Matthew Jay
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Matthew Jay | |
|---|---|
| Born | 10 October 1978 Plymouth, England |
| Died | 25 September 2003 (aged 24) London, England |
| Genre(s) | Indie rock Folk-pop |
| Occupation(s) | Singer-songwriter |
| Years active | 1999–2003 |
| Label(s) | Capitol Records Food Records EMI |
| Website | Crooked Smile.com |
Matthew Jay (10 October 1978 – 25 September 2003) was an English singer-songwriter, who was often likened to artists such as Nick Drake,[1] Badly Drawn Boy,[2] and Jeff Buckley.
The son of two folk musicians,[3] he was born in Plymouth, England, and spent much of his childhood in Abergavenny, Wales.[1]
Contents |
[edit] Career
Jay began song writing in earnest aged 15, and at this time his primary influences included The Beatles, Queen, David Bowie and The Beach Boys.
In 1999, aged 20, he produced a demo of original songs, recorded with his older brother Eddy. This secured him a record deal with EMI-backed Food Records, and led to the commercial releases in 2000 of the critically acclaimed EPs Four Songs and Friendly Fire.
The next release was the debut album Draw, from which three singles were taken: "Let Your Shoulder Fall", "Please Don’t Send Me Away", and the infectiously cheery "Call My Name Out". It was the haunting "Please Don’t Send Me Away" which seemed to catch the attention of the media, who drew comparisons between Jay and English folk legend Nick Drake. Further press articles grouped him with Elliott Smith,[1][4] Jeff Buckley and David Gray.[5] GQ called the album "one of the most impressive debuts of recent times".[6]
However, after Draw was recorded, Jay’s creative influences were starting to change, and he was developing wider musical interests, partly due to his involvement in the club scene in Nottingham, the city to which he had relocated shortly after being signed.[4] In later interviews he cited hip-hop as a source of inspiration.[7]
At the tail end of 2002 Jay parted amicably from EMI, and began work on the songs which would form his second album. However, the work was not completed, as Jay died suddenly in the small hours of the 25th of September, in an unexplained fall from an apartment block in London.
Initially, assumptions were made regarding the manner of the singer's passing, with the only information made available to the public being a statement released by Jay's family which said that he had been alone at the time,[8][3] However, later it was revealed that in fact on the night of his death other people were present, and one of these is still being sought in order to obtain a statement. Furthermore, Jay was not known to have been depressed, and he had spoken cheerfully to his family earlier the same evening.[9] An inquest into his passing returned an open verdict.
[edit] Posthumous works
In August 2004, the independent record label Jays Music, with the backing of EMI, released an album of Matthew Jay rarities and early recordings. The collection, Matthew Jay: Too Soon, showcased many of the songs which brought the artist to the attention of EMI in the first place.
On 24 September 2006, "What Would Love Do Now?", one of the songs Jay had been working on shortly before his death, was released exclusively for download.
In June 2007, EMI gave the rights to the videos of all three Matthew Jay singles to Jay's family, and they in turn decided to make the videos available for download, and declared that all profits from the sale of these video downloads should go to the UNICEF Born Free from HIV campaign, as UNICEF was a charity that their son supported.
A further album of previously unheard material was completed in August 2007, and this, together with a new video are planned for late 2007.
[edit] Discography
[edit] EPs
- Four Songs (Jan 2000 in UK) Format: CD
- Friendly Fire (May 2000 in UK) Format: CD
- Four Minute Rebellion EP (2000 in USA) Format: CD
[edit] Singles
- "Let Your Shoulder Fall" (March 2001 in UK) Format: CD/Vinyl
- "Please Don't Send Me Away" (June 2001 in UK) Format: CD/Vinyl
- "Call My Name Out" (Nov 2001 in UK) Format: CD/Vinyl
- "What Would Love Do Now" (Sept 2006, new previously unheard new song) Format: digital download release only
[edit] Albums
- Draw (April 2001 in UK – EMI) Format: CD
- Draw (re-released version in UK June 2001 – EMI) Format: CD
- Draw (USA edition August 2001 – EMI) Format: CD
- Too Soon (August 2004 memorial album of rarities and early songs – EMI/Jays Music Ltd) Format: CD
[edit] References
- ^ a b c Matthew Jay biography. BBC. Retrieved on 2007-06-30.
- ^ Baker, Kenneth; et al (2003-12-28). Passages 2003: This year saw the loss of giants in the arts and entertainment worlds. SFGate. Retrieved on 2007-06-30.
- ^ a b Matthew Jay plunges from window. Virgin Megamagazine (2003-10-01). Retrieved on 2007-06-30.
- ^ a b Matthew proves quite a "draw". BBC (2001-04-09). Retrieved on 2007-06-30.
- ^ Goh, Daryl (2001). Draw. The Star (Malaysia). Retrieved on 2007-06-30.
- ^ Brock, Brady (2005-05). Matthew Jay: Too Soon. In Music We Trust. Retrieved on 2007-06-30.
- ^ Ladouceur, Liisa (2001-06-28). Matthew Jay's rap sheet. Eye Weekly. Retrieved on 2007-06-30.
- ^ Matthew Jay biography. BBC Wales. Retrieved on 2007-08-27.
- ^ Simmonds, Jeremy (2006). Number One in Heaven: The Heroes Who Died for Rock 'n' Roll. London: Penguin Books, 506. ISBN 0141022876.
