Alex Clare

Alexander George Clare (born 14 September 1985) is an English singer and songwriter. His debut album, The Lateness of the Hour, was released in the UK on 8 July 2011 on Island Records and was produced by Mike Spencer and Major Lazer.

His biggest hit, "Too Close", peaked at number 4 on the UK Singles Chart and number 7 on the US Billboard Hot 100. The song was nominated for the Brit Award for Best British Single at the 2013 Brit Awards.

Early life Clare was born in London on 14 September 1985. He grew up listening to his father's jazz records;

Clare attended Bishop Challoner School in Bromley and then Westminster Kingsway College from 2002, studying for an National Vocational Qualification (NVQ) in catering.

Career A demo earned him a deal with the Island label in the UK. His debut album, The Lateness of the Hour, produced by Mike Spencer and Major Lazer A day later, the Dutch radio station 3FM announced single "Too Close" to be the '3FM's Megahit of that week.

On 21 June 2011, Clare performed at the Queens' College, Cambridge May Ball. On 14 August 2011, Clare performed at the Summer Well festival in Buftea, Romania. Following the disappointing performance of the album, Clare was dropped from his record contract with Universal Island in the UK.

In March 2012, Clare's song "Too Close" was featured in several Internet Explorer 9 advertisements. Following its use, the song debuted at number 68 on the US Billboard Hot 100, and later reached number 7, becoming his first top 10 hit. Clare saw success on the German charts too, reaching number one. On 13 May 2012, Clare's song peaked at number 4 on the UK Singles Chart. Soon after the song appearance in charts, Universal Republic signed Clare to a distribution deal that allowed The Lateness of the Hour to be released in America in March 2012. In mid-2012, it was announced that Universal Republic was going defunct moving artists from its roster to Republic Records including Alex Clare.

In May 2014, Clare released the video for his single "War Rages On" as the lead single from his second album Three Hearts, which was released on 11 August 2014. "War Rages On" has also served as the title sequence to the popular BBC Drama, Our Girl. On 8 October 2014, ASCAP named members Alex Clare and Jim Duguid Songwriters of the Year for "Too Close".

In October 2016, Clare's first single from his debut album, "Up All Night" was used as the opening theme for BBC Three science-fiction series Class.

In November 2016, he released the album Tail of Lions. The name is based on a Jewish proverb emphasizing correctness over power.

It was announced in July 2018 that Clare would be releasing an acoustic album called Three Days at Greenmount, to be released on 14 September 2018. The album, which features stripped-back versions of previous songs as well as unreleased tracks, was recorded during a three-day studio session in Leeds over the summer of 2017.

In October 2021, Clare released a new single, "Why Don't Ya", through ONErpm. The song, a ballad written for his wife following a personal tragedy, marked the end of a five-year hiatus from the music industry. Clare also revealed that he had been working on new songs with songwriter/producer Jamie Hartman during the COVID-19 lockdown and was planning a new EP for early 2022.

Collaborations with other artists include: Diplo and Switch (2011) produced and co-wrote material on Clare's first album. Jeff Wayne and Liam Neeson (2012): Clare sang the role of Voice of Humanity (Thunder Child) on the album Jeff Wayne's Musical Version of The War of the Worlds – The New Generation along with Gary Barlow, Joss Stone and Liam Neeson. Aqualung and Dan Wilson (2014) cowrote material for Three hearts. Bakermat (2016): Clare was singer for the single Living. Don Diablo (2018): Clare was singer for Heaven to Me and Give it All. Jamie Hartman and Ivor Novello (2021). Cowriters for Why Don't Ya.

Personal life Brought up in what he has described as a "very, very secular" environment (though he always believed in God), in the mid-2000s. As such, he does not perform, travel or work on Shabbat or on Jewish holidays. He has said that he lost one record deal opportunity due to this observance, but has found other ways to continue his career successfully. Clare also keeps a strictly kosher diet and maintains a schedule of Talmud study on tour. He lost an album deal with Island Records because he had to turn down a radio concert for BBC in observance of the Sukkot holiday in October 2011.

He lived in Golders Green, an area in northwest London, before moving to Jerusalem in late 2015 together with his wife and daughter.

Released: 8 July 2011 (UK) Label: Island Formats: CD, digital download

BPI: Gold BVMI: Gold

Released: 11 August 2014 (UK) Label: Island Formats: CD, digital download

Released: 11 November 2016 (UK); 20 January 2017 (US) Label: ETC Recordings Formats: CD, digital download

"—" denotes a recording that did not chart or was not released in that territory.

Acoustic albums Title Album details Three Days at Greenmount Releases 14 September 2018 Label: ETC Recordings Formats: CD, digital download

Singles

As lead artist + List of singles as lead artist, with selected chart positions and certifications, showing year released and album name Title Year Peak chart positions Certifications Album UK DEN FRA SWI "Up All Night" 2010 — — — — — — — — — — The Lateness of the Hour "Too Close" 2011 4 5 36 14 29 9 1 33 12 7 BPI: Platinum BVMI: 3× Gold IFPI DEN: Gold IFPI SWI: Gold RIAA: 2× Platinum "Treading Water" 179 — — — — — 59 — — — "Hummingbird" 2012 — — — — — — — — — — "War Rages On" 2014 53 — — — — — — — — — Three Hearts "Never Let You Go" — — — — — — — — — — "Tell Me What You Need" 2016 — — — — — — — — — —Tail of Lions "Get Real" 2017 — — — — — — — — — —"Why Don't Ya"2021—————————— "—" denotes a recording that did not chart or was not released in that territory.

As featured artist + List of singles as featured artist, with selected chart positions, showing year released and album name Title Year Peak chart positions Certifications Album UK AUS BEL(FLA) NL "Not Giving In"(Rudimental featuring John Newman and Alex Clare) 2012 14 12 54 77 71 11 BPI: Gold RMNZ: 2× Platinum Home "Endorphins"(Sub Focus featuring Alex Clare) 2013 10 — 134 — — — BPI: Silver (Ilan Bluestone and Maor Levi featuring Alex Clare) 2021 — — — — — — "Thunder Child"(Jeff Wayne featuring Liam Neeson and Alex Clare) 2012 57 — — — — — Jeff Wayne's Musical Version of War of the Worlds: The New Generation "—" denotes a recording that did not chart or was not released.

Other appearances TitleYearAlbum "Give You Up"(Rudimental featuring Alex Clare) 2012 Home

TitleYearAlbum "Shine a Little Light"(Shine a Little Light featuring Alex Clare) 2016 Shine a Little Light

Music videos

As lead artist

As featured artist + List of music videos, showing year released and director Title Year Director(s) "Not Giving In"(Rudimental featuring John Newman and Alex Clare) 2012 Josh Cole

Awards and nominations Year Organisation Award Work Result2011 MOBO Awards Best Newcomer Himself UK Music Video Awards Best Pop Video – Budget "Relax My Beloved" 2013 Best Dance Video – UK "Not Giving In"(Rudimental featuring John Newman and Alex Clare) International Dance Music Awards Best Breakthrough Artist (Solo)Himself New Music Awards New AC Artist of the Year Echo Music Prize Best International Newcomer BRIT Awards British Single of the Year "Too Close" 2014 ASCAP Awards Night Songwriter of the Year World Music Awards World's Best Video World's Best Male ArtistHimself World's Best Live Act World's Best Entertainer of the Year