James Blunt spent over a decade working on one song

Virgin Radio

30 Dec 2021, 12:22

The idea for 'Love Under Pressure' had been in his mind for years.

James Blunt has released a greatest hits album, called 'The Stars Beneath My Feet', that features his biggest tunes as well as some new tracks.

It turns out that some of the tunes were easier than others to write, with one of them taking a whopping 12 years to craft.

He told Red magazine: “I’ve had the piano part in my head for 12 years.

“All of my mates would come over and ask if I could please play something new but I’d failed to make it into a complete song.”

He's been making music for two decades now and James thinks his songs are "stronger" for his experience.

However, he fears he has lost his "innocence" when it comes to songwriting.

He said: “I do think my songs are stronger nowadays than when I started out.

“But at the same time, with music, there’s a great beauty in naivety and innocence.

“I feel more competent as a songwriter now, but I also feel that the innocence has perhaps been stripped out of me.”

James has made a name for himself with his sharp humour and quick comebacks, however, he confessed Twitter critics did upset him at one point.

He said: “When I first put out music and I was very, very visible.

“It’s interesting that there can be 100 positives yet the one negative is the one we as humans always find ourselves gravitating towards and being most affected by.

“But I’ve always been of the thinking that if you don’t like something, don’t listen to it.

“You certainly get over it when you go to a show that night and a few thousand people turn up to hear your songs or you’re going on a tour bus around the world

"There are some massive bonuses. I live in Ibiza. I get into clubs for free. So I’ll take it.”