Calvin Harris biography

 

Scottish producer and DJ Calvin Harris went from self-releasing his music online to selling millions in the 2000s and 2010s with radio-friendly, electronic dance crossover anthems such as "Feel So Close," "This Is What You Came For," "Slide," and "One Kiss." In addition to winning a Grammy in 2013, he also broke Michael Jackson's record for the most U.K. Top Ten singles from one album and was named Forbes' highest-earning DJ in 2013.

After issuing his first two efforts - 2007's I Created Disco and 2009's Ready for the Weekend - he made his 2012 mainstream breakthrough with 18 Months, which recruited high-profile guest vocalists such as Rihanna, Kelis, Ellie Goulding, and Florence Welch, resulting in multiple chart hits and platinum certifications. With this successful electronic pop crossover formula, he issued the U.S. Top Five Motion in 2014 before reaching a chart peak in 2017 with the hip-hop and retro-R&B summertime hit Funk Wav Bounces, Vol. 1. More Top 20 U.K. songs followed, including 2018's "One Kiss" with Dua Lipa, 2019's "Giant" with Rag'n'Bone Man, and 2021's "By Your Side" with Tom Grennan. In 2022, he released his sixth LP, Funk Wav Bounces, Vol. 2.

Born Adam Richard Wiles on January 17, 1984 in the southern Scotland city of Dumfries, Harris was first attracted to electronic music in his teens and was recording bedroom demos by 1999. Two of these songs, "Da Bongos" and "Brighter Days," were released as a 12" club single and an EP by the Prima Facie label in early 2002 under the artist name Stouffer. With that single to his credit, the still-teenaged Harris moved from Scotland to London, but as a very small fish in one of the world's largest and most competitive ponds, he floundered; only one of his songs was released during his time in London, "Let Me Know" with vocalist Ayah on the Unabombers' 2004 live-mix CD Electric Soul, Vol. 2.

Returning home to Dumfries, Harris began posting homemade solo recordings to his MySpace page. An A&R representative from EMI liked what he heard and signed Harris to the label in 2006. Following a pair of successful singles, Harris released his debut album, I Created Disco, in the summer of 2007. It featured two Top Ten hits ("Acceptable in the 80s" and "The Girls") and climbed high in the album charts.

"I'm Not Alone," the first single from his second album, hit number one upon release in April 2009, as did the album when it appeared that August. That album, Ready for the Weekend, topped the U.K. albums chart and peaked at number 12 on Billboard's U.S. dance/electronic chart. Through 2011, Harris took on production work for Example, Tinchy Stride, and Rihanna ("We Found Love," a quadruple-platinum hit in the U.S.) and issued two of his own singles (the Kelis collaboration "Bounce" and "Feel So Close"). Harris' third solo album, 18 Months, was a collaboration-filled affair that featured "We Found Love" and "Bounce," plus vocal spots from Ellie Goulding, Florence Welch, and Ne-Yo, among others. It was released in October 2012, hit number one on the U.K. albums chart, and reached number 19 in the U.S. Nine singles from the album went Top Ten in the U.K. -- an astonishing feat.

His next effort, Funk Wav Bounces, Vol. 1, arrived in the summer of 2017. Boasting a festival's worth of inspired guest artists, it peaked at number two on both the U.K. charts and the Billboard 200. In 2018, Harris began to roll out a series of standalone singles, starting with "Nuh Ready, Nuh Ready" featuring Canadian rapper PartyNextDoor. Later that year, Harris scored a pair of '90s-house-tinged U.K. chart-toppers: one with Dua Lipa ("One Kiss") and another with Sam Smith ("Promises"). He also reached number two in the U.K. with his song "Giant" with Rag'n'Bone Man.

Released in August 2022, the sequel proved nearly as popular as its predecessor, reaching number five in the U.K. and 17 on the Billboard 200. A standalone single, "Miracle" featuring Ellie Goulding, arrived in March 2023.