Jake Bugg Artistfacts

February 28, 1994
His real name is Jake Kennedy (Bugg is his father's name, which he borrowed for stage purposes). "It's just two syllables," he pointed out to Mojo magazine.
There is only one day's age difference between Jake Bugg and another singer-songwriter with the initials JB: Justin Bieber.
Bugg grew up in Clifton, Nottingham, once the largest housing estate in Europe. He told the Daily Telegraph that he spent his childhood "having a kickabout" with his friends. "There used to be a football court in Clifton," he said, "but the council took it away so the kids have got nothing to do. They're going to just make trouble, aren't they? That's what you do." Several of the songs on his debut Jake Bugg album such as "Seen It All" draw on his early experiences.
Bugg first became interested in music at the age of 12, after hearing Don McLean's "Vincent" soundtracking the moment on the "'Scuse Me While I Miss the Sky" episode of The Simpsons when Lisa becomes interested in astronomy. He told Mojo that he had no idea why that song in particular provided such a life-changing epiphany. "I can't answer that," he said. "I was like 'What is that song and why do I like it so much?' So I'm just as curious as you. After I'd looked at all of McLean's music, I really wanted to learn the guitar. My uncle coincidentally came round with an acoustic and showed me a couple of chords."
Bugg began playing bass in his older cousin's band, and around the same time began writing songs. He is mainly self-taught and never learnt how to read music, his only training was a music technology course at college that he dropped out from at the age of 16.
He was excluded from school for swearing at a teacher. Bugg was allowed back to perform before his former fellow pupils, wowing them in the process.
Bugg was signed by Mercury Records after being chosen by the BBC to appear on their "Introducing" stage at the 2011 Glastonbury Festival.
The oldest song on his eponymous debut album, "Someplace," was written by Bugg at the age of at 15.
Jake Bugg debuted at #1 on the UK album chart. At just short of 19 years old, he became the youngest British male ever to have an album enter the charts at top position.

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