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Calvin Harris

Adam Richard Wiles (born January 17, 1984), known professionally as Calvin Harris, is a Scottish DJ, record producer, singer, and songwriter. His debut studio album, I Created Disco, was released in June 2007.

Its singles "Acceptable in the 80s" and "The Girls" both reached the top 10 in the UK. In 2009, he released his second studio album, Ready for the Weekend, which debuted at number one on the UK Albums Chart and whose lead single, "I'm Not Alone", became his first song to top the UK Singles Chart.

Early life

Adam Richard Wiles was born on January 17, 1984 in Dumfries,[1] to English parents, a biochemist father, and housewife mother, who married in their native Oxford before moving to Dumfries. He has an elder sister and brother.[2] Wiles attended Calside Primary School then Dumfries High School, and, after leaving school, he stocked shelves in supermarkets and worked in a local fish processing factory to buy DJ gear.[3]

He was first attracted to electronic music in his teens and began recording bedroom demos in 1999.[4] When Harris was 18, he released two songs, "Da Bongos" and "Brighter Days". Both were released as 12-inch club singles and CD-EPs by the label Prima Facie in early 2002 under the name "Stouffer". With these singles to his credit, Harris moved from Scotland to London, hoping to learn from the local music scene. Only one of his songs, "Let Me Know" with vocalist Ayah Marar on the Unabombers' 2004 live-mix CD Electric Soul, Vol. 2, was released during his time in London. With the lack of job opportunities and money, he returned home to Dumfries and began posting homemade solo recordings to his Myspace page.[5]

His popularity on the social media website prompted Mark Gillespie, a talent booker for the dance-festival firm Global Gathering who had recently founded his own management firm, to make Harris the company's first signee. Gillespie continues to represent Harris today.[6] Regarding his choice of his stage name, Harris stated that, "My first single was more of a soul track, and I thought Calvin Harris sounded a bit more racially ambiguous.[7][8] I thought people might not know if I was black or not. After that, I was stuck with it".[9]

Personal life

Harris dated British singer Rita Ora from 2013 to June 2014.[10] He started dating American model Aarika Wolf in 2014, after Wolf appeared in the music video for his song "Blame". They broke up in 2015. From March 2015 to June 2016, Harris dated American singer Taylor Swift.[11] He and Wolf got back together in 2017, and broke up in 2022. In January 2022, Harris started dating British television presenter Vick Hope. They married on September 9, 2023.[12]

Harris stopped drinking alcohol in 2008, stating, "I wasn't an alcoholic or anything like that, but it was clearly affecting what I do".[13] He is a supporter of his hometown football team Queen of the South and Liverpool.[14] Harris considered writing a song to celebrate the former reaching the 2008 Scottish Cup Final, but the idea was scrapped due to the time constraints of recording his 2009 album Ready for the Weekend.[15]

Musical style

Following his professed disinterest in the genre of EDM in late 2016,[16] Harris transitioned to funk on his fifth studio album Funk Wav Bounces Vol. 1 the following year, which he continued with his sixth album Funk Wav Bounces Vol. 2 in 2022.[17][18]

In 2016, Harris stated that Jamiroquai and Fatboy Slim had inspired him to make music.[19]

Discography

Studio albums

  • I Created Disco (2007)
  • Ready for the Weekend (2009)
  • 18 Months (2012)
  • Motion (2014)
  • Funk Wav Bounces Vol. 1 (2017)
  • Funk Wav Bounces Vol. 2 (2022)

Mix albums

  • L.E.D. Festival Presents Calvin Harris (2010)

EPs

  • Napster Live Session (2007)
  • iTunes Live: Berlin Festival (2008)
  • iTunes Live: London Festival '09 (2009)
  • Normani x Calvin Harris (with Normani) (2018)
  • I'm Not Alone 2019 (2019)
  • Love Regenerator 1 (2020)
  • Love Regenerator 2 (2020)
  • Love Regenerator 3 (2020)
  • Moving (with Eli Brown) (2020)
  • Rollercoaster (with Solardo) (2021)

Collaborations

Trivia

  • Calvin was the first client of the international recognized management company, Three Six Zero which was founded by Mark Gillespie in 2007.
  • Dua Lipa and Harris share a total of 2 collaborations.
  • His intangible talent for choosing what the next hit should be comes from listening to music all the time.
  • He uses auto tune in the studio.
  • The artist feels that his work with other people will never be completed.
  • His favorite places to perform are Australia and Las Vegas.
  • His favorite personal song written by himself is "Feel So Close".
  • Calvin thinks his Scottish accent is stronger in Scotland.
  • He loves the "dirty side" of Las Vegas.
  • Dua Lipa and Calvin Harris collaborated on 3 unreleased Future Nostalgia tracks, Dreams, The Truth, & Jump On It.
  • He had an argument with Katy Perry, backing out of her California Dreams Tour (2011) at the last minute.
  • Calvin likes to research himself.

External links

References

  1. ↑ "Calvin Harris Biography"
  2. ↑ "Calvin Harris: How the non-dancing, foul-mouthed, anti-social Scot became the 'Caledonian Justin Timberlake'"
  3. ↑ "From bedroom to Billboard"
  4. ↑ "Calvin Harris"
  5. ↑ "Calvin Harris: fish factory to fame"
  6. ↑ "The Changing Role of a Music Manager With Three Six Zero's Mark Gillespie and Range Media's Michele Harrison"
  7. ↑ "Calvin Harris and Rihanna's Power Players: What's Next From Three Six Zero/Roc Nation's EDM-Pop Partnership"
  8. ↑ "Interview: Calvin Harris"
  9. ↑ "You Won't Believe What Made Calvin Harris Choose His Stage Name"
  10. ↑ "Calvin Harris And Rita Ora Split Up, DJ Confirms on Twitter"
  11. ↑ "Taylor Swift and Calvin Harris Split: What Really Went Wrong With Their Relationship"
  12. ↑ "Calvin Harris and Radio Host Vick Hope Marry at Sprawling Estate Wedding in Northeast England"
  13. ↑ "30 Sober Celebrities You May Not Have Known Are Teetotal, From Adele To Brad Pitt"
  14. ↑ "Calvin Harris hails LFC parade as 'biggest gig' of his life"
  15. ↑ Calvin Harris: The 100 million DJ
  16. ↑ "Calvin Harris: "Some of the best producers in the world make EDM... Face facts""
  17. ↑ "Calvin Harris: Funk Wav Bounces Vol. 1 Review"
  18. ↑ "Calvin Harris Says Porter Robinson Restored His Love of Dance Music"
  19. ↑ "Calvin Harris Twitter ನಲ್ಲಿ: "@keevs_89 Jamiroquai and Fatboy Slim""