Damien Rice

A spell of farming in Tuscany and busking across Europe preceded the solo career of Damien Rice, the Irish singer-songwriter born in Dublin in 1973. Raised in Celbridge, County Kildare, he started out in the rock band Juniper, which was signed to PolyGram in 1997 and released the singles "Weatherman" and "The World is Dead". Rice left in 1998, and the rest of the group carried on as Bell X1.

He returned to Ireland in 2001 and began recording solo, working with Lisa Hannigan and cellist Vyvienne Long among others. His debut, O, arrived in 2002, reaching No. 8 on the UK Albums Chart, winning the Shortlist Music Prize and producing top 30 UK hits with "Cannonball" and "Volcano". Its follow-up, 9, came in 2006, and the third, My Favourite Faded Fantasy, appeared in November 2014 with the single "I Don't Want To Change You". Along the way he has lent songs to charitable projects, including Songs for Tibet and the Enough Project.