. It debuted at 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 ...

and spent seven weeks in the top 10, making it the fastest-selling album by a solo artist in 2021 and gaining Gold certification in the UK.

Early life

Rory Charles Graham was born on 29 January 1985 in

Eastbourne Eastbourne () is a town and seaside resort in East Sussex, on the south coast of England, east of Brighton and south of London. It is also a non-metropolitan district, local government district with Borough status in the United Kingdom, bor ...

East Sussex East Sussex is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Kent to the north-east, West Sussex to the west, Surrey to the north-west, and the English Channel to the south. The largest settlement ...

. He has a younger half-sister. He attended the Ringmer Secondary School in

Ringmer Ringmer is a village and civil parish in the Lewes (district), Lewes District of East Sussex, England.OS Explorer map Eastbourne and Beachy Head Scale: 1:25 000. Publisher:Ordnance Survey – Southampton B2 edition. Publishing Date:2009. The vi ...

, from which he was expelled, and then enrolled at

Uckfield College Uckfield College (formerly Uckfield Community Technology College) is a community college situated in Uckfield, United Kingdom, UK. It has approximately 1,720 students, including 370 in the sixth form college. As of September 2023, Sara Marshall ...

in Uckfield. At the age of 15, he began MCing with a

drum and bass Drum and bass (commonly abbreviated as DnB, D&B, or D'n'B) is a genre of electronic dance music characterised by fast Break (music)#Breakbeat (element of music), breakbeats (typically 165–185 Tempo, beats per minute) with heavy Bass (music) ...

crew using the handle Rag 'N' Bonez, inspired by watching repeats of the

BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...

sitcom ''

Steptoe and Son ''Steptoe and Son'' is a British sitcom written by Ray Galton and Alan Simpson about a father-and-son rag-and-bone business in 26a Oil Drum Lane, a fictional street in Shepherd's Bush, London. Four series were broadcast by the BBC in black a ...

''. While at school, he was part of a group of youths supported by

The Prince's Trust The King's Trust (formerly the Prince's Trust) is a United Kingdom-based charity founded in 1976 by Charles III, King Charles III (then Prince of Wales) to help vulnerable young people get their lives on track. It supports 11-to-30-year-olds w ...

who developed a community project which involved painting and gardening in

Crowborough Crowborough is a town and civil parish in East Sussex, England, in the Weald at the edge of Ashdown Forest and the highest town in the High Weald AONB, High Weald Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. It is located south-west of Royal Tunbridge ...

. He still supports the local

Brighton and Hove Albion Brighton & Hove Albion Football Club, commonly referred to as Brighton, is a professional football club based in Brighton and Hove, East Sussex, England. The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football. Their home gro ...

football team.

Career

When he moved to

Brighton Brighton ( ) is a seaside resort in the city status in the United Kingdom, city of Brighton and Hove, East Sussex, England, south of London. Archaeological evidence of settlement in the area dates back to the Bronze Age Britain, Bronze Age, R ...

, his friend GI3MO formed the rap group Rum Committee and invited him to join them. He started performing at Slip-jam B, where he met people who helped him start his career. Over the next few years, they supported hip hop artists

Pharoahe Monch Troy Donald Jamerson (born October 31, 1972), better known by his stage name Pharoahe Monch, is an American rapper known for his complex lyrics, intricate delivery, and internal and multisyllabic rhyme schemes.Edwards, Paul, 2009, ''How to Rap: ...

and

KRS-One Lawrence "Kris" Parker (born August 20, 1965), better known by his stage names KRS-One (; an abbreviation of "Knowledge Reigns Supreme Over Nearly Everyone") and Teacha, is an American rapper from the Bronx. He rose to prominence as part of the ...

at Brighton's Concorde 2, and released their own album titled ''Boozetown'' (2012) through

Bandcamp Bandcamp is an American online music distribution platform founded in 2008 by Oddpost co-founder Ethan Diamond and programmers Shawn Grunberger, Joe Holt and Neal Tucker, with an office and record store in Oakland, California. Acquired by Epic ...

and other digital stores. Just weeks before the Rum Committee album release, Graham was asked to support

Joan Armatrading Joan Anita Barbara Armatrading (, born 9 December 1950) is an English singer-songwriter and guitarist. Her first major commercial success came with her third and fourth albums, '' Joan Armatrading'' (1976) and '' Show Some Emotion'' (1977), a ...

Brighton Dome The Brighton Dome is an arts venue in Brighton, England, that contains the Concert Hall, the Corn exchange, Corn Exchange and the Studio Theatre (Brighton), Studio Theatre (formerly the Pavilion Theatre). All three venues are linked to the rest o ...

. With no solo releases to his name to distribute on the night, he worked with Rum Committee producers GI3MO and Sherlock Bones to create his first official release, the eight-track EP ''Bluestown'' (2012), which included one feature from the rap artist Ceezlin.

2011–2015: ''Wolves'' and ''Disfigured''

In 2011, Graham started working with

UK hip hop UK rap, also known as British hip hop or UK hip hop or British rap, is a music genre and culture that covers a variety of styles of hip hop music made in the United Kingdom. The development of UK rap was shaped by a distinct set of regional inf ...

label

High Focus Records High Focus Records is an independent British hip-hop record label founded by rapper Fliptrix in 2010, following the collapse of Low Life Records. History In 2008, Fliptrix was in the process of releasing his first album on Low Life Records ...

, releasing a number of recordings with them such as a collaboration with MC and producer Leaf Dog titled ''Dog 'n Bone'' (2013) and a project with MC and producer Dirty Dike titled ''Put That Soul on Me'' (2014). Shortly afterwards, he began to collaborate with record producer

Mark Crew Mark Crew (born 21 February 1985) is a songwriter, record producer, and mix engineer based in London, known for his work with Bastille, Lovejoy, Rag'n'Bone Man, and the Wombats. Production and songwriting Crew produced the albums '' Bad Blood ...

, who at the time was working on

Bastille The Bastille (, ) was a fortress in Paris, known as the Bastille Saint-Antoine. It played an important role in the internal conflicts of France and for most of its history was used as a state prison by the kings of France. It was stormed by a ...

's debut album '' Bad Blood''. Graham signed a publishing deal with

Warner Chappell Music Warner Chappell Music, Inc. is an American music publishing company and a subsidiary of the Warner Music Group. Warner Chappell Music's catalog consists of over 1.4 million compositions and 150,000 composers, with offices in over 40 countries. ...

in 2013. In 2014, in collaboration with Mark Crew, Graham released the EP ''Wolves'' through Best Laid Plans Records, containing nine tracks with guests including rapper

Vince Staples Vincent Jamal Staples (born July 2, 1993) is an American rapper. Born in Compton, California and raised in Long Beach, California, he first became known for his appearances on projects by Odd Future members—''Earl (mixtape), Earl'' by Earl Sw ...

Stig of the Dump ''Stig of the Dump'' is a children's novel by Clive King which was first published in the United Kingdom in 1963. It is regarded as a modern children's classic and is often read in schools. It was illustrated by Edward Ardizzone and has been ...

, and

Kae Tempest Kae Tempest (formerly Kate Tempest) is an English spoken word performer, poet, recording artist, novelist and playwright. At the age of 16, Tempest was accepted into the BRIT School for Performing Arts and Technology in Croydon. In 2013, he w ...

. Graham, along with

Skunk Anansie Skunk Anansie are a British Rock music, rock band whose members include Skin (musician), Skin (vocals, guitar), Cass (bass, guitar), Ace (guitar) and Mark Richardson (musician), Mark Richardson (drums). Skunk Anansie formed in 1994, disbanded ...

, also featured on Bastille's third mixtape, '' VS. (Other People's Heartache, Pt. III)'', on the song "Remains". His follow-up in 2015, the EP ''Disfigured'', was also released through Best Laid Plans Records. The lead track "Bitter End" was playlisted on BBC Radio 1 Xtra, and made it onto

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 ...

's "In New Music We Trust" playlist.

2016–2020: ''Human''

Graham's first hit single, "

", was released on

Columbia Records Columbia Records is an American reco ...

in July 2016. It peaked at number one in the official singles charts in Austria, Belgium, Germany, and Switzerland. It was certified Gold in Austria, Belgium, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Sweden, and Switzerland. "Human" was used as the theme music to two

Amazon Prime Amazon Prime (styled as prime) is a paid subscription service of Amazon which is available in many countries and gives users access to additional services otherwise unavailable or available at a premium to other Amazon customers. Services inclu ...

streaming television Streaming television is the digital distribution of television content, such as films and television series, streamed over the Internet. Standing in contrast to dedicated terrestrial television delivered by over-the-air aerial systems, cable t ...

shows: ''

Oasis In ecology, an oasis (; : oases ) is a fertile area of a desert or semi-desert environmentTom Clancy’s Jack Ryan'' in 2018. It was in the official launch trailer for the video game '' Mass Effect: Andromeda'', in the trailer for the 2017 film '' Thank You for Your Service'', in the television series ''

Inhumans The Inhumans are a superhuman race of super beings appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The comic book series has usually focused more specifically on the adventures of the Inhuman Royal Family, and many people associat ...

'', and in the season 2 intro for the television series '' Into the Badlands''. The song was also used in an advertisement aired during

Super Bowl LVII Super Bowl LVII was an American football game played to determine the champion of the National Football League (NFL) for the 2022 season. The American Football Conference (AFC) champion Kansas City Chiefs defeated the National Football Confere ...

for the "

He Gets Us "He Gets Us" is an ongoing American religious advertising campaign formerly operated by the Servant Foundation. First launched in 2022, the campaign's stated goal is to "reintroduce people to the Jesus of the Bible". Its campaigns are design ...

" campaign, in the outro for the 9th episode of season 3 of ''

Ash vs Evil Dead ''Ash vs Evil Dead'' is an American comedy horror television series developed by Sam Raimi, Ivan Raimi, and Tom Spezialy for Starz. The series is set in the '' Evil Dead'' universe created by Raimi, with Bruce Campbell reprising his role a ...

'', and in the 16th episode of season 7 of the series '' Suits''. Graham's debut album, also titled ''

'', was released on 10 February 2017. The album opens with the song "Human", features the single "

Skin Skin is the layer of usually soft, flexible outer tissue covering the body of a vertebrate animal, with three main functions: protection, regulation, and sensation. Other animal coverings, such as the arthropod exoskeleton, have different ...

", and has tracks produced by Mark Crew,

Two Inch Punch Ben Ash, professionally known as Two Inch Punch, is an English record producer, musician, remixer and songwriter. He has written and produced records with Jessie Ware, Sam Smith, Years & Years, Rag'n'Bone Man, Tory Lanez, Ty Dolla $ign, Damon ...

, and

Jonny Coffer Jonathan Coffer (born 8 March 1989) is a British songwriter and record producer from London. He has written and produced for artists including Beyoncé, Kendrick Lamar, Lykke Li, FKA twigs, Naughty Boy, Emeli Sandé, Fall Out Boy, Weezer, Rita ...

. The album won the BBC Music Award for Album of the Year in 2017 and he was nominated for Artist of the Year. Later in 2017, Graham collaborated with British

virtual band In entertainment, a virtual band (also called a virtual idol, virtual singer, virtual group, virtual artists, cartoon group, cartoon idol, cartoon singer or cartoon band) is a band or music group whose depicted members are not people, but animate ...

Gorillaz Gorillaz are an English virtual band created by musician Damon Albarn and artist Jamie Hewlett in London, England in 1998. The band primarily consists of four fictional members: (vocals, keyboards), Murdoc Niccals (bass guitar), Noodle (gui ...

, appearing on the song "The Apprentice" from the deluxe edition of their fifth studio album ''

Humanz ''Humanz'' is the fifth studio album by British virtual band Gorillaz, released on 28 April 2017 by Parlophone in the United Kingdom and Warner Bros. Records in the United States. It was the band's first studio album released in seven years, fo ...

''. Graham also sang and co-wrote one of the songs, "Broken People", from

Will Smith Willard Carroll Smith II (born September 25, 1968) is an American actor, rapper, and film producer. Known for his work in both Will Smith filmography, the screen and Will Smith discography, music industries, List of awards and nominations re ...

's 2017

Netflix Netflix is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service. The service primarily distributes original and acquired films and television shows from various genres, and it is available internationally in multiple lang ...

film ''

Bright Bright may refer to: Common meanings *Bright, an adjective meaning giving off or reflecting illumination; see Brightness *Bright, an adjective meaning someone with intelligence People * Bright (surname) * Bright (given name) *Bright, the stage na ...

''. In January 2019, Graham collaborated with Scottish DJ and record producer

to record the song "

Giant In folklore, giants (from Ancient Greek: ''wiktionary:gigas, gigas'', cognate wiktionary:giga-, giga-) are beings of humanoid appearance, but are at times prodigious in size and strength or bear an otherwise notable appearance. The word ''gia ...

". It peaked at number two on the UK Singles Chart. He also collaborated with the Italian singer

Zucchero Fornaciari Adelmo Fornaciari (; born 25 September 1955), known professionally as Zucchero Fornaciari or simply Zucchero (), is an Italian singer, musician and songwriter. His stage name is the Italian word for "sugar", as his primary school teacher used to ...

to write the song "Freedom", for the album ''D.O.C.''

2021: ''Life by Misadventure''

In January 2021, Graham released " All You Ever Wanted", the lead single from his second studio album '' Life by Misadventure''. He then collaborated with

Pink Pink is a pale tint of red, the color of the Dianthus plumarius, pink flower. It was first used as a color name in the late 17th century. According to surveys in Europe and the United States, pink is the color most often associated with charm, p ...

for the second single from the album, " Anywhere Away from Here". Further singles from the album were "Alone", "Crossfire", and "Fall in Love Again". The album was originally going to be released on 23 April 2021, but was postponed to 7 May 2021. ''Life by Misadventure'' debuted at number one on the

and spent seven weeks in the top 10, making it the fastest-selling album by a solo artist in 2021 and gaining Gold certification in the UK.

2024: ''What Do You Believe In?''

Graham's third studio album, ''What Do You Believe In?'', was released on 18 October 2024. The title of the album stemmed from a conversation Graham had with his son about the death of Graham's mother.

Personal life

Graham has a son with ex-wife Beth Rouy. He lives in

Heathfield, East Sussex Heathfield is a market town and former civil parish, now in the parish of Heathfield and Waldron, in the Wealden District of East Sussex, England. The town had a population of 7,667 in 2021. Locals know it by "Heffle". Location Heathfield lies ...

Discography

* ''

'' (2017) * '' Life by Misadventure'' (2021) *''What Do You Believe In?'' (2024)

Accolades

Tours

Headlining

* Human Tour (2017) * Life by Misadventure Tour (2021–22) * What Do You Believe In? Tour (2024–25)

Supporting

Robbie Williams Robert Peter Williams (born 13 February 1974) is an English singer and songwriter. He found fame as a member of the pop group Take That from 1990 to 1995, launching a solo career in 1996. His debut studio album, ''Life thru a Lens'', was re ...

Live (2025)

References

External links

*
Rag'n'Bone Man at Discogs
{{DEFAULTSORT:RagnBone Man 1985 births Living people Brit Award winners Columbia Records artists English baritones English male singer-songwriters English singer-songwriters People from Uckfield Male pop singers Neo soul singers English blues singers 21st-century English singers 21st-century British male singers English soul singers