Benjamin Clementine's compositions are musically incisive and attuned to the issues of life but poetic, mixing revolt with love and melancholy, sophisticated lyricism with slang and shouts, and rhyming verse with prose monologues.
28 Facts About Benjamin Clementine
2.
The youngest of five children, Benjamin Clementine grew up in Edmonton, London, with his strict Roman Catholic grandmother.
3.
The family acquired a piano when Clementine was 11, and Benjamin played it when he could, but his father, who had hoped his son would study law, forbade him to spend time with musical instruments.
4.
Benjamin Clementine left school at 16 after failing most of his GCSEs, passing only English literature, following which he had a dispute with his family and ended up in Camden Town, London, homeless and in psychological and financial difficulties.
5.
Benjamin Clementine relocated to Paris at age 19, where he spent a number of years busking and playing in bars and hotels in Place de Clichy while sleeping on the streets.
6.
Benjamin Clementine eventually came to the attention of the French press, who described him as "".
7.
Benjamin Clementine was then invited to the Rencontres Trans Musicales of Rennes in France in December 2012 where he performed for the first time on a large stage, and played four nights consecutively.
8.
Benjamin Clementine eventually signed a joint music license contract between Capitol, Virgin EMI and Barclay.
9.
In 2014, during the shooting of his music video for "At Least for Now", Benjamin Clementine fell on a pile of stones in Ireland, badly injuring his elbow, then later cut a toe whilst walking on stones.
10.
The appearance drew strong critical praise, with Paul McCartney encouraging Benjamin Clementine to continue his musical career.
11.
The London Evening Standards David Smyth, reviewing a gig at the South Bank Centre, said that Benjamin Clementine's performance reminded him of Nina Simone, particularly as he had covered her hit "Ain't Got No, I Got Life" in a radically different style.
12.
Benjamin Clementine announced further tours, both solo and supporting Cat Power at the Brighton Dome, including an appearance at the O2 Academy in Brixton and at the Rencontres Trans Musicales festival in Rennes, France, where he worked on a special show and performed four nights.
13.
Benjamin Clementine initially wanted to record his debut album, At Least for Now, straight after his first EP, Cornerstone, but due to contractual dealings with the music industry and his label it was strategically held back for almost two years.
14.
Benjamin Clementine is a multi-instrumentalist and cites a broad range of musical influences: Claude Debussy, Erik Satie, Leonard Cohen, Leo Ferre, Nina Simone, Jake Thackray, Jimi Hendrix, Serge Gainsbourg, Aretha Franklin, Bob Marley, Lucio Dalla, Giacomo Puccini, Luciano Pavarotti, Maria Callas, Georges Brassens and Frederic Chopin.
15.
Benjamin Clementine had little exposure to music whilst growing up, and is self-taught.
16.
Benjamin Clementine accompanies on hypnotic piano vamps with mostly minimal instruments ranging from little voice breaths, a brushing of coat for percussion as in his song "Edmonton", to a vicious string stride confrontation in his song "Adios".
17.
Benjamin Clementine delivers his introspective lyrics about integrity and vulnerability and explores both in everyday experience.
18.
In March 2015 Benjamin Clementine was listed as one of the fifty best-dressed by the Financial Times.
19.
On 17 June 2014 Benjamin Clementine performed three songs live throughout the Burberry Prorsum Menswear Catwalk show - the first musician to perform live throughout a Burberry show.
20.
Benjamin Clementine performed again on the Burberry menswear show in January 2016.
21.
On 17 July 2014, Benjamin Clementine performed at the Montreux Jazz Festival.
22.
An album was scheduled to be released in 2014, but Benjamin Clementine instead released his second EP, Glorious You, on 25 August 2014.
23.
On 12 October 2014, Benjamin Clementine performed and spoke at the Observer Ideas at the Barbican Centre, a festival to share ideas to the public, in a line up that included Edward Snowden, David Simon, creator of the HBO series The Wire, and musician Tinie Tempah.
24.
Benjamin Clementine was nominated for the 2015 Mercury Prize and subsequently won.
25.
Benjamin Clementine dedicated his award to the memory of the victims of the terrorist attacks in Paris during the previous week.
26.
On 12 February 2016, Benjamin Clementine announced a tour of Europe and the United States.
27.
Benjamin Clementine portrayed the Herald of the Change, a minor character, in the 2021 film Dune.
28.
Benjamin Clementine is married to British singer-songwriter Flo Morrissey, and the couple had their first child, Julian Jupiter Richard Sainte-Benjamin Clementine, on Christmas Day 2017.