JAMES HUNTER

James Hunter, born October 2nd 1962, is one of the best soul singers to emerge from Britain in the late 20th century. Hunter's music, influenced by his idols Jackie Wilson and Sam Cooke, echoes the atmosphere of fifties and sixties soul music. Rhythm & blues and rock & roll are also strongly represented on his records.

In the 80's James Hunter started his career as Howling Wilf and with the Veejays, Hunter's backing band, he released 2 albums before calling it a day in 1990. It stayed quiet for a while until James Hunter released '…Believe What I Say' in 1994. The album featured a guest appearance from Van Morrison. In the years that followed Hunter appeared on some of Van Morisson's albums and also joined him live several times.

In 2001, Hunter released 'Kick It Around' but it still did not result in mass success. A couple of years later, Hunter was noticed by the Go Records/Rounder label and he released 'People Gonna Talk' in 2006. This was the big breakthrough for the blue-eyed soul singer, as the album was nominated for a Grammy Award. After its release, James Hunter and his band were support act to Aretha Franklin and they toured the whole world.

In 2008, Hunter's album 'The Hard Way' was released and met with very positive reviews. In the retro soul scene, James Hunter is a very welcome addition next to Duffy and Amy Winehouse.