Graham Norton beat me to it.
Yes yes, I know my place. And anyway, never one to get ahead of myself I’m choosing to view that as a signpost to success and not (honestly, truly – keep saying it) something to be envious of.
Actually, I’d had in mind a feature with vocal harmony group Blake for some time. There was the collaboration with Dame Shirley Bassey and their contention for the Christmas number 1 spot; their chart-topping debut album which in itself earns them a spot in the annals of music history. Plus they seemed like an interesting bunch of guys – one of those groups you just know are going to have something to say that’s worth listening to. So I did the usual and dropped a line to their wonderful media agent to set up an interview.
And then do you know what? Over a beer or two in front of the telly one Friday night in December, who should troop onto Graham’s red sofa but Humphrey, Stephen and Ollie. Oh and Dame Shirley. Suddenly I’m playing second fiddle to Mr Norton and I’ll tell you what else. I’ve got two-thirds to his whole because while Ollie deemed it worthy of answering the call of the BBC – whoever they are – he felt unable to make it for me. Fine.
Seriously though, I’m okay with it. You see before I hammered out my first article for this site, my aim was to feature a guest list that wouldn’t be out of place on the prestigious couches of any of the leading chat shows. Once I’d hosted the likes of sports stars Sir Steve Redgrave and Lizzy Yarnold, internationally acclaimed authors Tess Gerritsen and Dean Koontz, and more, I began to realise I was on to something. So reverse polarity here and you’ll see what I mean about that signpost. If Graham’s entertaining their company, and so am I – well that’s not too shabby is it? Even if he did secure the full compliment..
Alright, alright I’ll get over it. Anyway Ollie’s absence aside, it’s revealing to chat to the other two thirds of Blake: Stephen Bowman and Humphrey Berney.
“We’ve had a pretty crazy time these last ten years,” Stephen begins when I ask about the high points of being part of a chart-topping, award-winning music act. “But my favourite moment of all was making our way up the ramp to the stage at the Royal Albert Hall to receive our Brit Award in 2008; it’s now in Ollie’s bathroom!”
Ollie…? Sorry, I don’t know the man.
In case you’ve been in a sealed mine shaft for the past few months, you might not have noticed Blake’s festive collaboration with Dame Shirley Bassey. Appropriately and, actually, rather originally named, ‘The Christmas Song’, the single was released in support of children’s charity Variety, an organisation Blake has been involved with for some time now.
“We were introduced to Variety the children’s charity by Caroline Monk, their celebrity relations manager,” Stephen explains. “We were asked to sing for one of their fundraising events back in 2009. That night we met the incredibly brave and positive youngsters that the charity helps. We all felt we would like to do a lot more to help Variety from that point. Since then I think we’ve sung at twenty or so events, both for fundraising and to the children directly. We will continue to help them in any way we can.”
And getting to work with Dame Shirley?
“It has been quite amazing working with Dame Shirley,” Humphrey explains. “The relationship first formed eight years ago when Blake performed at her 70th birthday. Fast forward to this summer and we met Dame Shirley at Variety, the children’s charity 70th birthday party. We were attending as we are ambassadors and Dame Shirley was guest of honour. We had a great catch up and mentioned we were making a Christmas album. She said she had always wanted to record a Christmas album and had never done so in her 60 year career! We asked to join us on ours, she said yes and the rest is history!”
So that’s it – that’s the secret to success in the music industry. Easy eh?
Not quite, says Stephen. “Life goals are by their very nature long won, and will evolve over time. Being in the music industry requires a steady head and a thick skin, there will be false starts and setbacks aplenty, but like so many other things in life: you have to be in it to win it!”
And speaking to the band’s newest member Humphrey, it’s clear that while waiting for your ship to come in is one thing, it sure helps to build a harbour first.
“I had been working in the music business for a couple of years before Blake formed so naturally I took notice when it was announced in the press. I had been recording with Hayley Westenra and Blake’s first producer, plus seen them perform at the rugby at Twickenham, so there were quite a few links. When the opportunity arose I contacted the group and said I would love to join. I instantly knew I would get on with the guys and musically/vocally it was a good fit so thankfully I was asked to join. It’s been a great journey.”
Speaking of musical evolution, I heard that Stephen has a layer or two of rock in his singing strata?
“It’s true that classical music wasn’t my first love. As a teenager I far preferred rock, pop and blues music, which I sang with bands and wrote in my spare time. I got into classical music quite late; the structure and grandeur of it fascinated me, but not the pompous world that surrounded it. I get the best of both worlds now, singing contemporary songs in unusual harmony arrangements, sometimes backed by full orchestra. I still record and write contemporary songs in my spare time and it may be something I return to in the future too.”
So we’ll be watching this space, even though I can’t figure out where in the schedule any of the band will find time to expand their genre. Life for such world-renowned performers is, as you might imagine, hectic.
“One day we are on tour in the UK,” Humphrey agrees, “the next recording, the next doing promo, the next flying to some far off country, the next walking along the Thames path with my dog or up in Norfolk.”
Not that he’d have it any other way.
“I love that variety. The idea of a normal day makes me feel anxious!”
In the course of my research I’ve discovered that like me, Stephen is keen on winter sports but my skiing and snowboarding skills display some margin for improvement, what with the lack of time to practise. So how on earth does he find the balance?
“We’ve always tried to get a balance between work and private time, although as performers we do tend to put career first because the window for opportunity in showbiz is limited by age, looks and energy levels! One of my favourite pastimes is riding motorbikes, which thankfully fits in with work quite well; I often ride to our UK tour shows. As for skiing, I adore it, but getting a week off can be tricky when countries overseas are trying to book us for tours and album promotion at most points in the year. Ultimately the only way to be assured of group time off is to book holidays together, at least six months ahead.”
Humphrey, too, seems to have taken the philosophical view on professional achievements versus leisure time.
“I’m now 35 and I think success changes with age. I am very happily married, I have a dog called Claude who is awesome and I sing for a living, so all is good! Achieving a balance is so important and often so hard. Financial stability is important and I have been an out of work singer so I know what it can be like. For me, success is happiness and that is different for everyone. I feel that I have achieved that at the moment. The balance is great and I am very aware as a musician/singer how fortunate I am to travel and perform in amazing places with wonderful people. Money is not success if you don’t enjoy the process of making it and you have to sacrifice too much to get it.”
So what’s the recipe for guaranteed celebrity status (yes, including an appearance on the Graham Norton Show) as well as a happy marriage and an awesome dog?
“Be ready for a roller coaster of emotion and hard work. There will be so many opportunities to choose the easy path and that will often be appealing. If you desperately want something then fight for it (but be realistic – if you have a bad voice you probably won’t be a successful singer even though there are a few who have managed it!) My sister died ten years ago and it confirmed to me life is too short to settle for something you don’t want to do or does not make you happy.”
And to contribute my own two-pence worth: recognise that moment when there’s nothing more to add, and stop writing.
My grateful thanks to Humphrey and Stephen and also to Sara French of Republic Media for her assistance in arranging this interview.
You can find out more about Blake (including some chap called Ollie who has something to do with the group) and their upcoming tours at www.blakeofficial.com
They can be found on Twitter at @TheBandBlake and Facebook at /thebandblake
Finally the current album In Harmony is available by clicking the image:
