James Blunt Announces 20th Anniversary Edition Of ‘Back To Bedlam’; UK Tour Dates
James Blunt has announced details of the forthcoming special remastered version of Back To Bedlam, one of the top ten best-selling albums of the Noughties. The album’s new edition will be out on 11 October, 20 years to the day of its initial release.
Blunt will also take to the road in February next year to embark on a special run of UK arena dates for the Back To Bedlam 20th Anniversary Tour, where he will perform the Back To Bedlam album in its entirety, along with other classic hits from his career. The tour will also mark James’ return to London’s O2 Arena on 16 February.
Included in this special 20th anniversary release comes a special version of the original album remastered for 2024 by Stuart Hawkes at Metropolis, in addition to previously unreleased demos of the core songs from the album, plus previously unreleased songs from the Bedlam era.
Physical formats include a single red recycled colour vinyl, 2 CD, 6 panel softpak with 16 page booklet, in addition to the album’s digital release.
In true James Blunt fashion, he explains; “I’ve released seven studio albums, but Back To Bedlam was the one people actually bought. So on its twentieth anniversary, the record label and I thought we should repackage it with some early demos, and milk it for all it’s worth. It was one of the biggest selling albums of the Noughties, so here’s hoping it makes a dent in the 20’s.”
Back To Bedlam featured the global smash hit You’re Beautiful and is one of the Top Ten best-selling albums of the Noughties. Blunt has since won two Brit Awards, two Ivor Novello Awards and has received five Grammy nominations.
Just last year, he released his seventh studio album Who We Used To Be. With “Tunes that press emotional buttons with military precision” (Financial Times) and Retropop Magazine hailing it as “His best in a long time”, Who We Used To Be was James’ first studio album since the acclaimed, Top 3 Once Upon A Mind in 2019. His recent greatest hits collection, The Stars Beneath My Feet, went Gold, selling over 100,000 copies, and James took on a world tour, and brought his show to arenas all across the globe.
Next year, James Blunt will play five dates across the UK, kicking off on 11 February in Belfast, and finishing on 16 February at London’s O2 Arena on February.
“I’ve been touring now for twenty years, and really, it’s only Back To Bedlam that people want to hear… so on that album’s twentieth anniversary, what better way to celebrate than to head out on the ‘Back To Bedlam 20th Anniversary Tour’!” Blunt said in a statement. “I’ll play all the songs from Back To Bedlam in full, from start to finish, and chuck in the better known songs from later albums to finish. It’s going to be, well, it pains me to say it… beautiful.”
Back To Bedlam 20th Anniversary Tour Dates: February 2025:
Tue 11th BELFAST, SSE Arena
Thu 13th LEEDS, First Direct Arena
Fri 14th GLASGOW, OVO Hydro Arena
Sat 15th MANCHESTER, Manchester AO Arena
Sun 16th LONDON, The O2 Arena