Jack Christopher Allsopp (born 12 May 1975), known by the stage name Just Jack, is an English musician from Camden Town, London. He first came to prominence with the release of his 2007 single "Starz in Their Eyes", which reached number two on the UK Singles Chart. He has also since been known for the songs "Embers", peaking at number 17, and "The Day I Died", which peaked at number 11, and the track "Writer's Block".

Just Jack
Just Jack at Rock en Seine, August 2007
Just Jack at Rock en Seine, August 2007
Background information
Birth nameJack Christopher Allsopp
Born (1975-05-12) 12 May 1975 (age 49)[1]
OriginCamden Town, London, England
GenresHip hop, UK garage
Years active2002–present
LabelsRGR Records (2002-2003)
Mercury (2006–2009)
Rocket Records (2016–present)
Websitewww.justjackmusic.co.uk

Background

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Born in Camden, Allsopp grew up listening to dance music including breakdance, electro hip hop and house. An amateur breakdancer at eight, he started DJing at the age of 15 and he soon became submerged in DJ culture and UK garage.[2]

After completing a degree in furniture design at Kingston University, he enrolled in a community music production course, so that he could better his awareness of sampling and its potential for use. He went on to practice on perfecting his sound by night and to take on a series of jobs by day.[3]

Career

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Allsopp's debut album, titled The Outer Marker, released in 2002 by the independent label RGR Records, was a collection of songs about modern life, relationships, and the pressures of social situations. The album spawned three singles "Paradise (Lost & Found)", "Snowflakes" and "Triple Tone Eyes". "Snowflakes", his first song to enter the charts at number 164, samples The Cure's song "Lullaby" from their album Disintegration.[4]

He did not gain fame until 2007, following his TV debut on BBC2's Later... with Jools Holland, and then on the Channel 4 show The Friday Night Project, where he performed the single "Starz in Their Eyes", which reached number two in the UK Singles Chart. The following three singles from the album Overtones, "Glory Days", "Writer's Block" and "No Time" did not make the top thirty. "Starz In Their Eyes" was also featured in the Dolce & Gabbana Summer 2008 fashion show, and the Xbox 360 Kinect game Kinect Sports.[5][6] He also collaborated with Kylie Minogue on the song "I Talk Too Much", for the American release of Overtones.[7]

Allsopp performed at Glastonbury Festival, V Festival and T4 on the Beach in 2007 and again at Glastonbury Festival in 2009. He also performed at Guilfest in 2010.

He released his third album All Night Cinema on 31 August 2009, preceded by its first single "Embers", which had its premiere on BBC Radio 1 on 12 January 2009,[8] and second single "The Day I Died", which became Jack's second highest charting single on the UK Singles Chart, peaking at number 11. Both singles peaked inside the top 20. The original choice for second single was "Doctor Doctor" but the single release was subsequently postponed.

In August 2011, Jack announced on Facebook "So close to finishing a 5 track EP. Just need to find a home for it..."[9] Though later didn't feel like the final track was completed, he released a statement in November 2011 saying "A bit of background info... As some of you will know I recently finished a 4-track EP of new songs. It was going to be 5, but the last song didn't feel properly finished and didn't really work with the others. I'll save it for a later date. Most of the music was recorded at home and, for the first time, I mixed the songs myself. They are a little lo-fi and intentionally not 'radio' or 'singles'. I tried to make them sound warm and natural and intimate, basically the kind of music I would listen to myself. I haven't found a label to put them out through yet, but I wanted you to hear them anyway. The first will be up on Monday (for a few days) via a link to my Soundcloud, and the others will go up on the following 3 Mondays. Over and out."[10] This 4-track EP was later titled Rough/Ready and made available as a free download on 17 April 2012 through the newly designed official Just Jack website.[11] In September 2014, Allsopp released a new EP titled Winning EP.[12]

A third EP titled Life Lessons was released on 6 May 2016 through The Rocket Record Company, his first album on a label since 2009.[13]

He went on to release his fourth album, “What We Did Today” on 27 October in 2017. On 20 September 2019, he released a 7-track EP called Laughing & Crying which contained four new originals and three acoustic covers.

Discography

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Studio albums

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List of studio albums, with selected chart positions and certifications
Title Album details Peak chart positions Certifications
UK
[14]
BEL
(FL)

[15]
FRA
[16]
IRL
[17]
NLD
[18]
SWI
[19]
The Outer Marker
Overtones
  • Released: 29 January 2007
  • Label: Mercury
  • Formats: CD, digital download
6 74 25 11 74 69
All Night Cinema
  • Released: 31 August 2009
  • Label: Mercury
  • Formats: CD, digital download
22 99
What We Did Today
  • Released: 27 October 2017
  • Label: Tristar Records
That Was Now
  • Released: 3 March 2023
  • Label: Nearly Native
"—" denotes a recording that did not chart or was not released in that territory.

Singles

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List of singles, with selected chart positions and certifications, showing year released and album name
Title Year Peak chart positions Certifications Album
UK
[21]
BEL
(FL)

[15]
BEL
(WA)

[22]
EU
[23]
GER
[24]
IRL
[17]
ITA
[25]
NLD
[18]
SCO
[26]
SWI
[19]
"Paradise (Lost & Found)" 2002 The Outer Marker
"Snowflakes" 2003 164
"Triple Tone Eyes"
"Starz in Their Eyes" 2007 2 29 57 2 64 2 10 57 3 26 Overtones
"Glory Days" 32 33
"Writer's Block" 74 67 47
"No Time" 76 [A]
"Embers" 2009 17 19 All Night Cinema
"The Day I Died" 11 14
"Alchemist" 2016 Life Lessons
"—" denotes a recording that did not chart or was not released in that territory.

See also

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Notes

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  1. ^ "No Time" did not enter the Swiss Singles chart, but charted at number 78 on the Swiss Airplay chart.[27]

References

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  1. ^ Room, Adrian (10 January 2014). Dictionary of Pseudonyms: 13,000 Assumed Names and Their Origins, 5th ed. McFarland. p. 254. ISBN 9780786457632.
  2. ^ BBC Blast interview with Just Jack
  3. ^ Slomowicz, Ron. About.com interview Archived 17 December 2007 at the Wayback Machine 12 September 2004. Retrieved 16 June 2011.
  4. ^ About.com interview Archived 16 October 2011 at the Wayback Machine 12 September 2004. Retrieved 16 June 2011.
  5. ^ Rock Werchter 2009 Archived 10 August 2011 at the Wayback Machine Retrieved 16 June 2011.
  6. ^ "Kinect Sports track list". Rare. 16 November 2010. Archived from the original on 2 April 2015. Retrieved 21 October 2016.
  7. ^ Hypedworld Archived 25 March 2012 at the Wayback Machine 3 October 2008. Retrieved 16 June 2011.
  8. ^ BBC Radio 1 programme 12 January 2009. Retrieved 16 June 2011.
  9. ^ "Just Jack - So close to finishing a 5 track EP. Just need... - Facebook". facebook.com.
  10. ^ "Just Jack - Timeline Photos - Facebook". facebook.com.
  11. ^ "Downloads". justjack.co.uk. August 2021.
  12. ^ "Winning EP - Just Jack". bandcamp.com. Retrieved 10 May 2016.
  13. ^ "Just Jack - Rocket Music". rocketmusic.com. Archived from the original on 23 May 2016. Retrieved 10 May 2016. Retrieved 10 May 2016
  14. ^ "Just Jack" (select "Albums" tab). Official Charts Company. Retrieved 30 October 2013.
  15. ^ a b "Discografie Just Jack". ultratop.be (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 30 October 2013.
  16. ^ "Discographie Just Jack". lescharts.com (in French). Hung Medien. Retrieved 30 October 2013.
  17. ^ a b "Discography Just Jack". irish-charts.com. Hung Medien. Retrieved 30 October 2013.
  18. ^ a b "Discografie Just Jack". dutchcharts.nl (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 30 October 2013.
  19. ^ a b "Discography Just Jack". swisscharts.com. Hung Medien. Retrieved 30 October 2013.
  20. ^ a b c "British certifications – Just Jack". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved 30 April 2022. Type Just Jack in the "Search BPI Awards" field and then press Enter.
  21. ^ Peak chart positions for singles in the United Kingdom:
  22. ^ "Discographie Just Jack". ultratop.be (in French). Hung Medien. Retrieved 30 October 2013.
  23. ^
  24. ^ "Just Jack (Single)". charts.de (in German). Media Control Charts. Retrieved 31 October 2013.[dead link]
  25. ^ "Search for: Just Jack". italiancharts.com. Hung Medien. Retrieved 31 October 2013.
  26. ^
  27. ^ "Schweizer Airplay Charts 42/2007 - hitparade.ch". hitparade.ch. Retrieved 3 March 2022.
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