Soundtrack Of My Life: Jamie Bell

12 January, 2024

Jamie Bell

The first song I remember hearing

Whitney Houston – ‘I Wanna Dance With Somebody (Who Loves Me)’

“It got a lot of playtime in my very small house in Billingham in the north-east of England. Whitney Houston was definitely someone that I remember being aware of when I was young. Like, ‘Oh, there’s that song again. We’re listening to it again!'”

The first album I owned

The Verve – ‘Urban Hymns’

“I was about 11 or 12. I had this teacher who would play [1997 hit] ‘Bittersweet Symphony’ in class. The whole country was just obsessed with that song at the time. I was hearing it everywhere and, of course, it had that great music video too.”

The first gig I went to

Eminem at Milton Keynes Bowl, 2003

“It was interesting. It made me realise I don’t particularly like crowds. I think I much prefer to listen to his music on headphones. I’m not a festival person. I’ve never been to Glastonbury and I genuinely have no interest in that. I totally understand that it can be a life-changing experience. I just don’t need to be a part of it.”

The song that reminds me of home

T. Rex – ‘Cosmic Dancer’

“What rings true of home for me is stuff from the Billy Elliot soundtrack. I live in the US now so [my home] is fucking far away. That album really takes me back to a certain time in my life when I spent the most time there. It was a wonderful thing to be a part of and the connections and the friendships that I made on the film are the really lasting thing.”

The song I wish I’d written

Elton John – ‘Your Song’

“It’s funny because whenever his songs come on, because I played Bernie Taupin [Elton John‘s lyricist partner, in 2019 biopic Rocketman], I go ‘I’ve written quite a lot of these’, in a weird fictional way… I had some friends who went to see him in New York and they were sending me videos because he plays clips from Rocketman and my face was on the big screen behind him. It’s brilliant to be a part of his story.”

The song I can’t get out of my head

Gloria Gaynor – ‘I Am What I Am’

“It’s in the Virgin Atlantic commercial. Oh God! I hear it all fucking day. I mean, it’s a lovely commercial. The concept, love it. But fucking hell. Would it stop me flying with them? Kind of, it’s close.”

The song I can no longer listen to

Radiohead – ‘How To Disappear Completely’

“I think it’s probably ruined forever. I just don’t think I’ll ever play that song again. There’s too much connection to that a time [in my life], the place and the people and just a feeling of: ‘Thank God I’m not there anymore’.”

The song that makes me want to dance

Dua Lipa – ‘Dance The Night’

“I’m just going to say this because my four-year-old daughter loves it and it’s off the Barbie soundtrack and she fucking loves it. She can’t get enough of Barbie. It’s really cute. And I love Barbie too!”

The album that makes me cry

Beyoncé – ‘Homecoming: The Live Album’

“I am a crier. I cry at most things. I do! There’s things that really catch me off guard. There was a period, and this is gonna sound weird, where I was crying at Beyoncé
‘s ‘Homecoming: The Live Album’. I think it was, in some ways, the response of the crowd to what she was doing. She means a fucking lot to a lot of people and I think that was what I found quite moving.”

The song I do at karaoke

Nirvana – ‘Heart-Shaped Box’

“There was one time after I had done Saturday Night Live, and the cast went out. Justin Timberlake was there, and we sang something together. I can’t remember what it was and I was nervous, but he made it fun. It’s annoying when people are good. And he’s very good. But somehow, he made it calm and relaxed.”