James Blunt has announced a 20th anniversary reissue of ‘Back To Bedlam’, as well as details of a UK and European tour. Find out more details and buy tickets below.
READ MORE: James Blunt: “Occasionally I looked at myself and thought, ‘I’d punch you in the face’”
Announced today (May 22), the British ‘00s icon is set to re-release his iconic 2004 album ‘Back To Bedlam’ in celebration of the upcoming 20th anniversary.
Set to arrive on October 11 – exactly two decades since it first dropped – the reissue will see the same tracklist, including hits ‘You’re Beautiful’ and ‘Goodbye My Lover’, as well as a number of previously unreleased songs.
These include tracks titled ‘Standing All Alone’, ‘Close Your Eyes’, ‘Butterfly’, ‘Dancing Days’ and B-side track ‘Sugar-Coated’, all of which were recorded during the ‘Bedlam’ era, as well as demo versions of the tracks seen on the original album.
It also arrives just a year after Blunt dropped his latest studio album, ‘Who We Used To Be’.
“I’ve released seven studio albums, but ‘Back To Bedlam’ was the one people actually bought. So on its 20th anniversary, the record label and I thought we should repackage it with some early demos, and milk it for all it’s worth,” Blunt said of the re-release. “It was one of the biggest-selling albums of the ’00s, so here’s hoping it makes a dent in the ’20s.”
Check out the album artwork below as well as the tracklisting. Visit here to pre-order.
James Blunt ‘Back To Bedlam’ anniversary edition artwork. CREDIT: Press
The ‘Back To Bedlam’ reissue track list is:
1. ‘High (2024 remaster)’
2. ‘You’re Beautiful (2024 remaster)’
3. ‘Wisemen (2024 remaster)’
4. ‘Goodbye My Lover (2024 remaster)’
5. ‘Tears and Rain (2024 remaster)’
6. ‘Out Of My Mind (2024 remaster)’
7. ‘So Long, Jimmy (2024 remaster)’
8. ‘Billy (2024 remaster)’
9. ‘Cry (2024 remaster)’
10. ‘No Bravery (2024 remaster)’
11. ‘High (demo)’
12. ‘You’re Beautiful (demo)’
13. ‘Wisemen (demo)’
14. ‘Goodbye My Lover (demo)’
15. ‘Tears and Rain (demo)’
16. ‘Out Of My Mind (demo)’
17. ‘So Long, Jimmy (demo)’
18. ‘Billy (demo)’
19. ‘Cry (demo)’
20. ‘No Bravery (demo)’
21. ‘Sugar-Coated (bonus b-side)’
22. ‘Butterfly (bonus demo)’
23. ‘Dancing Days (bonus demo)’
24. ‘Close Your Eyes (bonus demo)’
25. ‘Standing All Alone (bonus demo)’
Alongside the new 2024 edition of the hit album, Blunt has also shared details of an upcoming tour across the UK and Europe to mark the milestone.
Set to kick off at the start of next year, the dates will launch with an opening night at the SSE Arena in Belfast on February 11, and continue two days later with a show at Leeds’ First Direct Arena.
From there, dates are lined up at Glasgow’s OVO Hydro Arena and Manchester’s AO Arena on February 14 and 15 respectively, before the tour concludes with a final stop at London’s O2 on February 16.
Later that month, Blunt will play shows in Belgium, France, Italy and Switzerland.
“I’ve been touring now for twenty years, and really, it’s only ‘Back To Bedlam’ that people want to hear… so on that album’s twentieth anniversary, what better way to celebrate than to head out on the ‘Back To Bedlam 20th Anniversary Tour’!” he explained. “I’ll play all the songs from ‘Back To Bedlam’ in full, from start to finish, and chuck in the better-known songs from later albums to finish. It’s going to be, well, it pains me to say it… beautiful.”
Tickets go on sale at 10am local time next Friday (May 31). Visit here to buy tickets and find a full list of shows below.
The ‘Back To Bedlam 20th Anniversary’ tour dates are:
FEBRUARY 2025
11 – Belfast, SSE Arena
13 – Leeds, First Direct Arena
14 – Glasgow, OVO Hydro Arena
15 – Manchester, Manchester AO Arena
16 – London, The O2 Arena
18 – Brussels, Forest National (Belgium)
20 – Paris, Adidas Arena (France)
22 – Bologna, Unipol Arena (Italy)
23 – Zurich, Hallenstadion (Switzerland)
Back in 2006 – two years after it dropped – ‘Back To Bedlam’ saw James Blunt receive NME’s award for Worst Album.
After years of asking for the trophy, he was given the statue during an interview with NME last November.
“No way, Oh my God,” he said during the interview as he was presented with the award, over 15 years after his win.
“I’m so thrilled, I’m so thrilled. That’s the best thing ever. Really, genuinely…I’m deeply, deeply touched. Thank you so much. That’s going beside every other award in the world and probably be the one I’m most proud of. NME thank you so much.”
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