Mr Hudson

Born and brought up in Birmingham, the young Ben Hudson (aka Mr Hudson and formerly know as Mr Hudson and the Library) allegedly grew up on a diet of New Kids On The Block and Michael Jackson which spurred him into wanting to be a pop star. Having become a dab-hand at hip-hop production, he created a completely new sound by merging R&B and pop. He formed The Library to play with him live - consisting of Wilkie Wilkinson (drums), Maps Huxley (bass), Joy Joseph (drums, vocals) and Torville Jones (keyboard) - and released his first record in October 2006 with an EP Bread & Roses, before embarking on a tour with Amy Winehouse. The group's debut album, A Tale Of Two Cities, arrived early 2007 and they continued to support the release with various festival appearances. However, it wasn't until he featured on Kanye West's 2008 album 808s & Heartbreak that Hudson's solo career took off and, after signing him to his G.O.O.D. Label, West returned the favour on single Supernova from Hudson's first solo album Straight No Chaser.