EX-BIMM BRIGHTON STUDENT JAMES BAY SECOND in BBC SOUND of Submitted2015 By: Askme PR Thursday, 8 January 2015

EX-BIMM BRIGHTON STUDENT JAMES BAY SECOND IN BBC SOUND OF Submitted2015 by: AskMe PR Thursday, 8 January 2015

•Singer-songwriter James Bay beats George the Poet, Raury, Stormy into second place •Past winners include Sam Smith, Adele, Ellie Goulding, HAIM and Jessie J •James also won BRITs Critics’ Choice Award 2015 and is nominated for MTV’s Brand New 2015 Ex-BIMM student James Bay has gained yet another of the highest-profile accolades that a young artist could hope for: he’s been voted runner-up in the BBC’s Sound Of 2015 poll, seeing off the hotly-tipped George the Poet, Raury, and Stormy. James has already been thrust to the forefront of the public’s attention by winning the BRITs Critics' Choice Award — and he’s also been nominated for the MTV Brand New 2015 award, which is announced at the end of January. Staff at BIMM have been certain of James’ incredible talent since he was a student, and have watched with a mixture of pride and awe as he has soared to prominence since he left BIMM’s Brighton college. James accepted yet another accolade with typical good grace and enthusiasm, tweeting: “So happy to be 2nd in the #BBCSoundof2015 list! I can’t wait to release new music for everyone to hear and play as many shows as possible this year! Thank you everyone for their support!!” The BBC have been great supporters of James since he filled in for Lana del Rey with a last-minute performance on Radio 1’s Live Lounge in September. It was a set that saw him trending on Twitter — and his song, ‘Let It Go’, immediately became the most-searched track on Shazam. Radio 1’s Fearne Cotton, a judge on the BBC Sound Of 2015 panel, loves James: “James Bay has an effortless vocal teamed with a classic song writing ability. His live performance is faultless… I haven’t been this excited about a new musical talent in a long while.” 2014 was a year of high-profile success for James. Besides his breakthrough moment on Fearne’s BBC Radio 1 show, he’s sold out a UK headline tour, supported Irish sensation Hozier in America, and provided the live soundtrack to a major Burberry fashion show. With a BRIT and now the BBC acclaim under his belt, 2015 looks firmly set to be a year of continued success for the Herfordshire-born singer-songwriter. MORE QUOTES FROM BIMM STAFF BELOW MORE INFORMATION: [email protected]|07976 258577 or [email protected]

Page 1 BIMM: bimm.co.uk JAMES BAY: jamesbaymusic.com BBC MUSIC SOUND OF 2015: bbc.co.uk/events/ebh6v2 THE BRITS CRITICS CHOICE AWARD: brits.co.uk/news/critics-choice-winner-announced MTV BRAND NEW FOR 2015: mtv.co.uk/brand-new-for-2015/news/mtv-brand-new-for-2015-nominees-revealed NOTES: •BIMM is the British and Irish Modern Music Institute. •BIMM has colleges in London, Brighton, Bristol, Manchester and Dublin. •BIMM teaches a range of courses, from Diploma to degree level. •BIMM Brand Promise is “Connected to a life in music” - reflecting BIMM's position as the UK and Ireland’s best-connected modern music college. •BIMM's student employment record is remarkable: 79% of students go on to work in the music industry. •BIMM Alumni include UK album chart-topper George Ezra, BRITs Critics’ Choice Award-winners Tom Odell and James Bay, multi-million-selling band The Kooks, hotly-tipped artist Luke Sital-Singh and Britain's Got Talent finalist Sam Kelly - amongst many others. •James moved from north Hertfordshire to study on BIMM Brighton's Songwriting BA (Hons) course. •James beat George the Poet, Raury, and Stormy into second place in the BBC Sound of 2015 poll •Nominated alongside James for the BRITs Critics’ Choice award were spoken-word performer George The Poet and electro-pop trio Years and Years. FURTHER QUOTES FROM BIMM STAFF ON HIS RECENT AWARDS SUCCESSES: “If any young professional deserves to reap the rewards of their prodigious talent, hard work and absolute dedication to their music it is James Bay. As soon as James joined us at BIMM in Brighton we knew he was something very special – an incredible guitar player with a mature, blues based sound, combined with unique and memorable vocals. “Since James graduated from BIMM we have followed his emerging career with pride and delight. He has worked so hard for it: gigging constantly and working to develop a real maturity and authority in his writing, whilst honing his captivating performance technique. 2015 is certainly going to be a massive and life-changing year for him and he deserves all the success that this prestigious award will bring with it.” — Vaseema Hamilton, principal of BIMM’s London, Brighton and Bristol colleges "James really is one of the good guys, and his feet are firmly on the ground – I’m delighted to see all his hard work, effort and belief is paying off. It couldn’t happen to a nicer guy.” — Adam Bushell, BIMM Brighton college manager “I couldn't be happier for James. Not only is he extremely talented but he is a lovely guy. As soon as he started we knew he was something special - he is an incredible guitar player, he has style and of course there's the voice.

Page 2 “He has worked hard for it, he has gigged all over and taken on board as much advice and help as possible. “I got a text from him thanking me when he was nominated - that's just the kind of guy he is. 2015 is going to be a huge year for him and he deserves all the success he gets. James was a fantastic musician/songwriter at BIMM. A wonderful lad, he had it all even then, including the hat!” - Ian Sillett, BA (Hons) Creative Musicianship & BA (Hons) Songwriting Programme Leader, BIMM Brighton “I taught James on the Guitar Performance Styles module (Foundation degree) at the very beginning of his BIMM Brighton studies. From the outset, he always had a very positive and focused attitude, combined with a strong work ethic. “He has great blues-based feel and soulful vocals - it’s no surprise to me that he’s now beginning to reap the rewards of his creativity and he really deserves it. Go James!” - Andy Bray, Course Leader BA (Hons) In Songwriting, BIMM Brighton

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