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If you haven’t heard of Alex Clare yet, that’s understandable. The British singer-songwriter has only released one album (which only came out in the U.K.) and has just recently started getting buzz in the States. But we’re telling you about him now, because trust us, he’s gonna be big.
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Clare, who is from London, got his start playing open mic nights. In 2010, the musician got the attention of Island Records in the U.K. by sending in a demo. The label eventually signed Clare and released his debut album in July of 2011. The disc, The Lateness of the Hour, was notably produced by Mike Spencer and Major Lazer. The album’s first single was a catchy number called “Up All Night.”
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Although Clare has since left Island Records, one track from his album, “Too Close,” recently began getting attention in the U.S. After the song appeared in a Microsoft Internet Explorer commercial, (which you have definitely seen) it debuted at No. 68 on the Billboard Hot 100 and made it to No. 4 on the U.K. Singles Chart last month. Listen below:
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Thanks to the success of “Too Close,” Clare was offered a label deal with Universal Republic in the States (they re-released his album on iTunes a few months back). Now, he is working on a new EP. The musician is making the disc with synth artist James Greenwood, who’s played with bands like Death in Vegas. He also told Billboard that he hopes to tour in the U.S. this year. As for getting dropped from his label? Clare told Billboard, “They’re very good at developing acts, they just kind of hit a wall. Promotion has to kind of have a free will. I’ve got a big debt of gratitude to Microsoft.”
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One other notable fact about Clare is he’s actually one of Amy Winehouse’s ex’s. The pair dated in 2006, while Winehouse was on a break from then-ex Blake Fielder-Civil. Clare told Billboard that there are no songs inspired by Winehouse on his album, but she was very important to him. He said, “There were a lot of emotions there that obviously didn’t end up at the time it was happening, but we got to a very good place. We stayed friends above all.”
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Still curious? Check out more from Alex Clare at his Myspace Radio channel here.
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