He has been called "Dido with an Adam's apple", with songs which are "as boring as emptying a coalmine with a teaspoon".

But those who mock James Blunt seem to be outnumbered by those who adore him - his debut, Back To Bedlam, was the UK's biggest-selling album of last year (shifting 2.5 million copies), the single You're Beautiful spent six weeks at number one and he is up for five Brit Awards.

He is also winning them over Stateside, with Back To Bedlam going top ten. Last week, he performed a high-budget showcase concert in Los Angeles, which had sold out in seconds.

Opinion in this country is divided, however - he has made into the Guinness Book Of Records for record sales but his name is also now in the Urban Dictionary's rhyming slang section. However, the former solider has certainly cornered the market for emotional, guitar-led love warblings.

From birth in a military hospital in Tidworth, to posh Harrow School, to aerospace manufacturing engineering, to the Sandhurst military academy, to The Household Cavalry, to Kosovo, to Buckingham Palace, to a recording studio in Los Angeles. We've all heard his story, so here are some lesser-known facts about old Blunty boy.

James Blunt (originally Blount) was not allowed to listen to popular music while growing up, with his father dismissing it as "unnecessary noise".

He was thrown out his school's chapel choir. He then joined the plainsong choir and got sacked again.

His break came when his manager introduced him to former 4 Non Blondes singer Lynda Perry. She heard his demo and signed him to her label.

His first single, High, failed to reach the UK top 100. The second, Wise Men, got to number 44. Then came You're Beautiful.

Most recent single Goodbye My Lover was recorded in his landlady's bathroom - and his landlady at the time was Carrie Fisher.

His publishers forced web site Eclectech to remove a downloadable version of You're Beautiful, called You're Gullible. The first two lines were: "My voice is silly, my songs are poor."

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