Blunt’s legion of fans widens

JAMES BLUNT may be the only musician who can claim “queen’s bodyguard” as a day job while gigging London at night. That’s what the 29-year-old Brit was doing while writing many of the songs that now appear on his debut, “Back to Bedlam,” which has sold more than 500,000 copies in the U.S. since its release in October.

Nevermind that none of the songs has anything to do with Blunt’s experience wearing a plumed helmet and sword while guarding Queen Elizabeth II’s carriage on horseback. In fact, the only reference to the four years Blunt spent in the British army is the album closer, “No Bravery,” which offers a chilling bird’s-eye view of the conflict in Kosovo, where Blunt served as a reconnaissance officer in the late ‘90s.

What makes Blunt’s military background so notable is its stark contrast to the singer-songwriter’s music. Delivered in sliding falsetto, his strummy slow-dancers deal almost exclusively with the civilian-life concerns of love and loyalty. They bear absolutely no trace of machismo or machine gun fire.

“People definitely have a picture in their mind of human beings and then people in the army,” Blunt said in a telephone interview from Amsterdam. “The people I worked with in the army, in their spare time their passions included writing or painting.... The army recruits from all walks of life. Sometimes you need someone who’s aggressive, but surrounding that aggressive person, you need someone who can think clearly.”

Blunt, whose album is currently ranked No. 11 on the Billboard 200 chart and has sold 2.4 million copies in the U.K., launches a full U.S. tour in March. But on Tuesday, he will take a short break from the sold-out shows on his current world tour to headline a special pre-Grammy performance at the House of Blues -- even though Blunt is not up for a Grammy.

“Maybe it’s because I’m too young,” quipped the low-key Blunt, who is nominated in five major categories of the Brit Awards -- best British male solo artist, British album, British single, British breakthrough act and pop act.

“When you write songs, it’s out of necessity to express yourself somehow. To make an album, it’s necessary to document those songs,” Blunt said. “The notion of charts and awards ceremonies is something I hadn’t thought about, but it comes as a very nice surprise at the end of the day.”

CONSIDERING his present “It” boy status, it’s a little surprising that he grew up in a home without a stereo. His only experience with music as a child was listening to the radio in the car and, at his mother’s prodding, playing violin and piano.

Neither instrument resonated. Blunt said his only memory of playing violin was performing “ ‘Hot Cross Buns’ while dancing anti-clockwise ‘round a table.” His recollection of the piano: “Lots of white keys and some black ones.”

It wasn’t until Blunt was in boarding school that he experienced his musical awakening. He was 14 when he saw a fellow student playing electric guitar in his room and thought, “Wow. I’ve been playing the wrong instruments.”

He saved up and bought a Seagull electric guitar and a small amplifier. Unlike a lot of kids who, after initially learning chord progressions, start jamming the latest hits, “I literally started having my own musical ideas immediately,” said Blunt, who decided at 14 that he was going to be a musician.

Throughout boarding school, then university, Blunt wrote songs, but he was never able to form a band because he spent a lot of time traveling. His dad was a colonel in Britain’s Army Air Corps and was stationed in a different country every other year.

“From the age of 5, I’ve just moved a lot, so that way of life dictated I was a singer-songwriter,” said Blunt, whose songwriting and mobile lifestyle continued when he joined the military to repay his college tuition.

His ability to write depended on where he was serving and what operations he was on, but his guitar was always along for the ride. In Kosovo, Blunt kept his guitar strapped to the outside of the tank.

“The tank hasn’t got much room, and there were three of us inside the tank,” Blunt said. “I tried to keep the guitar inside and strap the soldiers to the outside, but my boss wouldn’t let me.”

It wasn’t long after Blunt hung up his helmet in 2002 that his music career took off. Playing small London clubs, he met musicians Sacha Skarbek and Jimmy Hogarth and began recording demos. The demos won him a deal with Elton John’s management company and eventually a stint opening on John’s tour.

He landed his record deal in 2003 when, after he played the South by Southwest Music Festival, songwriter-producer Linda Perry signed him to her independent label, Custard. A year and a half later, “Back to Bedlam” hit. And it’s kept hitting.

Blunt hopes to head back into the studio for his follow-up in September, once his world tour wraps up. Considering his success, his fans might be in a rush, but Blunt’s in no hurry.

“It’s not about financial success,” Blunt said. “It’s about enjoying it, so if it takes me a couple months or a couple years, that’ll be as it is.”

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James Blunt

Where: House of Blues, 8430 W. Sunset Blvd., West Hollywood

When: 11 p.m. Tuesday

Price: $21

Info: (323) 848-5100