Benjamin Mark Cork (born 4 August 1993), known professionally as Benedict Cork is an English singer-songwriter. He was raised in Bishop's Stortford, Hertfordshire.[1]
Benedict Cork | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Background information | |
| Birth name | Benjamin Mark Cork |
| Born | 4 August 1993 |
| Origin | Bishop's Stortford, England |
| Occupation(s) | Singer-songwriter, musician |
| Instruments | Vocals, piano |
| Years active | 2018–present |
| Website | www |
Early life
editCork was born Benjamin Mark Cork to Andrew Cork and Julia (née Kornberg). His maternal grandfather, Sir Hans Kornberg, was a German-born British-American biochemist whose parents were killed in the Holocaust. Cork has two older brothers and one older sister, SuRie, who represented the United Kingdom in the Eurovision Song Contest 2018 in Lisbon, Portugal.[2][3]
Growing up in Hertfordshire, Cork was educated at The Bishop's Stortford High School and Hills Road Sixth Form College. He first started performing in bands with friends and was a contemporary of Sam Smith in Cantate Youth Choir, before moving to London and taking up work as a piano man in bars.[4]
Career
edit2018-2020
editCork's official recording career started with a collaboration with Simon Jefferis. Their single Easy was released on 9 March 2018.[5]
His first solo release was Piano Tapes in September 2018, a live five-track EP recorded at Red Gate Recorders in Eagle Rock, California.[6] Elton John, on hearing the EP, referred to Cork as "sensational" and "a name to look out for".[7][8] The single Mama Said was described as "devastatingly beautiful" by Billboard.[9]
After launching a residency at London's Fiction Studios in 2019,[10] Cork supported Emily King and Tom Walker and appeared at British Summer Time in Hyde Park[11] supporting Stevie Wonder and Lionel Richie. This was followed by Cork's second EP, Letters To Strangers, in the summer of 2019.[12]
Cork supported Duncan Laurence on his European Tour[13] before recording Piano Tapes Volume II in late 2019/early 2020 and releasing the EP track by track over the summer of 2020. Cork also appeared in a campaign for French fashion house Mugler alongside English National Ballet dancer Precious Adams performing his song Wildfire.[14]
2021
editOn 18 June 2021 Cork released his EP Secrets I’ll Never Tell which contained five new songs. BBC 3 Counties Radio aired live versions of some tracks on the evening of 17 June, as well as a discussion around the themes of the EP. These include Cork's journey growing up as a gay man, heartbreak, sexual identity and the difficulties of being a musician and public figure in a largely digital world.[15][16]
To coincide with the release of Secrets I’ll Never Tell, Cork released a series of podcasts by the same name.[17] These showcased frank and open conversations with several collaborators from the world of entertainment and literature including Adam Lambert, MNEK, Sophia Thakur, Duncan Laurence and Precious Adams. The guests came from various ethnic and social backgrounds, and discussed the themes from the EP as well as topics such as mental health, authenticity, gender and the encompassed specific challenges arising from the COVID-19 pandemic and subsequent lockdowns.
2022
editCork released his fifth EP If These Walls Could Talk on 22 April 2022. During the If These Walls Could Talk live shows in London and Utrecht,[18] He announced he would be taking time off to write and record his debut album in 2022.[19]
On 21 October 2022, Cork hosted an album preview show at London’s Collins Music Hall to preview tracks from his debut album.[20] This included the single Dream Of You released on V2 Records on 18 November 2022[21] to coincide with his Incase It Don’t Come True European Tour.[22]
2023
editCork spent much of 2023 recording his debut album in London. During the summer of 2023, supported Adam Lambert at the Royal Albert Hall[23] and Tors[24] on their UK tour before announcing his own European tour for October 2023.[25]
Cork released the first single from his album Soulmates[26] on Kartel Music Group before embarking on his We Coulda Been Soulmates tour.[27] The single was supported by BBC Radio 1’s Future Pop show.[28] Cork also announced his US headline tour for February/March 2024.[29]
2024
editThe second single of Cork's upcoming album Reasons I Loved You (I Can't Think Of One) was released on January 26th[30] A few days later, Cork announced his debut album Notes On A Hopeless Romance[31] will be released May 10th accompanied by the Notes On A Hopeless Romance live tour running through May/June of 2024.[32]
PPLUK Momentum Fund Artist
editOn 26 July 2021,[33] Cork announced that he had been named as a PPLUK Momentum Fund Artist by the PRS Foundation.
Discography
editAlbum
edit| Title | Details |
|---|---|
| Notes On A Hopeless Romance |
|
Extended plays
edit| Title | Details |
|---|---|
| Piano Tapes (Live at Red Gate Recorders) |
|
| Letters To Strangers |
|
| Piano Tapes, Volume II |
|
| The Midnight Sessions |
|
| Secrets I'll Never Tell |
|
| If These Walls Could Talk |
|
| Live From Collins Music Hall |
|
Singles
edit| Title | Year | Album |
|---|---|---|
| "Easy (with Simon Jefferis)" | 2018 | non-album single |
| "Ghost" | 2018 | Piano Tapes (Live at Red Gate Recorders) |
| "Mama Said" | ||
| "Down for Forever" | ||
| "Believe" | ||
| "Wildfire" | ||
| "Therapy" | 2019 | Letters To Strangers |
| "Fear of Lonely" | ||
| "Funny How Things Change" | ||
| "Breaking Hearts" | ||
| "Pray No More" | ||
| "Boys Don’t Cry" | ||
| "Heaven Is a Place on Earth (Cover)" | 2019 | non-album single |
| "Hollywood" | 2020 | Piano Tapes, Volume II |
| "One Last Song" | ||
| "Growing Pains" | ||
| "Choices" | ||
| "Wild One" | ||
| "All My Famous Friends" | 2021 | Secrets I'll Never Tell |
| "Have A Good Life (See You Never)" | ||
| "Sick of the Parties" | ||
| "The Lucky Ones" | ||
| "At Least We Tried" | ||
| "The Life We Planned" | 2021 | If These Walls Could Talk |
| "Miracle" | 2022 | |
| "If These Walls Could Talk" | ||
| "All The Love Songs Sound The Same" | ||
| "Where The Wild Things Go" | ||
| "Dream Of You" | 2022 | non-album single |
| "Try Sleeping With A Broken Heart" | non-album single | |
| "Soulmates" | 2023 | Notes On A Hopeless Romance |
| "Reasons I Loved You (I Can't Think Of One)" | 2024 |
Songwriting credits
edit- Auryn - "Right Thing To Do" on Ghost Town[34]
- Mark Feehily - "Love Me, Or Leave Me Alone" on Fire
- Adam Lambert - "Feel Something" on Velvet
- Ørjan Nilsen - "Hold me"[35]
Performance credits
edit- ORKID - "Hands" on I Don't Give A Damn (piano)[36][37]
- Angel Haze - "April's Fool" on Dirty Gold (vocals)[38]
- Adam Lambert - "Feel Something" on Velvet (piano/backing vocals)[39]
- Ørjan Nilsen - "Hold me" (vocals)[35]
- Adam Lambert - "I'm A Man" on High Drama (backing vocals)[40]
References
edit- ^ "Benedict Cork" Archived 26 June 2021 at the Wayback Machine. Coffee House Sessions, 2018.
- ^ SuRie Retrieved on 17 February 2018
- ^ SuRie's Facebook post Facebook, 21 September 2018
- ^ "Pride Profile: 10 Questions With Singer, Songwriter & Adam Lambert Collaborator Benedict Cork" Billboard, 15 March 2019.
- ^ "PREMIERE: Simon Jefferis Makes Crafting the Perfect Blend of Lo-Fi, Soul, and R&B Seem 'Easy'". Ones to Watch, 9 March 2018.
- ^ "Pace Pictures Posts Live Video Series for Benedict Cork" Archived 27 June 2021 at the Wayback Machine. Creative Content Wire, 2018.
- ^ "Benedict Cork's Facebook post". Facebook, 20 July 2019.
- ^ "Introducing Benedict Cork". Apple Music, 2018.
- ^ "Queer Necessities: Billboard Pride's August 2018 Playlist". Billboard, 2 August 2018.
- ^ "Fiction Studios gigography". Songkick, 2019.
- ^ "British Summer Time at Hyde Park: Line-up, dates, tickets and more". Evening Standard, 3 July 2019.
- ^ "Singer/songwriter Benedict Cork releases new single 'Therapy' and it's fantastic" Archived 27 June 2021 at the Wayback Machine. Attitude, 12 February 2019.
- ^ "Dutch: Duncan Laurence - Benedict Cork (UK)". Patronaat, 3 October 2019.
- ^ "Benedict Cork - Wildfire ft. Precious Adams (Live)". YouTube, 8 November 2020.
- ^ "Griff chats about her new mixtape, Benedict Cork in Session, L4 in the mix". BBC Three Counties Radio, 17 June 2021.
- ^ "Benedict Cork interview (2021)". YouTube, 14 June 2021.
- ^ "Secrets I’ll Never Tell". Spotify, 26 May 2021.
- ^ "Benedict Cork's Facebook post, 11 February 2022". Facebook, 11 February 2022.
- ^ "Benedict Cork's Facebook post, 31 May 2022". Facebook, 31 May 2022.
- ^ "Benedict Cork's Instagram post, 22 October 2022". Instagram, 22 October 2022.
- ^ "Benedict Cork's Facebook post, 29 October 2022". Facebook, 29 October 2022.
- ^ "Benedict Cork's Instagram post, 11 October 2022". Instagram, 11 October 2022.
- ^ "Benedict Cork's Instagram post, 6 June 2023". Instagram, 6 June 2023.
- ^ "Benedict Cork's Instagram post, 16 May 2023". Instagram, 16 May 2023.
- ^ "Benedict Cork's Instagram post, 31 May 2023". Instagram, 31 May 2023.
- ^ "Benedict Cork's Instagram post, 12 October 2023". Instagram, 12 October 2023.
- ^ "Benedict Cork's Instagram post, 2 August 2023". Instagram, 2 August 2023.
- ^ "Benedict Cork's Instagram post, 19 October 2023" Instagram, 19 October 2023.
- ^ "Benedict Cork's Instagram post, 11 December 2023". Instagram, 11 December 2023.
- ^ "Benedict Cork's Instagram post, 22 January 2024". Instagram, 22 January 2024.
- ^ "Benedict Cork's Instagram post, 27 January 2024". Instagram, 27 January 2024.
- ^ "Benedict Cork's Instagram post, 29 January 2024". Instagram, 29 January 2024.
- ^ "PPLUK Momentum Fund Artist". Instagram, 26 July 2021.
- ^ "Lyrics ‘Right Thing To Do’". Genius, 4 December 2015.
- ^ a b "Ørjan Nilsen - Hold me". Spotify, 19 March 2021.
- ^ "ORKID - Hands". Spotify, 2018.
- ^ "Tweet played keys & sang some backing vocals’". Twitter, 7 December 2018.
- ^ "Angel Haze - April’s Fool". Spotify, 2014.
- ^ "Adam Lambert - Feel Something". Spotify, 2019.
- ^ "Adam Lambert - I'm A Man". Spotify, 2023.
External links
edit
- Official website
- Benedict Cork discography at Discogs