Album Review: Running Still by Charlie Winston

Charlie Winston isn't the only compositeur anglais to have acquired a vociferous French following, but he's the only one in recent times to have had a No 1 album there (2009's Hobo) while remaining almost unknown in his home country. France has been captivated by the idea that he's a rakish Anglo troubadour – acoustic guitar, jaunty hat, weatherbeaten voice – with a streak of Gallic seen-it-allness (as made manifest by the line "I sit around drinking coffee all day/ Nothing to do and a little to say" in Speak to Me). The romance of it all doesn't play quite so well in Britain, but this album is still a palatable addition to the adult-contemporary genre.

Full Review >>

Apparently when Charlie Winston was a child he wanted to be an actor, so it’s only fitting that the English singer-songwriter currently resides in France, the birthplace of cinema. Still largely an unknown in his home country, Winston is a bona fide multi-platinum superstar in the French Republic, with previous album Hobo peaking at Number 1 and spending 30 weeks inside the Top 10. Certainly with his broodingly handsome features, snappy dress sense and affected whimsy he ticks several boxes in the big book of French stereotypes.

Full Review >>