In more news that will no doubt get Roger Waters’ panties in a bunch, singer-songwriter James Blunt rocked Tel Aviv last night. And he liked it.
In his first-ever concert in Israel, the 40-year-old, tousled-hair singer played his best hits and some lesser- known works to a cheerful crowd.
“Shalom Tel Aviv!,” he shouted out to the appreciative throng, following it up with “ma nishma?” “It’s a thrill to be in such a special country that I’ve heard so much about from so many friends,” he said.
Blunt is currently on a global tour for his fourth studio album, Moon Landing, which was released in 2013, but none of his recent music has come close to topping the success of his first album, 2004’s Back to Bedlam. That CD – and its most-famous single, “You’re Beautiful” – launched Blunt, a former officer in the British army who served in Kosovo, into the spotlight, and he hasn’t looked back.
Switching rapidly between keyboard and a variety of guitars, the energetic Blunt sung his biggest hits, including “You’re Beautiful,” “1973,” “Bonfire Heart” and “Goodbye My Lover” with his distinctly smooth and slightly raspy voice. The fans packed into the arena easily sung along to even many of his lesser- known tracks.
In a casual T-shirt and jeans, Blunt also kept the crowd laughing with his self-deprecating humor.
“Please sing along to this next song because you’re the cheapest backup singers I could find,” he joked at one point. Later he introduced a new song, “Smoke Signals,” (which he released in November on an extended re-release of Moon Landing) amid applause, but he warned, “Don’t cheer yet – you haven’t heard it. I might f**k it up.”
James also posted a photo of him and his band touring Jerusalem.
Meanwhile, an Israeli uploaded quite a bit of footage from the concert.
