Damien Rice Biography

The singer/songwriter Damien Rice was born in 1973 in Celbridge, Ireland. Long before his first hit, “The Blowers Daughter,” was featured in the film Closer in the early 2000’s, Rice performed first with the 90’s rock group Juniper, and then took a hiatus for a few years to work as a farmer in Tuscany, Italy. He returned to his native Ireland in 2001 and, newly inspired, began work again on a career in music, this time as a solo artist.

Almost immediately, Rice released the song “The Blowers Daughter,” and it rose quickly into the top forty on the charts. The song rose even higher after it was featured in the closing scenes of the film Closer, and Damien Rice entered the studio to begin work on his debut solo album. The result, O, was released in 2002 and rose into the top ten on the charts in the UK. The album spawned the additional UK hits “Cannonball” and “Volcano,” and set the stage for a career which has since been going strong for a decade.    

Since that time, Damien Rice has released the album 9 (2006), and the live albums: Live at Fingerprints Warts & All; and Live from the Union Chapel (both released in 2007.) The albums gave audiences the additional songs “Moody Mooday/Lonelily,” “Lonely Soldier,” “Unplayed Piano,” “9 Crimes,” “Rootless Tree,” and “Dogs,” although in recent years Rice has focused his talents on collaborations and side projects, including: “Back to Beginning” (with Lamb, on the album 5); and “Everything You’re Not Supposed to Be” and “Uncomfortable,” both with Melanie Laurent. Rice has also contributed the songs “Making Noise” and “Lonely Soldier” to the projects Songs for Tibet: The Art of Peace and the Enough Project, respectively.

Damien Rice continues to record and produce, although it has been nearly a decade since his last studio album release. In the meantime, Damien Rice’s music is regularly heard on such television shows as: American Idol, True Blood, the L Word, ER, Jericho, Grey’s Anatomy, Criminal Minds, House, and CSI: Crime Scene Investigation.