Clementine serenades the mannequins.įunnily enough, it’s not been for everyone. They walk in unison and slide across the stage on a truss with wheels. For it, Clementine is joined on stage by a drummer and bass player all wearing mechanic’s overalls. Let go of any questions (you’ll have many) and it’s just thoroughly entertaining. Part dance show, part art installation, part rock show, part musical theatre. Liam Gallagher stood in the background looking delightfully bewildered. A hint came early on when he turned up on Later… with Jools Holland to perform ‘Jupiter’ and draped a life-sized plastic pregnant woman in an American flag. In the past, the 28-year-old would perform bare-foot sat gently at his grand piano. It’s taken his recent live tour to bring into sharper focus the stories he was trying to convey. In other words: an uncompromising album that tackled themes like the ongoing refugee crisis via classical music and about eight other genres was tough going. Stylistically jumpy and conceptually layered, many reviews highlighted its technical craft but troublesome connectivity. ‘I Tell A Fly’, released in September, was an avant-garde concept LP based on the story of two flies. With his own songwriting, those expecting more of the same from Clementine on his second album were wrongfooted. It was there where he recorded ‘Hallelujah Money’ with Damon Albarn, the first taste of new music from Gorillaz in six years, shared the day before Donald Trump’s inauguration back in January. During that time, his working visa credited him as “an alien of extraordinary abilities”, a label that he found both apt and inspirational. What followed was a heavy period of touring – he used New York as his base, living in Manhattan for almost two years. It was a poignant gesture, and an introduction, for many, to an intriguing emerging artist. At the ceremony the 6’4 figure with a soft speaking voice dedicated the trophy to those affected by the Paris terrorist attacks – that had taken place less than a week before – and invited his fellow nominees to share his crowning moment on stage with him. It went on to beat Aphex Twin, Jamie XX and Florence and the Machine to the award two years ago (he’s hasn’t spent the £20k prize money yet). It was there that his potential was spotted, and he was given the support to make his debut album, ‘At Least For Now’. When he could he’d stay in hostels, busking on the boulevards and the Metro to get by. He left home at sixteen and spent three years in Paris without a fixed address. ![]() Of Ghanaian descent, he was the boy who was born and grew up in Edmonton, north London, among a strict Christian family. When Benjamin Clementine won the Mercury Prize in 2015 it was the prompt for his extraordinary story to be told more widely.
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