Benedict Cork

Benjamin Mark Cork (born 4 August 1993), known professionally as Benedict Cork is an English singer-songwriter. He was raised in Bishop's Stortford, Hertfordshire.[1]

Benedict Cork
Background information
Birth nameBenjamin Mark Cork
Born (1993-08-04) 4 August 1993
OriginBishop's Stortford, England
Occupation(s)Singer-songwriter, musician
InstrumentsVocals, piano
Years active2018–present
Websitewww.benedictcork.com

Early life

Cork was born Benjamin Mark Cork to Andrew Cork and Julia (née Kornberg). His maternal grandfather, Sir Hans Kornberg, was a German-born British-American biochemist whose parents were killed in the Holocaust. Cork has two older brothers and one older sister, SuRie, who represented the United Kingdom in the Eurovision Song Contest 2018 in Lisbon, Portugal.[2][3]

Growing up in Hertfordshire, Cork was educated at The Bishop's Stortford High School and Hills Road Sixth Form College. He first started performing in bands with friends before moving to London and taking up work as a piano man in bars.[4]

Career

2018

Cork's official recording career started with a collaboration with Simon Jefferis. Their single Easy was released on 9 March 2018.[5]

His first solo release was Piano Tapes in September 2018, a live five-track EP recorded at Red Gate Recorders in Eagle Rock, California.[6] Elton John, on hearing the EP, referred to Cork as "sensational" and "a name to look out for".[7][8] The single Mama Said was described as "devastatingly beautiful" by Billboard.[9]

2019-2020

After launching a residency at London's Fiction Studios in 2019,[10] Cork supported Emily King and Tom Walker and appeared at British Summer Time in Hyde Park[11] supporting Stevie Wonder and Lionel Richie. This was followed by Cork's second EP, Letters To Strangers, in the summer of 2019.[12]

Cork supported Duncan Laurence on his European Tour[13] before recording Piano Tapes Volume II in late 2019/early 2020 and releasing the EP track by track over the summer of 2020. Cork also appeared in a campaign for French fashion house Mugler alongside English National Ballet dancer Precious Adams performing his song Wildfire.[14]

2021

On 18 June 2021 Cork released his EP Secrets I’ll Never Tell which contained five new songs. BBC 3 Counties Radio aired live versions of some tracks on the evening of 17 June, as well as a discussion around the themes of the EP. These include Cork's journey growing up as a gay man, heartbreak, sexual identity and the difficulties of being a musician and public figure in a largely digital world.[15][16]

To coincide with the release of Secrets I’ll Never Tell, Cork released a series of podcasts by the same name.[17] These showcased frank and open conversations with several collaborators from the world of entertainment and literature including Adam Lambert, MNEK, Sophia Thakur, Duncan Laurence and Precious Adams. The guests came from various ethnic and social backgrounds, and discussed the themes from the EP as well as topics such as mental health, authenticity, gender and the encompassed specific challenges arising from the COVID-19 pandemic and subsequent lockdowns.

2022

Cork released his fifth EP If These Walls Could Talk on 22 April 2022. During the If These Walls Could Talk live shows in London and Utrecht,[18] He announced he would be taking time off to write and record his debut album in 2022.[19]

On 21 October 2022, Cork hosted an album preview show at London’s Collins Music Hall to preview tracks from his debut album.[20] This included the debut single Dream Of You released on V2 Records on 18 November 2022[21] to coincide with his Incase It Don’t Come True European Tour.[22]

PPLUK Momentum Fund Artist

On 26th July 2021,[23] Cork announced that he had been named as a PPLUK Momentum Fund Artist by the PRS Foundation.

Discography

Extended plays
Title Details
Piano Tapes (Live at Red Gate Recorders)
Letters To Strangers
Piano Tapes, Volume II
The Midnight Sessions
Secrets I'll Never Tell
If These Walls Could Talk
Live From Collins Music Hall

Singles
Title Year Album
"Easy (with Simon Jefferis)" 2018 non-album single
"Ghost" 2018 Piano Tapes (Live at Red Gate Recorders)
"Mama Said"
"Down for Forever"
"Believe"
"Wildfire"
"Therapy" 2019 Letters To Strangers
"Fear of Lonely"
"Funny How Things Change"
"Breaking Hearts"
"Pray No More"
"Boys Don’t Cry"
"Heaven Is a Place on Earth (Cover)" 2019 non-album single
"Hollywood" 2020 Piano Tapes, Volume II
"One Last Song"
"Growing Pains"
"Choices"
"Wild One"
"All My Famous Friends" 2021 Secrets I'll Never Tell
"Have A Good Life (See You Never)"
"Sick of the Parties"
"The Lucky Ones"
"At Least We Tried"
"The Life We Planned" 2021 If These Walls Could Talk
"Miracle" 2022
"If These Walls Could Talk"
"All The Love Songs Sound The Same"
"Where The Wild Things Go"
"Dream Of You" 2022 non-album single
"Try Sleeping With A Broken Heart" non-album single
"Soulmates" 2023 Untitled

Songwriting credits

Performance credits

References
  1. "Benedict Cork" Archived 26 June 2021 at the Wayback Machine. Coffee House Sessions, 2018.
  2. SuRie Retrieved on 17 February 2018
  3. SuRie's Facebook post Facebook, 21 September 2018
  4. "Pride Profile: 10 Questions With Singer, Songwriter & Adam Lambert Collaborator Benedict Cork" Billboard, 15 March 2019.
  5. "PREMIERE: Simon Jefferis Makes Crafting the Perfect Blend of Lo-Fi, Soul, and R&B Seem 'Easy'". Ones to Watch, 9 March 2018.
  6. "Pace Pictures Posts Live Video Series for Benedict Cork" Archived 27 June 2021 at the Wayback Machine. Creative Content Wire, 2018.
  7. "Benedict Cork's Facebook post". Facebook, 20 July 2019.
  8. "Introducing Benedict Cork". Apple Music, 2018.
  9. "Queer Necessities: Billboard Pride's August 2018 Playlist". Billboard, 2 August 2018.
  10. "Fiction Studios gigography". Songkick, 2019.
  11. "British Summer Time at Hyde Park: Line-up, dates, tickets and more". Evening Standard, 3 July 2019.
  12. "Singer/songwriter Benedict Cork releases new single 'Therapy' and it's fantastic" Archived 27 June 2021 at the Wayback Machine. Attitude, 12 February 2019.
  13. "Dutch: Duncan Laurence - Benedict Cork (UK)". Patronaat, 3 October 2019.
  14. "Benedict Cork - Wildfire ft. Precious Adams (Live)". YouTube, 8 November 2020.
  15. "Griff chats about her new mixtape, Benedict Cork in Session, L4 in the mix". BBC Three Counties Radio, 17 June 2021.
  16. "Benedict Cork interview (2021)". YouTube, 14 June 2021.
  17. "Secrets I’ll Never Tell". Spotify, 26 May 2021.
  18. "Benedict Cork's Facebook post, 11 February 2022". Facebook, 11 February 2022.
  19. "Benedict Cork's Facebook post, 31 May 2022". Facebook, 31 May 2022.
  20. "Benedict Cork's Instagram post, 22 October 2022". Instagram, 22 October 2022.
  21. "Benedict Cork's Facebook post, 29 October 2022". Facebook, 29 October 2022.
  22. "Benedict Cork's Instagram post, 11 October 2022". Instagram, 11 October 2022.
  23. "PPLUK Momentum Fund Artist". Instagram, 26 July 2021.
  24. "Lyrics ‘Right Thing To Do’". Genius, 4 December 2015.
  25. "Ørjan Nilsen - Hold me". Spotify, 19 March 2021.
  26. "ORKID - Hands". Spotify, 2018.
  27. "Tweet played keys & sang some backing vocals’". Twitter, 7 December 2018.
  28. "Angel Haze - April’s Fool". Spotify, 2014.
  29. "Adam Lambert - Feel Something". Spotify, 2019.
  30. "Adam Lambert - I'm A Man". Spotify, 2023.
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