Badly Drawn Boy

English singer-songwriter

This biography of a living person needs additional citations for verification. Please help by adding reliable sources. Contentious material about living persons that is unsourced or poorly sourced must be removed immediately from the article and its talk page, especially if potentially libelous.
Find sources: "Badly Drawn Boy" – news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR (June 2019) (Learn how and when to remove this message)

|

Badly Drawn Boy

Background information
Birth name| Damon Michael Gough
Born|  (1969-10-02) 2 October 1969 (age 55)
Dunstable, Bedfordshire, England
Origin| Bolton, Greater Manchester, England
Genres| Indie rock, indie folk, lo-fi
Occupation| Singer-songwriter
Instrument(s)| Guitar, vocals, bass, drums, percussion, banjo, piano, keyboards, harmonica
Years active| 1995–present
Labels| Twisted Nerve Records
XL Recordings (1998–2004)
EMI (2006–2008)
BDB Records/One Last Fruit (2009–present)
Website| badlydrawnboy.co.uk

Musical artist

Damon Michael Gough (born 2 October 1969), known by the stage name Badly Drawn Boy, is an English indie singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist.

Gough chose his stage name from a character in the show The Magic Ball,[1] which he saw on TV at a party in Trafford, Greater Manchester, in 1995. Before he thought of using this name he made some business cards, each one unique, with a printed picture of a drawing by his nephew and a small collage by Gough.

At the Generation X bar in Manchester, Gough met Andy Votel, who was DJing that night. Gough was there to attend friends Scott Abraham and Damon Hayhurst's contributions to an exhibition by the Space Monkey Clothing Company. The chance meeting led to the foundation of Twisted Nerve Records.

In 2002, Q magazine named Badly Drawn Boy in their list of the "50 Bands to See Before You Die," although this was as part of a sub-list of "5 Bands That Could Go Either Way" on account of Gough's tendency to talk and tell stories for extended periods in concert rather than play songs.

## History

[edit]

### Early years

[edit]

Gough, though born in Dunstable, Bedfordshire, grew up in the Breightmet area of Bolton, Greater Manchester, England. He cites Bruce Springsteen as his music hero.[2] His recording career began in September 1997 with the five track vinyl release "EP1". This was distributed among friends and family members.

In April 1998, Gough released his second EP, "EP2". This had one track less than its predecessor but twice as many copies were pressed. The highlight track, "I Love You All," was later transferred to a music box which was released alongside the EP. The box plays eleven seconds of the song and is considered much rarer than the record itself due to its limited production.

Gough's third EP, "EP3," was released in November 1998 on both CD and vinyl formats, and was the first release in what became a long-term partnership with XL Recordings. In the same year he collaborated with Unkle for their first album Psyence Fiction.[3] "Road Movie" was released as a live recording with the band Doves. The B-side to the single was another track from the EP, My Friend Cubilas. Music videos were recorded for both tracks.

### Mainstream success: 1999–2002

[edit]

It Came from the Ground was the next EP, released in March 1999 on CD and vinyl. The style of this recording focused on woodland environments, an aspect displayed in both the cover art and the title track's video. Also released during this period was the single "Whirlpool". An instrumental was released on vinyl in April 1999.

Gough's last EP, Once Around the Block, was released in August 1999 in two vinyl formats and one CD edition. The release is almost short enough to be considered a single.

Gough playing a show in the Urban Lounge, Salt Lake City, Utah. (March 2007)

Following the success of his early EPs, Gough's first album, The Hour of Bewilderbeast, was released in June 2000, accompanied by four singles (including a re-release of Once Around the Block).

The album was critically acclaimed and Badly Drawn Boy was successful in winning the 2000 Mercury Music Prize, beating his contemporaries Doves to the £20,000 prize. The album sold well (300,000 copies) and is widely considered to be his defining work.

The Badly Drawn Boy band throughout this successful period consisted of Matt Wardle (keyboards/vocals), Robin File (guitar), Sean McCann (bass guitar) latterly replaced by the ex-Smiths bass guitarist Andy Rourke, Dave Verner (drums).

After a short break, Gough returned to score the film adaptation of Nick Hornby's novel About a Boy. The movie was directed by Paul Weitz and Chris Weitz. Impressed by his past work, the Weitz brothers asked Gough to score the film, a task which he undertook alone, with the assistance of producer Steve McLaughlin. Three singles from the album were released during 2002.

His third album, Have You Fed the Fish?, introduced more guitars and an increasingly mainstream pop sound which was not welcomed by all critics. The album is a play on Gough's minor celebrity status. Another three singles and a long American tour accompanied the album. The single "You Were Right" received heavy airplay on BBC Radio 2, became his first UK top ten single and includes lyrical references to music icons such as Madonna and John Lennon.

### Later years

[edit]

After his long spell in America, Gough suffered from homesickness and decided to record his next album closer to home. Recorded at Moolah Rouge studios in Stockport, Greater Manchester, One Plus One Is One was a portrait of his personal life. Documenting a death of a close friend and the loss of a grandfather in the Battle of Normandy, the album was released in 2004. It was not a great commercial success, and Gough decided to leave his contract with XL Recordings after only one single was released. He then signed to EMI.

Two years went by before Born in the U.K., which aimed to explain Gough's experience of growing up in the United Kingdom. The album was promoted with a small UK tour, profits from which were donated to Oxfam, a charity which "offers the chance for thousands of people to use music to achieve something together, which is an idea that gets me excited", said Gough.[4] Gough also toured the US behind the album.

The album Is There Nothing We Could Do?, with music taken from and inspired by the film, The Fattest Man in Britain, was released on his own BDB Records label in 2009.

His seventh album, It's What I'm Thinking Pt.1 – Photographing Snowflakes, the first of a planned trilogy of albums all to be released under the title It's What I'm Thinking, was released in October 2010.[5] For some of the tracks on this album he used his current live band, which consisted of Manchester musical friends Mike TV of Beats for beginners on guitar, Stephen Fretwell on bass and Jay Sikora on drums [6]

In 2011, a portrait of Gough painted by British artist Joe Simpson was exhibited around the UK including a solo exhibition at The Royal Albert Hall.[7]

In March 2012, he released another soundtrack, for Being Flynn, directed by Paul Weitz who had worked with Gough previously on the soundtrack album About a Boy.

In July 2015, to mark the fifteenth anniversary of the release of The Hour of the Bewilderbeast, Gough undertook a short UK tour.[8]

In 2020 he released his first studio album for 10 years, Banana Skin Shoes.[9]

## Discography

[edit]

Main article: Badly Drawn Boy discography

Badly Drawn Boy performing at the Tsunami Relief Cardiff concert in January 2005

* The Hour of Bewilderbeast (2000)
* About a Boy (2002)
* Have You Fed the Fish? (2002)[10]
* One Plus One Is One (2004)
* Born in the U.K. (2006)
* Is There Nothing We Could Do? (2009)
* It's What I'm Thinking Pt.1 – Photographing Snowflakes (2010)
* Being Flynn (2012)
* Banana Skin Shoes (2020)

## Documentary and media appearances

[edit]

There have been three documentaries made about Badly Drawn Boy: Open Map in 2007,[11] Ipso Facto in 2010,[12] and About A Badly Drawn Boy. The first two tour documentaries remain unreleased, while the last, about Gough and his debut album The Hour of Bewilderbeast, was released in 2018.[13]

In December 2015, Badly Drawn Boy appeared on a celebrity edition of Mastermind. His specialist subject was the singer Bruce Springsteen.

In October 2017, he had a cameo role in the final episode of Cold Feet (Series 7) where he played a busker.[14]

## References

[edit]

1. ^ "The Magic Ball". itssolastcentury.co.uk. Retrieved 16 May 2025. "...the show gave Badly Drawn Boy the idea for his stage name: According to Damon, This guy was dead pissed off because, not only was he a drawing, but... He wasn't even a good one."
2. ^ "Badly Born Boy". BBC. Retrieved 1 April 2016.
3. ^ Colin Larkin, ed. (2000). The Virgin Encyclopedia of Nineties Music (First ed.). Virgin Books. p. 31\. ISBN 0-7535-0427-8.
4. ^ "Oxfam.org.uk". Archived from the original on 7 September 2008. Retrieved 9 November 2009.
5. ^ Gormely, Ian. "Badly Drawn Boy • Interviews •". Exclaim.ca. Retrieved 8 April 2012.
6. ^ Badly Drawn Boy - It's What I'm Thinking (Part One - Photographing Snowflakes), 2010, retrieved 2 November 2023
7. ^ "Musician Portraits – Joe Simpson's paintings of rock stars". Nme.com. 14 October 2011. Retrieved 29 November 2019.
8. ^ "Badly Drawn Boy Bewilderbeast Tour ..." The Guardian. Retrieved 26 July 2015.
9. ^ "Badly Drawn Boy Announces New Album, Banana Skin Shoes, After 10 Years -". 21 March 2020.
10. ^ CD Reviews: Badly Drawn Boy, Eric Clapton, Smog and many more".[usurped] Chart Attack, November 5, 2002.
11. ^ Moore, Andy (15 March 2010). "OPEN MAP – Trailer on Vimeo". Vimeo.com. Retrieved 16 September 2012.
12. ^ Moore, Andy (13 October 2011). "Badly Drawn Boy : 'Ipso Facto' Documentary Trailer On Vimeo". Vimeo.com. Retrieved 16 September 2012.
13. ^ "About A Badly Drawn Boy". HOME Manchester. 26 May 2018. Retrieved 31 July 2021.
14. ^ "Cold Feet Episode #7.7 on IMDb". IMDb.com. Retrieved 21 October 2017.

## External links

[edit]

* Official website
* Open Map
* Ipso Facto

* v
* t
* e

Badly Drawn Boy

Studio albums|

* The Hour of Bewilderbeast
* About a Boy
* Have You Fed the Fish?
* One Plus One Is One
* Born in the U.K.
* Is There Nothing We Could Do?
* It's What I'm Thinking Pt.1 – Photographing Snowflakes
* Banana Skin Shoes

Compilation albums|

* How Did I Get Here?

Singles|

* "Silent Sigh"
* "Something to Talk About"
* "You Were Right"

Related articles|

* Discography

* v
* t
* e

Satellite Award for Best Original Song

1990s|

* "You Must Love Me" – Music by Andrew Lloyd Webber; Lyrics by Tim Rice (1996)
* "My Heart Will Go On" – Music by James Horner; Lyrics by Will Jennings (1997)
* "I Don't Want to Miss a Thing" – Music and Lyrics by Diane Warren (1998)
* "When She Loved Me" – Music and Lyrics by Randy Newman (1999)

2000s|

* "I've Seen It All" – Music by Björk; Lyrics by Sjón and Lars von Trier (2000)
* "All Love Can Be" – Music by James Horner; Lyrics by Will Jennings (2001)
* "Something to Talk About" – Music and Lyrics by Badly Drawn Boy (2002)
* "Siente Mi Amor (Feel My Love)" – Music and Lyrics by Robert Rodriguez (2003)
* "Million Voices" – Music and Lyrics by Wyclef Jean, Jerry 'Wonder' Duplessis, and Andrea Guerra (2004)
* "A Love That Will Never Grow Old" – Music by Gustavo Santaolalla; Lyrics by Bernie Taupin (2005)
* "You Know My Name" – Music and Lyrics by Chris Cornell (2006)
* "Grace is Gone" – Music by Clint Eastwood; Lyrics by Carole Bayer Sager (2007)
* "Another Way to Die" – Music and Lyrics by Jack White (2008)
* "The Weary Kind" – Music and Lyrics by Ryan Bingham and T Bone Burnett (2009)

2010s|

* "You Haven't Seen the Last of Me" – Music and Lyrics by Diane Warren (2010)
* "Lay Your Head Down" – Music by Brian Byrne; Lyrics by Glenn Close (2011)
* "Suddenly" – Music by Claude-Michel Schönberg; Lyrics by Alain Boublil and Herbert Kretzmer (2012)
* "Young and Beautiful" – Music and Lyrics by Lana Del Rey and Daniel Heath (2013)
* "We Will Not Go" – Music and Lyrics by J. Ralph (2014)
* "Til It Happens to You" – Music and Lyrics by Lady Gaga and Diane Warren (2015)
* "City of Stars" – Music by Justin Hurwitz; Lyrics by Benj Pasek and Justin Paul (2016)
* "Stand Up for Something" – Music by Diane Warren; Lyrics by Common and Diane Warren (2017)
* "Shallow" – Music and Lyrics by Lady Gaga, Mark Ronson, Anthony Rossomando, and Andrew Wyatt (2018)
* "(I'm Gonna) Love Me Again" – Music by Elton John; Lyrics by Bernie Taupin (2019)

2020s|

* "Io sì (Seen)" – Music and Lyrics by Niccolò Agliardi, Laura Pausini, and Diane Warren (2020)
* "Colombia, Mi Encanto" – Music and Lyrics by Lin-Manuel Miranda (2021)
* "Hold My Hand" – Music and Lyrics by Lady Gaga and BloodPop (2022)
* "What Was I Made For?" – Music and Lyrics by Billie Eilish and Finneas O'Connell (2023)
* "Mi Camino" – Music and Lyrics by Clément Ducol and Camille (2024)

Authority control databases

International|

* ISNI
* VIAF
* WorldCat

National|

* Germany
* United States
* France
* BnF data
* Italy
* Czech Republic
* Spain
* Netherlands
* Norway
* Korea
* Finland

Artists|

* MusicBrainz
* 2

Other|

* IdRef
* Yale LUX

*[v]: View this template
*[t]: Discuss this template
*[e]: Edit this template