Barns Courtney

Courtney was born in England[8] then moved with his family to Seattle, Washington when he was 4.[9] He returned to the United Kingdom when 15.[10]

Barns Courtney formed his first band SleeperCell at the age of 15, with whom he won various battle of the bands competitions and then participated in Channel 4's Orange Unsigned, a national televised battle of the bands event[11]

Courtney signed a record deal at the age of 19, as the frontman of indie band Dive Bella Dive with Island Records,[12] developing the band's debut album in Los Angeles. However, issues with the producer, Red One, stalled their project and, bound by contractual obligations, Courtney and his band were unable to re-record the material. [13]

Despite touring and recording multiple albums, none could be released due to the band's contractual ties to Red One. It was only when Red One terminated their contract that Courtney could approach a new producer with his composition "Fire" which became his breakout single.[12]

The track Fire gained unexpected traction after being used in the Bradley Cooper movie Burnt, which enabled Courtney to quit his retail job and sign a deal with Virgin Records.[12]

In 2015, Courtney released his first track as a solo artist, "Glitter & Gold", which received radio play on BBC Introducing Suffolk and by BBC Radio 1's Phil Taggert,[14] and led to an appearance at Radio 1's Big Weekend in Exeter the following year.[15] "Glitter & Gold" also reached #1 on the UK Spotify Viral Chart, and #2 on the iTunes Alternative Chart.[16] Glitter & Gold" was later used in the trailer for the 2016 film The Founder starring Michael Keaton.

Also in 2015, "Fire" was featured in the Bradley Cooper movie Burnt[17] and went on to receive airplay on American rock radio in 2016. "Fire" was later used in the advertisement of the 24th season of "Top Gear". To date, "Fire" has been streamed more than 68 million times on Spotify, while "Glitter & Gold" has been streamed more than 98 million times. Courtney played at the SXSW Music Festival in Austin, Texas, in a showcase for NME magazine in March 2016[18] and performed "Fire" on Conan O'Brien's TBS talkshow Conan in June.[19] Another track, "Hobo Rocket", was included on the soundtrack of the EA Sports video game FIFA 17.[20] In 2017, Courtney was hailed as a "stomping, swaggering rock & roll balancing act teetering between blinding light and total darkness," In early 2017, the It's All Indie website selected Courtney as its #1 Sound of 2017.[21] The track 'Fire' has also featured on a 2019 advert for Peloton home spinning bikes. Courtney has opened for artists including The Who,[22] The Libertines, Ed Sheeran, The Lumineers, Tom Odell[23] and Fitz and the Tantrums,[24] and opened for Blur at the closing party for the 2016 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.[25] In 2016–2017, while working on his first full-length album,[26] he performed at the BottleRock Napa Valley festival in California,[27] the Governors Ball Music Festival in New York[28] and the LaureLive Music Festival in Cleveland, OH later in 2017.

In 2016, Barns Courtney played at the world famous Rock Werchter festival in Belgium on the KlubC stage.

In late January he also announced details of an extensive US headlining tour, in addition to the release of his debut EP, The Dull Drums.[29] His song, ""Hellfire", was named as the official theme song for Extreme Rules in 2017.

In 2017, His song 'Kicks' was featured in Need for Speed Payback.

His song "Hands" was used in MLB The Show 17

His song "Fire" was used in the 2017 documentary We, the Marines, narrated by Gene Hackman.[30]

Throughout the 2017 AFL season, the Hawthorn Football Club used "Glitter and Gold" with a highlights package over the ground public address system in the final 60 seconds before the start of home games.

In November 2017, the BBC used his song "Champion" for their Rugby League World Cup advertising campaign. As well as being used by WWE for their pay-per-view Backlash 2018.[31]

He performed on Steve Angello's 2018 album Human on the song "Dopamine".

In May 2018, the Netflix series Safe used his song "Glitter & Gold" as its intro song. Additionally they used the track "Fire" as the credit track.[32]

His song "Champion" is featured in the San Diego Studio video game MLB The Show 18.

His song "Hellfire" is featured on the first episode of the first season of Marvel's Cloak and Dagger, initially aired 7 June 2018.

Courtney is also credited as featuring on The Prodigy song "Give Me a Signal" from their new album No Tourists.

Courtney's song "Champion" was also used in the first gameplay trailer for the Battle Charge gameplay expansion for the popular battle royale shooter Apex Legends.[33]

Courtney's song “Fun Never Ends” is featured on the soundtrack of the EA Sports video game NHL 20.[34]

Courtney's song "99" was featured on the soundtrack of the video game, WWE 2K20.

His song "Sinners" was used as the background music for the first trailer of the video game As Dusk Falls, presented on 23 July 2020.[35]

• Official website
• Barns Courtney at AllMusic
• Barns Courtney on SoundCloud
• Barns Courtney at BBC Music
• Barns Courtney at IMDb