- Music
- 25 Jul 18
When the East Sussex-born singer/songwriter - known as Rory Charles Graham to the taxman - first burst into the mainstream last year, you'd have been forgiven for thinking he was the frontman with a grindcore band. Appearances are often deceptive though, and especially so in this case. Instead of screaming super-fast hardcore punk at the top of his lungs, the heavily tattooed 6 ft 5inch star, better known as Rag'N'Bone Man, broke charts and hearts with his soulful croon. His brooding ballads have turned him into a major pop star.
2017 was his year. Rag'N'Bone Man's debut album Human was a huge hit across the globe, selling an astonishing 2 million copies and counting - in his native UK, the record is now the fasting selling debut by a male artist this decade. It, of course, contains the chart-busting title track which has gone to No.1 on iTunes in over 40 countries, selling over 4.5 million units in the process; and another mega-hit, 'Skin', which has sold over 1.6 million globally too.
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On the live front, the double Brit Award winner has played sold-out shows across Europe, including two memorable nights at London's Shepherd's Bush Empire in April 2017, which affirmed his megastar status. That was followed by a summer of triumphant festival sets at Glastonbury, Isle Of Wight and Electric Picnic making him a household name. With all of that as background, it doesn't take either a crystal ball or a blood sacrifice to Mystic Meg to predict that Rag'N'Bone Man will rule 2018's festival season - and that his headline show at Trinity Summer Series will be something special. Is he really only human, after all? Those headed to the show tonight might find out. I'll get my coat...