- Born
- Birth nameThomas Peter Odell
- Height5′ 9″ (1.75 m)
- A British singer/songwriter with a keen sense for both atmosphere and melody, Tom Odell's piano-led odes to heartache and pain are emotional, raw, and often hushed affairs that evoke names like Leonard Cohen and Jeff Buckley. His acclaimed 2012 debut EP earned him a BRITs Critics' Choice award, and his first full-length outing, 2013's Long Way Down, reached number one on the U.K. albums chart. Uneasy with the idea of fame, Odell recorded his next two releases in New York and Los Angeles before returning home to London for 2018's intimate Jubilee Road and 2021's dark, electro-pop-leaning monsters.
Born in the West Sussex town of Chichester, England, Odell spent his formative years studying at the Brighton Institute of Modern Music. In 2012, after landing a record deal with Columbia Records, the then-21-year-old released his debut EP, Songs from Another Love, made his television debut on Later... with Jools Holland, and was nominated for and won the Critics' Choice category of that year's BRIT Awards. He released his first full-length studio effort, Long Way Down, in 2013. The platinum-selling album was a huge success, having gone straight in at number one on the U.K. charts, and Odell spent the following couple of years touring the material relentlessly, supporting huge names such as Elton John, Billy Joel, and the Rolling Stones along the way.
Odell soon sought refuge from the limelight, and found it in the shape of a small apartment in New York's East Village. It was there that he found the time to begin working on his follow-up, 2016's Wrong Crowd. After a European tour in 2014, and after scooping up an Ivor Novello Award for Songwriter of the Year, Odell again relocated, this time to Los Angeles. The album began to take shape with the help of producer Jim Abbiss, best known for his work with Arctic Monkeys, Kasabian, and Adele, among others. Ever the avid film buff, Odell issued a collection of films to accompany Wrong Crowd that followed the narrative of the album. Scripted by Odell and with the help of director George Belfield, the films explored themes of isolation and innocence, having drawn inspiration from greats such as Wenders, Malick, and Fellini during his time spent under the radar in New York.
In April 2018, Odell issued an eponymous single from his third studio LP, the inward-looking Jubilee Road, which arrived later that October. The single "Numb" appeared in early 2021 ahead of the release of the full-length monsters. Darker and moodier than its predecessor, the electro-pop-tinged set drew inspiration from artists like XXXTentacion, Drake, and Travis Scott. Early the following year, Odell stripped his sound back down to its piano and vocal core on the poignant single "Best Day of My Life."
His fourth studio album, monsters, was released in 2021.- IMDb Mini Biography By: allmusic
- [asked about his favourite place in the world] I love being at home in London, I live near Victoria Park and I have a little dog called Bobby; we walk round the park together and it's just so beautiful this time of year. It's just the most incredible city, there's such a diverse culture. East London in particular, there's so much art round here and so many different types of people. I feel very lucky to live here.
- [on which song or album could be the soundtrack of his life] Without sounding too cheesy, I guess that's what I've been doing with my own music. There's definitely an autobiographical side to it.
- [on which four people, living or dead, he would invite to the ultimate dinner party and what he would serve] I can't really cook but I can make one thing, it's a pasta dish with prawns, linguine and some garlic and chilli. I call it the "Odelicious", so that's what I'd serve. In terms of guests, I think right now it would be good to get some of the dividing opinions from around the world together, so maybe it'd be good to have Trump and Corbyn - I don't think we'd have Theresa May 'cos I think she'd be pretty dull. Maybe the leader of North Korea and maybe to lighten things up...Putin? But that's quite dictator heavy, so maybe I'd invite my mate Henry too.
- [The title of my autobiography would be] The Visitor. I've always felt like the outsider, it's part of being a songwriter. You're always staring through the frosty window rather than being in the bar. I'm much more of an observer. A lot of people my age and a bit earlier in their Twenties have this desire to go and be a part of something and I guess I never really felt that way. I've always felt like I've been a visitor or a tourist to places.
- [on the most treasured item in his wardrobe] I really despise shopping, I do it like once a year or once every two years but one thing I do have quite a collection of is shoes. I'm quite into very well-made boots. In this very transient consumer age where you buy something that only lasts six months, I like the process of going to the old cobblers down the road and getting them re-soled. There's a great cobbler near where I live in East London.
Contribute to this page
Suggest an edit or add missing content