Joel Pott

Joel Pott
Background information
Born (1979-01-20) 20 January 1979
Spilsby, Lincolnshire, England
Genres Indie
Instruments Vocals, synthesizer, guitar, keyboard, bass guitar, piano, drums
Years active 1999 - present
Labels Fiction Records (UK)
Parlophone (UK)
Astralwerks (US)
Associated acts Athlete, Shura

Joel Laslett Pott (born 20 January 1979 in Spilsby, Lincolnshire) is an English musician. He is the lead vocalist and guitarist of the indie band Athlete and an award-winning songwriter.

Biography

While a child, he was bought some drums by his parents. These ultimately "didn't work out" and he was then given a nylon string guitar at the age of six. In his teenage years, he listened to British bands such as Blur, Radiohead and Oasis. He has cited Blur guitarist Graham Coxon as an influence on his own playing of the instrument.[1]

Pott went to Trinity school in Stalybridge Greater Manchester and then to Hillcrest School in Bellingham, near Catford in London, later studying graphic design, photography and English for his A levels at the Brit School of Performing Arts and Technology.[2]

He considered attending the University of Edinburgh, but decided to move to Deptford, London, where he formed Athlete with childhood friends Carey Willetts, Steve Roberts and Tim Wanstall in 1999. Pott appeared on the BBC panel gameshow Never Mind the Buzzcocks on 15 November 2007.

Joel Pott; and his band Athlete have to date released four studio albums. These are Vehicles and Animals in 2003, which was nominated for a Mercury Music Prize award, Tourist in 2005, which reached number one in the UK Album Charts in its first week and included the band's highest charting song "Wires" at number four, Beyond the Neighbourhood in 2007 and Black Swan in 2009.

The band also have released three EPs which are titled Athlete, The Outsiders EP and The Getaway. The band have also released two live albums which includes a live recording from the band's show at Union Chapel performing their main hits stripped back to acoustic and more mellow titled Live at Union Chapel. The band's other live release was a ten-year anniversary live version of their debut album Vehicles and Animals Live recorded during a tour across the country.

The band continue to play occasional dates and small festivals whilst Joel has also been working with artists including George Ezra and London Grammar in writing songs. Athlete have stated that at this moment they do not intend to create a new album but have not ruled it out in the future.

Personal life

Pott married in 2000.[3] From the relationship he has three children including a daughter called Myla.[2] Although now healthy, she was born prematurely and is the subject of the Athlete song "Wires".[4] Pott also wrote a song "Black Swan Song" after the death of his grandfather in 2005, who fought in World War II.

Co-writing and production discography

Since 2011 Pott has co-written and produced tracks with a number of artists including George Ezra, London Grammar, James Bay, Gabrielle Aplin and Shura.[5] He was nominated for the 2015 Ivor Novello Awards as co-writer of the hit single 'Budapest' by George Ezra.[6]

Year Title Artist Album Credits
2013 "Salvation" Gabrielle Aplin English Rain Co-writer
2013 "Shyer" London Grammar If You Wait Co-producer
2014 "Touch" Shura Nothing's Real Co-writer, co-producer
"Spectacular Rival" George Ezra Wanted on Voyage Co-producer
2015 "Indecision" Shura Nothing's Real Co-writer, co-producer
"Need The Sun To Break" James Bay Chaos and the Calm Co-writer
"2Shy" Shura Nothing's Real Co-writer, co-producer
"White Light"
2016 "Touch" (featuring Talib Kweli)
"What's It Gonna Be?"
"The Space Tapes"
"Make It Up"
"(i)"
"Nothing's Real"
"Kidz 'N' Stuff"
"What Happened To Us?"
"(ii)"
"Tongue Tied"

References

  1. Fender Frontline Online - A cuppa and a chat with Athlete
  2. 1 2 The Independent - Interview: Athlete lead singer Joel Pott
  3. The Independent - Athlete: On their marks
  4. The Independent - Athlete: On top of their game
  5. http://jaxmanagement.co.uk/roster/124-joel-pott
  6. http://theivors.com/the-ivors-nominations-2015/
This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the 9/4/2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.