Jake Bugg

Biography

Jake Bugg (born Jake Edwin Charles Kennedy on 28 February 1994) is an English singer-songwriter. His self-titled debut album, Jake Bugg, some of which was co-written with songwriter Iain Archer, was released in October 2012 and reached number one on the UK Albums Chart. His second album, Shangri La×Shangri La15 November 2013 · Studio albumSpotifyYouTube MusicTracklist · 12 tracks1There’s a Beast and We All Feed It1:432Slumville Sunrise3:003What Doesn’t Kill You2:084Me and You2:585Messed Up Kids3:006A Song About Love3:587All Your Reasons5:098Kingpin2:309Kitchen Table4:5510Pine Trees2:4511Simple Pleasures5:0212Storm Passes Away2:56, was released in November 2013, and his third, largely self-produced album, On My One×On My One17 June 2016 · Studio albumSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 11 tracks1On My One2:162Gimme the Love3:023Love, Hope and Misery4:014The Love We’re Hoping For3:095Put Out the Fire2:176Never Wanna Dance3:317Bitter Salt3:088Ain’t No Rhyme3:249Livin’ Up Country2:5810All That2:4211Hold on You3:03, in June 2016. His fourth album, Hearts That Strain×Hearts That Strain1 September 2017 · Studio albumSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 11 tracks1How Soon the Dawn2:482Southern Rain3:553In the Event of My Demise2:544This Time3:155Waiting3:116The Man on Stage3:177Hearts That Strain3:358Burn Alone2:409Indigo Blue3:2810Bigger Lover2:5711Every Colour in the World3:56, a largely acoustic effort produced by Dan Auerbach, was released in September 2017. After a gap of four years, in August 2021, Bugg released the more pop-influenced fifth album Saturday Night, Sunday Morning.

Early life

Jake Bugg was born Jake Edwin Charles Kennedy in Nottingham to musical parents who separated when he was young. His father, David Bugg, was a nurse, and his mother worked in sales, both parents having previously made recordings. He grew up in the Clifton council estate of Nottingham and started playing guitar at the age of 12 after being introduced to the instrument by his uncle Mark. He attended Farnborough School Technology College in Clifton. He has described a formative musical moment when, aged 12, he heard Don McLean's "Vincent (Starry, Starry Night)" on an episode of The Simpsons. He was enrolled in a music technology course but, by the age of 16, he had dropped out and was writing and performing his own songs.

2011: Beginnings

Bugg was selected to perform on the "BBC Introducing" stage at the 2011 Glastonbury Festival at age 16 after submitting material to their website, and subsequently signed to Mercury Records. His songs were then placed on various BBC Radio playlists, with "Country Song" being used in a national TV beer commercial for Greene King IPA.

2012: Jake Bugg

Bugg's self-titled debut album was released on 15 October 2012. Talking about Bugg and his debut, Clash hailed the "precocious talent fusing retro folk with blistering contemporary rock riffs". On 21 October 2012 the song "Two Fingers" charted at 28 in the UK while the album reached number one in the UK charts. The album has sold 604,100 copies in the United Kingdom and is the 57th best selling album of the 2010s decade. Bugg's touring band drummer Jack Atherton and bassist Tom "Robbo" Robertson performed on five songs on the album.
On 22 May 2012, Bugg appeared on the BBC music programme Later... with Jools Holland. In August 2012, Bugg was a support act for Noel Gallagher's High Flying Birds at Belsonic Music Festival, Belfast. On 1 October 2012, he performed live on the BBC Radio 6 Music programme Live at Maida Vale.

2013-14: Shangri La

Bugg had been in Malibu working with Rick Rubin and Iain Archer, and had had some interactions with Chad Smith from the Red Hot Chili Peppers, working on the drums to some of his songs, including the single "Broken×Broken21 June 2013 · SingleSpotifyYouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 1 track1Broken4:07". On 8 September 2013, Bugg tweeted, "2nd album done! Hope you're all well!" On 23 September 2013, Bugg announced his new album, Shangri La×Shangri La15 November 2013 · Studio albumSpotifyYouTube MusicTracklist · 12 tracks1There’s a Beast and We All Feed It1:432Slumville Sunrise3:003What Doesn’t Kill You2:084Me and You2:585Messed Up Kids3:006A Song About Love3:587All Your Reasons5:098Kingpin2:309Kitchen Table4:5510Pine Trees2:4511Simple Pleasures5:0212Storm Passes Away2:56, along with a new single, "What Doesn't Kill You". Shangri La was released on 18 November 2013. This album is named after the studio Bugg recorded it in. As well as Chad Smith, Shangri La includes Elvis Costello's drummer Pete Thomas. The album generally received positive reviews from the music community. Bugg was one of five nominees for the 2013 Brit Award for "British Breakthrough Act", which was voted on by BBC Radio 1 listeners. The award was won by Ben Howard.
On 28 June, Bugg performed an afternoon set on the Pyramid Stage at the 2013 Glastonbury Festival, making him the first artist that has moved from the BBC Introducing Stage to the Main Pyramid stage in successive years. On 12 July, Bugg played the Radio 1 Stage at T in the Park. On 13 July, he supported the Rolling Stones at Hyde Park in London. On 20 July, Bugg headlined at the Splendour festival in Nottingham. On 2 August, Bugg performed at the Osheaga Festival in the Parc Jean-Drapeau, Montreal, Quebec. On 23–25 August, Bugg performed at the Reading and Leeds Festival on the Radio 1/NME stage. On 13 October, Bugg performed at the Fonda Theatre in Hollywood, California. That same month, he was also at the River Stage at Ottawa Bluesfest and performed at the Paléo Festival near Lake Geneva in Switzerland.
In February 2014, Bugg performed at the Royal Albert Hall in London and was joined on stage by Johnny Marr and Michael Kiwanuka.
On 5 October 2014, at Cardiff, he played for the first time two new songs: "Down the Avenue" and "Hold on You". A new song, "Feel What's Good", was used on the soundtrack of the film The Giver.
Bugg's song "Simple As This" was featured in the film The Fault in Our Stars. The song "Me and You" was featured in the film Dumb and Dumber To.

2016: On My One

Speaking to NME in early 2015, Bugg said that he was working on his third album, of which "the content of the songs was much darker" than earlier work. On the 16 February 2016 he released free of charge a new song: "On My One×On My One17 June 2016 · Studio albumSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 11 tracks1On My One2:162Gimme the Love3:023Love, Hope and Misery4:014The Love We’re Hoping For3:095Put Out the Fire2:176Never Wanna Dance3:317Bitter Salt3:088Ain’t No Rhyme3:249Livin’ Up Country2:5810All That2:4211Hold on You3:03". On 25 February, his new single "Gimme the Love" debuted on BBC Radio 1. Bugg also talked about the forthcoming album On My One, announcing its release for June. On 26 February, he announced the album would be released on 17 June. He also shared the track list and revealed the artwork. In May 2016, a number of tour dates in London and Nottingham for June were announced. His 2012 single "Trouble Town×Trouble Town2 March 2012 · SingleSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 1 track1Trouble Town2:49" was used as the theme for each of the three BBC TV series Happy Valley broadcast in 2014, 2016 and 2023.

2017: Hearts That Strain

On 2 August 2017, Bugg's new single "How Soon the Dawn×How Soon the Dawn4 August 2017 · SingleSpotifyYouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 1 track1How Soon the Dawn2:48" was played on BBC Radio 1, hosted by Annie Mac. On 4 August, Bugg released the single on all platforms with a music video. He later announced his fourth studio album titled Hearts That Strain×Hearts That Strain1 September 2017 · Studio albumSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 11 tracks1How Soon the Dawn2:482Southern Rain3:553In the Event of My Demise2:544This Time3:155Waiting3:116The Man on Stage3:177Hearts That Strain3:358Burn Alone2:409Indigo Blue3:2810Bigger Lover2:5711Every Colour in the World3:56. It was released on 1 September 2017. He will embark on an acoustic tour through November to support the new album. Bugg also released a piano-laden song with the American singer Noah Cyrus called "Waiting".
In December 2018, Bugg signed to Sony's RCA label in a bid to relaunch his career.

2021: Saturday Night, Sunday Morning

On 26 October 2020, Bugg issued the single "All I Need×All I Need26 October 2020 · SingleSpotifyYouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 1 track1All I Need3:36". The song followed "Rabbit Hole×Rabbit Hole29 May 2020 · SingleSpotifyYouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 1 track1Rabbit Hole3:04" and "Saviours Of The City×Saviours of the City24 April 2020 · SingleSpotifyYouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 1 track1Saviours of the City2:12", the latter of which was the Nottingham singer-songwriter's first new music of 2020 when it was shared in April. He accompanied the release with a short film.
On 19 March 2021, it was announced that Bugg was due to release his fifth album, Saturday Night, Sunday Morning, in August 2021, featuring previously released singles "All I Need" and "Kiss Like the Sun". The album, his first effort under the Sony RCA label, was expected to be accompanied by a UK tour in Spring 2022.
Bugg then joined Liam Gallagher and John Squire as a special guest on their international tour, which commenced in March 2024 in promotion of their new self-titled album.
Bugg played guitar on the Johnny Blue Skies album Passage du Desir in 2024.

2024: A Modern Day Distraction

On 4 October 2024, Bugg released his sixth studio album A Modern Day Distraction×A Modern Day Distraction4 October 2024 · Studio albumSpotifyYouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 12 tracks1Zombieland2:422All Kinds of People2:473Breakout2:314Never Said Goodbye3:385I Wrote the Book3:156Waiting for the World2:427Instant Satisfaction3:258Got to Let You Go3:149All That I Needed Was You3:1710Keep on Moving2:5111Beyond the Horizon4:1212Still Got Time5:11 under RCA Records. It was originally announced on 17 May 2024 to release on 20 September 2024, pre-order available, but the release date was pushed back for unknown reasons. With hints of rock and pop, this album features lots of guitars and a "lively, spontaneous feel."
Bugg announced the dates of the Modern Day Distraction U.S. tour, with tickets going on sale on July 19. There were four different shows with locations in New York, Illinois, Tennessee, and California, with dates in early to mid October, just days after the album was released.
The lead single of the album, "Zombieland×Zombieland17 May 2024 · SingleSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 1 track1Zombieland2:42", and its official video were released the same day the album was announced, and was also the first song written on the album.
Bugg said himself that he had started working on his seventh album, weeks before A Modern Day Distraction had come out.

Personal life and sponsorship

In April 2013, Bugg was reported to be in a relationship with English model, actress, and singer Cara Delevingne. In 2017, it was reported that Bugg was in a relationship with model Roxy Horner. The couple parted two years later.
In June 2017, Bugg was confirmed as the shirt sponsor of his favourite and local football team, Notts County, taking the November slot in a season-long rotation. In September 2020, the club announced that Bugg would sponsor their away shirt during the 2020–2021 season.