On Her Majesty’s Service<\/h1>\nThey have \u0018fine manners, plentiful Royal connections and count the Queen among their fans. So how will the boys from Blake crown that?<\/h2>\nBy Katy Pearson<\/div>\nDuring the Olympic and Diamond Jubilee year, which saw Britain really spread its wings, it\u2019s no surprise that classical boyband Blake has become one of our best-loved exports. After all, their fans include the Queen and the Duchess of Cambridge \u2013 one of the quartet even went to university with the former Catherine Middleton. In fact, Blake \u2013 Humphrey Berney, Ollie Baines, Stephen Bowman and Jules Knight \u2013 has performed at Buckingham Palace \u2018quite a few times\u2019, delighting in \u2018wandering down corridors and going where you\u2019re not supposed to\u2019.<\/p>\n
I meet the foursome at Ollie Baines\u2019s west London apartment. As the other chaps arrive (Stephen Bowman on his motorbike), our host brings out a tray loaded with cake, cups, saucers and a \u0013fine china teapot. Yes, these men have manners \u2013 and they\u2019re not afraid to use them. In fact, they believe they wouldn\u2019t be where they are today without knowing how to behave.<\/p>\n
\u2018We\u2019re not a risky band. We\u2019re not going to talk about political issues on stage and we\u2019re not going to talk about sex, drugs and rock \u2019n\u2019 roll,\u2019 explains Humphrey Berney. \u2018We are nice boys, we look all right, we dress appropriately. I guess we really tick the boxes.\u2019<\/p>\n
The band released its debut album, Blake, in 2007 \u2013 and it won the Album of the Year Award at the Classical Brit Awards in 2008. Two more albums followed and, in 2009, Berney joined the band (replacing baritone Dominic Tighe). The band\u2019s next album, Start Over, will be its \u0013first real venture into pop. But isn\u2019t that quite a departure for a band that boasts two former choristers and an opera singer?<\/p>\n
\u2018It\u2019s evolution, really,\u2019 says Baines. \u2018We\u2019ve been going for nearly six years with three albums. When Blake began, there was a classical element to the sound, but, if you listen to the three albums, there\u2019s a real mix of classical and pop. It\u2019s just something we\u2019ve always wanted to do.\u2019<\/p>\n
![\"Blake\"](\"http:\/\/www.lady.co.uk\/images\/content\/December_14_2012\/Blake-Dec14-00-Quote-590.jpg\")
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Blake has a huge following around the world and has performed everywhere, from China and the Philippines (where members of the band were greeted by their faces on 60-foot-high billboards) to the opening of Wimbledon\u2019s remodelled Centre Court.<\/p>\n
So what, I wonder aloud, is Blake\u2019s enduring global appeal? \u2018We are de\u0013 nitely one of the busiest British bands, especially abroad,\u2019 acknowledges Bowman. \u2018And I think that\u2019s an important thing \u2013 by taking our music abroad, we\u2019re almost acting like ambassadors.\u2019<\/p>\n
\u2018It\u2019s a good time to be British,\u2019 adds Baines. \u2018This summer reinvigorated everyone. Everyone\u2019s been feeling cynical and down in the dumps about Britain and we haven\u2019t had a very good few years, but the Olympics just made everyone start to feel it\u2019s good to be British again.\u2019<\/p>\n
Blake certainly looks like a band of brothers. They even \u0013finish each other\u2019s sentences. But are they really best friends? Or is it all just an act?<\/p>\n
\u2018I think a lot of bands actually end because of the stresses and strains you are under,\u2019 muses Berney. \u2018When you\u2019ve got four guys, you\u2019ve got four friends, four egos, four ambitions, four di\u0094 erent temperaments and they\u2019re put to the test the whole time, travelling. You\u2019re excited, you\u2019re hungover, you\u2019re put through every di\u0094fferent strain a relationship can be put through \u2013 and the fact that we\u2019re stronger than ever with this new album is testament (once we\u2019ve had a good night\u2019s sleep and a shower) to what good friends we are.\u2019<\/p>\n
\u2018I think we are quite similar,\u2019 adds Bowman. \u2018We share a sense of humour, so we have a lot of stu\u0094ff in common, which makes the whole process a lot easier. And we came to it late, so it\u2019s not like we were 17. We came to it with a slightly more stable ambition.\u2019<\/p>\n
Speaking of ambition, what does the band now want to achieve? \u2018We always had success in the classical charts, but I think it\u2019s important we have some success in the pop charts for this album,\u2019 says Jules Knight. \u2018A Top 10 pop album would be a fantastic achievement for a group that has always been in the classical genre.\u2019<\/p>\n
And on that Royal connection? Knight witnessed the budding romance between William and Catherine while studying with the couple at St Andrews. Baines, meanwhile, attended Marlborough College with the Middleton sisters. So are they still close today?<\/p>\n
\u2018As a band we\u2019ve been lucky to perform for the Royal Family quite a few times,\u2019 explains Knight. \u2018Probably it is because the kind of music we do is suitable for state occasions. We are very happy to be at their service.\u2019<\/p>\n
During the Olympic and Diamond Jubilee year, which saw Britain really spread its wings, it\u2019s no surprise that classical boyband Blake has become one of our best-loved exports. After all, their fans include the Queen and the Duchess of Cambridge \u2013 one of the quartet even went to university with the former Catherine Middleton. In fact, Blake \u2013 Humphrey Berney, Ollie Baines, Stephen Bowman and Jules Knight \u2013 has performed at Buckingham Palace \u2018quite a few times\u2019, delighting in \u2018wandering down corridors and going where you\u2019re not supposed to\u2019.<\/p>\n
I meet the foursome at Ollie Baines\u2019s west London apartment. As the other chaps arrive (Stephen Bowman on his motorbike), our host brings out a tray loaded with cake, cups, saucers and a \u0013fine china teapot. Yes, these men have manners \u2013 and they\u2019re not afraid to use them. In fact, they believe they wouldn\u2019t be where they are today without knowing how to behave.<\/p>\n
\u2018We\u2019re not a risky band. We\u2019re not going to talk about political issues on stage and we\u2019re not going to talk about sex, drugs and rock \u2019n\u2019 roll,\u2019 explains Humphrey Berney. \u2018We are nice boys, we look all right, we dress appropriately. I guess we really tick the boxes.\u2019<\/p>\n
The band released its debut album, Blake, in 2007 \u2013 and it won the Album of the Year Award at the Classical Brit Awards in 2008. Two more albums followed and, in 2009, Berney joined the band (replacing baritone Dominic Tighe). The band\u2019s next album, Start Over, will be its \u0013first real venture into pop. But isn\u2019t that quite a departure for a band that boasts two former choristers and an opera singer?<\/p>\n
\u2018It\u2019s evolution, really,\u2019 says Baines. \u2018We\u2019ve been going for nearly six years with three albums. When Blake began, there was a classical element to the sound, but, if you listen to the three albums, there\u2019s a real mix of classical and pop. It\u2019s just something we\u2019ve always wanted to do.\u2019<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Blake has a huge following around the world and has performed everywhere, from China and the Philippines (where members of the band were greeted by their faces on 60-foot-high billboards) to the opening of Wimbledon\u2019s remodelled Centre Court.<\/p>\n
So what, I wonder aloud, is Blake\u2019s enduring global appeal? \u2018We are de\u0013 nitely one of the busiest British bands, especially abroad,\u2019 acknowledges Bowman. \u2018And I think that\u2019s an important thing \u2013 by taking our music abroad, we\u2019re almost acting like ambassadors.\u2019<\/p>\n
\u2018It\u2019s a good time to be British,\u2019 adds Baines. \u2018This summer reinvigorated everyone. Everyone\u2019s been feeling cynical and down in the dumps about Britain and we haven\u2019t had a very good few years, but the Olympics just made everyone start to feel it\u2019s good to be British again.\u2019<\/p>\n
Blake certainly looks like a band of brothers. They even \u0013finish each other\u2019s sentences. But are they really best friends? Or is it all just an act?<\/p>\n
\u2018I think a lot of bands actually end because of the stresses and strains you are under,\u2019 muses Berney. \u2018When you\u2019ve got four guys, you\u2019ve got four friends, four egos, four ambitions, four di\u0094 erent temperaments and they\u2019re put to the test the whole time, travelling. You\u2019re excited, you\u2019re hungover, you\u2019re put through every di\u0094fferent strain a relationship can be put through \u2013 and the fact that we\u2019re stronger than ever with this new album is testament (once we\u2019ve had a good night\u2019s sleep and a shower) to what good friends we are.\u2019<\/p>\n
\u2018I think we are quite similar,\u2019 adds Bowman. \u2018We share a sense of humour, so we have a lot of stu\u0094ff in common, which makes the whole process a lot easier. And we came to it late, so it\u2019s not like we were 17. We came to it with a slightly more stable ambition.\u2019<\/p>\n
Speaking of ambition, what does the band now want to achieve? \u2018We always had success in the classical charts, but I think it\u2019s important we have some success in the pop charts for this album,\u2019 says Jules Knight. \u2018A Top 10 pop album would be a fantastic achievement for a group that has always been in the classical genre.\u2019<\/p>\n
And on that Royal connection? Knight witnessed the budding romance between William and Catherine while studying with the couple at St Andrews. Baines, meanwhile, attended Marlborough College with the Middleton sisters. So are they still close today?<\/p>\n
\u2018As a band we\u2019ve been lucky to perform for the Royal Family quite a few times,\u2019 explains Knight. \u2018Probably it is because the kind of music we do is suitable for state occasions. We are very happy to be at their service.\u2019<\/p>\n