Singer ready for his ‘coming home’ set

SINGER James Arthur, one of Bahrain’s most famous expats is looking forward to returning to the kingdom and stepping out on stage at Bahrain Bay on Friday night, writes Stan Szecowka.

The former British School of Bahrain pupil is one of the star turns at this year’s Spring of Culture annual festival and is remembered by former teachers and classmates as James Rafferty, or simply Raff, the ‘class clown’ with a passion to perform during his four years as a pupil.

“I’m really excited to be coming back! It feels like a homecoming,” he told GulfWeekly. “Bahrain holds nothing but great memories. It showed me a different life growing up and I have very fond memories of the place.

“I am hoping a few old friends will be in the audience! Let’s see. It would be great to see everyone again. Thank you all for your continued support and I’m so happy to be performing back in Bahrain.”

James shot to fame in winning the TV talent show X Factor in 2012, aged 24, and enjoyed a massive hit single Impossible and successful debut album. A photograph of him wearing his BSB school uniform was placed in the school library which also contained copies of his book highlighting his happy times as a pupil.

His teenage life spiralled out of control when he had to return to the UK at the age of 14. He recalled the trauma of having to leave behind a comfortable expat lifestyle and ending up in foster care.

Fame was not initially kind either. After bursting on to the music scene, things once again went disastrously wrong for the singer-songwriter, caught up by the whirlwind of sudden fame. He was axed from TV show mogul Simon Cowell’s record label after a number of fallouts over his lyrics and behaviour on social media.

After scooping the X Factor crown - James must have thought he was swapping his miserable bedsit for a life of fame, fortune and glamorous ladies. He couldn’t have been more wrong.

But everyone loves a comeback story. Two years on, he was back with his feet firmly on the ground and armed with the emotional acoustic hit Say You Won’t Let Go, which soared up the charts to No 1 globally, from the equally successful album Back from the Edge.

“Let’s have some fun at at the show!” he added. “I’ve also been in the studio working on my third album, due out later this year.

“It’s very exciting and I can’t wait for people to hear the new sound!”

Fans will get a taste of the upcoming material alongside his current hits during the Bahrain Bay show.