Tom McRae

Tom McRae's childhood was steeped in hymns. Born Jeremy Thomas McRae Blackall in 1969, the English singer-songwriter grew up as the son of two Church of England vicars, singing in the choir and quietly picking at his mother's guitar. His early heroes ran from Billy Bragg and Bob Dylan to Kate Bush and U2, and he began writing his own songs in their wake. What sets him apart is an understated delivery that the producer Roger Bechirian, whose credits include Elvis Costello and Squeeze, helped shape.

McRae studied politics and government at City of London Polytechnic, then signed with Dave Bates's db Records. In 2000 Scott Walker chose him for the Meltdown Festival at the Royal Festival Hall, and he later received nominations for the Mercury Prize, a Q award and the BRIT Award for Best Newcomer. Just Like Blood arrived in 2003, All Maps Welcome was written and recorded in California, and The Alphabet of Hurricanes, made at his own Gunpoint studio in East London, came out on Cooking Vinyl in 2010. Did I Sleep and Miss the Border followed in 2015, and in 2024 he launched the MacRaetheisms podcast.