James Blunt announces 20th anniversary tour in 2025 for debut album Back To Bedlam

23 May 2024, 14:35

James Blunt is celebrating two decades of the album "people actually bought", with the Back To Bedlam 20th Anniversary Tour. Picture: Getty/Atlantic Records

By Thomas Edward

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He's heading back... to bedlam.

Twenty years and seven studio albums later, singer-songwriter James Blunt is revisiting the moment where everything started for him.

Crazy to think it's been two decades since he topped the singles charts with 'You're Beautiful' and the album charts with Back To Bedlam.

His 2004 debut album became the best-selling album of the 2000s in the UK, and the biggest selling debut album by a British artist.

Now the star (and beloved, self-deprecating social media personality) is celebrating the legacy left by his breakthrough album.

Announcing the Back To Bedlam 20th Anniversary Tour, Blunt will hit the road around the UK and Europe to celebrate the milestone.

He'll perform concerts at Belfast's SSE Arena, Leeds First Direct Arena, Glasgow's OVO Hydro, Manchester's AO Arena and London's O2 Arena in 2025.

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In an accompanying press statement, James said: "I've been touring now for twenty years, and really, it’s only Back To Bedlam that people want to hear…" with his typically wry sense of humour.

"So on that album’s twentieth anniversary, what better way to celebrate than to head out on the Back To Bedlam 20th Anniversary Tour!"

"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."

The tour has been scheduled for 2025 as Blunt is still currently touring in support of his most recent album, Who We Used To Be.

Adding to the 20th-anniversary celebrations, the 'Goodbye My Lover' singer has also announced a remastered reissue of Back To Bedlam too:

"I’ve released seven studio albums, but Back To Bedlam was the one people actually bought," he joked.

"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 20s."