Alexander George Clare (born 14 September 1985) is an English singer and songwriter. His debut album, The Lateness of the Hour, produced by Mike Spencer and Major Lazer, was released in July 2011 on Island Records. He has since published four more albums, including an acoustic collection.
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 Best British Single at the 2013 Brit Awards."Brit Awards: Emeli Sande gets four nominations". BBC News. Retrieved 10 January 2013
Early life Alex Clare was born in London on 14 September 1985, the youngest of seven children. He grew up listening to his father's jazz records; Clare described the experience as a "...benefit of having a dad who was born in 1936... very much into bebop and cool jazz. I just loved it". From a young age, he was drawn to blues and soul artists such as Donny Hathaway and Stevie Wonder, which eventually led to interests in drum and bass, dubstep, and UK garage. Though he took up the trumpet and drums when he was young, he eventually placed an emphasis on guitar and songwriting, playing open mic nights with original material.
Career 2011–2012: Recording contract and The Lateness of the Hour Clare's debut album, The Lateness of the Hour, produced by Mike Spencer and Major Lazer, was released in July 2011 on Island Records. It spawned the singles "Up All Night", "Too Close", "Treading Water", and "Hummingbird".
On 19 May 2011, Reggie Yates made Clare's cover of Prince's "When Doves Cry" his Song of the Day. A day later, the Dutch radio station 3FM announced "Too Close" to be the "Megahit" of the week.
In March 2012, "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. "Too Close" peaked at number 4 on the UK Singles Chart in May 2012. In March, Island signed Clare to a distribution deal for The Lateness of the Hour to be released in the United States. Following disappointing sales and an inability to fulfill a support slot for Adele in 2012, Clare was dropped by the label.
In October 2014, ASCAP named Clare and Jim Duguid Songwriters of the Year for "Too Close".
2014–2018: subsequent albums and hiatus
In May 2014, Clare released the video for his single "War Rages On", the first from his second album, Three Hearts, which came out in August.
Clare issued his third studio album, Tail of Lions, in November 2016.
In September 2018, he published an acoustic album titled Three Days at Greenmount, which includes stripped-back versions of previous songs as well as unreleased tracks, recorded during a three-day studio session in Leeds in 2017.
2021–present: New single and Rebuild Again In October 2021, Clare released the single "Why Don't Ya", following a five-year hiatus from the music industry. He also revealed that he had been working on new songs with the songwriter/producer Jamie Hartman during the COVID-19 lockdown.
In 2024, Clare published the explicitly Jewish-themed album Rebuild Again, a collaboration with the Jewish organization Thank You Hashem.
Personal life Brought up in what he has described as a "very, very secular Jewish" environment, Clare became a baal teshuva to the Chabad branch of Orthodox Judaism in the mid-2000s. As such, he does not perform, travel, or work on Shabbat or on Jewish holidays. Clare also keeps a strictly kosher diet and maintains a schedule of Talmud study on tour.
In 2006, before gaining critical success, Clare dated the British singer Amy Winehouse (with whom he shared a birthday) for approximately one year.
In 2015, he and his wife moved to Jerusalem. As of 2016, they had two children together.
Discography Studio albums Title Album details Peak chart positions Certifications UKPeak chart positions for singles and albums in the United Kingdom: For all except where noted: "Treading Water": AUT BEL FRA GER SWI US The Lateness of the Hour Released: 8 July 2011 (UK) Label: Island Formats: CD, digital download 17 16 190 95 8 49 48 BPI: Gold BVMI: Gold Three Hearts Released: 11 August 2014 (UK) Label: Island Formats: CD, digital download 98 — — — 43 74 — Tail of Lions Released: 11 November 2016 (UK); 20 January 2017 (US) Label: ETC Recordings Formats: CD, digital download — — — — — — — Rebuild Again Released: 13 November 2024 Label: Farbrengable Studios 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 Title Year Peak chart positions Certifications Album UK AUT BEL CAN DEN FRA GER NL SWI US "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 AUT: 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 Title Year Peak chart positions Certifications Album UKPeak positions for the featured singles in the United Kingdom: For "Not Giving In": AUS BEL(FLA) BEL(WA) NL NZ "Not Giving In"(Rudimental featuring John Newman and Alex Clare) 2012 14 12 54 77 71 11 BPI: Gold ARIA: 2× Platinum RMNZ: 2× Platinum Home "Endorphins"(Sub Focus featuring Alex Clare) 2013 10 — 134 — — — BPI: Silver RMNZ: Gold Torus "Give It All"(Don Diablo featuring Alex Clare and Kelis) — — — — — — rowspan="4" "Living"(Bakermat featuring Alex Clare) 2016 — — — — — — "Heaven to Me"(Don Diablo featuring Alex Clare) 2018 — — — — — — "Hold On" (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 The 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 "Shine a Little Light"(Shine a Little Light featuring Alex Clare) 2016 Shine a Little Light
Music videos As lead artist Title Year Director(s) "Up All Night" 2010 Blake Claridge "Too Close" 2011 Ian Bonhote "Treading Water" Sam Pilling "War Rages On" 2014Alex Southam "Get Real" 2017 Shimmy Socol"Why Don't Ya"2021Indy Hait
As featured artist 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
References
External links