Biography

English singer/songwriter and actor Eliot Sumner debuted in 2010, performing with their band I Blame Coco. Blending pop, electronic, and punk, the project issued just one album, The Constant, under that moniker before Sumner went solo with 2016's Information LP. Born in northern Italy on July 30, 1990, Sumner received a first-rate musical education from their father, Sting. They grew up in a small village in Wiltshire, England, and kept largely removed from the glamour and glitz of their father’s career. By their mid-teens, however, Sumner had taken a cue from their dad by composing reggae-flavored songs of their own, many of which were posted online. Several labels took interest in the material, and they subsequently signed a multi-album deal with Island Records. While working on their debut album, the 18-year-old Sumner assembled a small band that included session keyboardist Emlyn Maillard and multi-instrumentalist Al Shux (who produced Jay-Z's chart-topping "Empire State of Mind" in 2009). Sporting a fashionable sound that sampled equally from pop, ska, and electro-punk, I Blame Coco began releasing songs in early 2010, including a duet with the Swedish pop vocalist Robyn. I Blame Coco's debut album, The Constant, appeared later that year. After spending a couple of years working on new songs (including a Radiohead cover for the movie Filth), Sumner announced that they would henceforth release music under their birth name. The Information EP arrived that August. A pair of songs from that debut set eventually made their way onto a proper solo full-length, also titled Information, which was released in January 2016. At the turn of the decade, Sumner shifted focus to acting. Having appeared in films in the 2000s, they landed roles in Guy Ritchie's The Gentlemen and in the Bond flick No Time to Die. ~ Heather Phares & Neil Z. Yeung, Rovi