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Artist
Mathew Jay
12+ albums
about
When he emerged in 2000, Matthew Jay was hailed by many as the new golden boy of British folk pop. At just 21 years old, he was compared to Nick Drake, Belle & Sebastian and Elliott Smith, and his debut single Please Don't Send Me Away was Mark and Lard's record of the week on Radio 1. Jay grew up in Abergavenny in South Wales, although he moved to Nottingham as his career began to take off. He was brought up in a family of musicians, and was inspired by his parents' Beatles, Stones and Led Zeppelin records. He signed a recording deal with Food Records before playing his first gig, on the strength of a collection of self-penned songs recorded in his bedroom. Many of these songs appeared on Jay's debut album, Draw, which was released in March 2001. While critically acclaimed, Jay never found the commercial success many felt he deserved, although he supported a number of more established artists including Stereophonics, Dido and Starsailor. Towards the end of 2002 he parted company with his record company, and began working on new material. Tragically, Jay died on 24 September 2003 after falling seven storeys from the window of a North London flat. He was 24 years old. His parents issued a statement saying: "It is understood that there was nobody with him in the room at the time and no note was left. "His family loved him dearly, admired him greatly and wish Matthew and all who loved him peace and tranquility. Matthew lived and died for his music. We hope that his music wi
