USA: Hugh Laurie says singing the blues is 'where he always wanted to be'

Record ID: 858082

  • Title: USA: Hugh Laurie says singing the blues is 'where he always wanted to be'
  • Date: 12th August 2013
  • Summary: BURBANK, CALIFORNIA, UNITED STATES (AUGUST 8, 2013) (REUTERS) (SOUNDBITE) (English) HUGH LAURIE, ON RECENT APPEARANCES ON THE COLBERT REPORT AS PART OF DAFT PUNK MONTAGE, SAYING: "I didn't dare dream. No I did not, I did not. That was pretty extraordinary. I feel honoured to have touched the hem of whatever it is that they [Daft Punk] wear, I don't know how you describe it. And also to have touched the hem of Stephen Colbert's raiment as well. No I did not anticipate that, but that's great. That's how life should be."
  • Embargoed: 27th August 2013 13:00
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  • Location: Usa
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  • Country: USA
  • Topics: Arts / Culture / Entertainment / Showbiz
  • Reuters ID: LVABX1LDYW1TZYPYAVSVAZOEEFLY
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  • Story Text: Hugh Laurie, best known as the cantankerous doctor Gregory House from the TV series "House," has a new career path of sorts: blues musician. The multitalented Brit has just released his second record, a nod to New Orleans blues entitled "Didn't It Rain." The album features a mix of classic blues tracks performed by Laurie on piano and a many-piece ensemble, the Copper Bottom Band.
    For Laurie, the move from Golden Globe winning actor in one of U.S. television's most popular shows, to bluesy crooner is not as shocking as a change as one might think.

    "This is more than a break. I know, I completely understand people who look at this whole thing and it might look like a hobby or it might look like a sort of a vacation or something. It isn't that at all. This is where I, believe it or not, this is where I always wanted to be," said Laurie.
    Laurie has made a career in the TV business, getting early attention for his comedic pairing with fellow Brit Stephen Fry. Fry and Laurie, who have been friends since their days at university, spent the 1980s and 1990s working together on various projects including "Blackadder" and "Jeeves and Wooster" based on the P.G. Wodehouse stories.
    There is one thing that Laurie may not be able to get Fry to do though, and that's join him on stage at one of his upcoming shows.

    "Stephen would be the first to admit that music is not his ... he loves it, he's extremely knowledgeable and he consumes it voraciously but he'd be the first to admit that it's not his strong suit as a performer," laughed Laurie. "We once sang a song together on live television and he actually had to undergo hypnosis to allow him to basically finish the song at the same time as the band finished."
    Laurie is no stranger to comedic skits. He recently made an appearance on Comedy Central's "The Colbert Report" with Stephen Colbert. What he didn't expect was to be part of a 7 minute long musical montage to Daft Punk's "Get Lucky."

    "I feel honored to have touched the hem of whatever it is that they [Daft Punk] wear, I don't know how you describe it. And also to have touched the hem of Stephen Colbert's raiment as well. No I did not anticipate that, but that's great. That's how life should be," joked Laurie.

    "Didn't It Rain" is Laurie's second studio album. The first, "Let Them Talk" went on to sell millions of copies, and Laurie and his Copper Bottom Band spent six months on the road in the U.S., Europe, South America and Russia.
    This time group is embarking on a tour beginning in October, with 16 stops throughout the U.S. and Canada.
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