James Blunt

It seems that most times James Blunt's actions may seem contradictory. The ex officer who has grown to dizzy heights

singing fatalistic ballads; the boy raised on boarding-school dinners who ended up chez Carrie Fisher in the Hollywood hills

while recording his first album, Back To Bedlam, and the genteel country Englishman who admits to his fantasies of being tied

to the bottom of a swimming pool with only mermaids to keep him company. Everything is a contrast, and this becomes all the

more obvious in live performances.

Following on from assaulting a thief with his NRJ Best Newcomer award trophy last month and ahead of this week's Brit

Awards, where he is nominated for five awards, he kicked off the first leg of his 2006 world tour. And Blunt managed just

about to pull off a rather charming performance while the PA system crashed and burned around him. I will concede that I was

sceptical at first of this puppy-eyed crooner and how well his voice would translate in a live show, and my initial

reservations were realised early on by video footage from his Kosovo peace-keeping days shown during his rendition of No

Bravery. The disturbing imagery was grossly misjudged and out of place at such a gig, and detracted from an achingly

beautiful song.

However, with such tunes as Wise Men, So Long Jimmy and Out of My Mind, I was soon spellbound by his haunting voice once

again. It is evident the captain has not only put a lot of heartfelt soul into his lyrics but also a lot of his cheeky-chappy

personality; another contradiction that is sure to make him a very familiar name to the world music scene.