Biography

Formerly the frontman and principal songwriter for British alt-rockers Reuben, singer, guitarist, and illustrator Jamie Lenman launched a solo career after the band went on indefinite hiatus. Born in 1982 in the affluent commuter town of Camberley, Surrey, about 30 miles south of London, Lenman was primarily an illustrator who began drawing at the age of eight, influenced by Charles Schulz and Jim Davis; he once claimed that he saw his entire musical career as a "sidestep." As a member in Reuben, he produced all the artwork for the band's albums; later he worked for the Guardian, illustrated several children's books, and had his cartoons published in Doctor Who Magazine. As a child he learned to play the piano, saxophone, and guitar. In 1996 he met bassist Jon Pearce, with whom he would go on to form Reuben. The band debuted in 2001 and scored four U.K. hit singles with their high-energy fusion of punkish rock and alternative metal. They released three albums before going on indefinite hiatus in 2008. Leaving music behind, Lenman returned to illustrating, but continued to compose sporadically, and in 2014 decided to complete his unfinished song ideas with the help of a friend. The result was his debut solo album, Muscle Memory, which had a much broader stylistic range than his work with Reuben, incorporating jazz and folk elements. His second solo effort, Devolver, followed in 2017. Following the release of the album, Lenman headed out on tour, which included a limited, invite-only show at London's St. Pancras Church. The lengthy show was issued in 2018 as Live at St. Pancras and helped bookend the period of recording, releasing, and touring Devolver. 2019 saw Lenman team up with producer Space -- who had recorded Devolver -- to work on a collection of covers. Shuffle, which was issued that year, saw Lenman taking on not just a selection of his favorite songs by other artists, but an eclectic mix of spoken word pieces from novels, movie soundtracks, and video game music as well. 2020 saw Lenman returning to his songwriting roots with the release of the mini-album King of Clubs. Once again teaming up with Space, the album saw Lenman using the often-fraught political climate to influence a collection of socio-political and politically charged songs. ~ John D. Buchanan & Rich Wilson, Rovi