John Newman

Inspired by his mother's collection of Motown and Northern Soul records, John Newman's searing, powerful voice has taken him to the top of the UK charts and made one of the UK's most acclaimed young pop singers. Raised in the small town of Settle in the Yorkshire Dales, he moved to London after studying music in Leeds and was spotted by Island Records playing in small local bars. His keyboard player Piers Agget was also making electro-house with the then underground act Rudimental and when Newman lent his booming vocals to Feel The Love in 2012, the breakthrough single shot to Number 1. His love of 1990s house music came through again on Rudimental's track Not Giving In, before debut solo single Love Me Again and album Tribute (2013) both reached Number 1 and marked out Newman as a genuine soulful, dance pop star. Chronicling the break-up of a relationship and the trauma of being diagnosed with a benign brain tumour, the album drew influence from Mark Ronson, Otis Redding, Plan B and Marvin Gaye; and produced further hits Cheating and Losing Sleep.