James Blundell

b. 8 December 1964, Queensland, Australia. Blundell made a substantial mark on the Australian country music scene from the early 90s, notably through a very successful single, ‘Way Out West’, recorded with James Reyne and featured on Blundell’s 1992 release This Road. By the late 90s Blundell had become Australia’s bestselling country artist with albums such as Touch Of Water (1993) and Earth & Sea (1995). By the early 00s, Blundell’s work had broadened its base to incorporate elements of rock and pop, and he thus attracted an even wider audience than before. The anti-war single ‘Postcards From Saigon’ lodged in the Country Top 30 for four months and reached number 2 in the Australian Independent Singles Chart, where it spent three months. This song, which he wrote in collaboration with Terry McArthur, came from Deluge, a 2005 album that marked his return to prominence after a low-key spell that lasted a few years. Later in the year he presented his music together with prose writing by his father, farmer Peter Blundell: The Silver Tongued Devil & I: A Night Of Music And Verse. Among artists with whom Blundell has worked are Karl Broadie, Pru Clearwater, Diana Corcoran, J.J. Harris, Jedd Hughes, Mick King, Megan Laurie, Luke O’Shea, Felicity Urquhart and Eric Weideman. Over the years, he has won nine Country Music Association of Australia Golden Guitar Awards. He also succeeded in the USA, appearing in Nashville and signing a major label contract with Compass Records.