Back to Bedlam is the debut studio album by English singer-songwriter James Blunt, released on 11 October 2004 by Custard and Atlantic Records.

He stated on an interview in his Back to Bedlam sessions that he chose to join the military as his father was "pushing for it, so that [Blunt] could obtain a secure work placement and income".

A backing vocalist and songwriting collaborator suggested he contact Elton John's manager Todd Interland, with whom she used to share a house.

[14] Interland told HitQuarters that he listened to Blunt's demo while driving home and after hearing the track "Goodbye My Lover", pulled over and called the mobile number written on the CD to set up a meeting.

[15] It was at that period that he started using the stage name "Blunt", in part to make it easier for others to spell; "Blount" is pronounced the same way, and remains his legal surname.

[17] A record contract remained elusive, with label executives pointing to Blunt's posh speaking voice as a barrier in class-divided Britain.

She made an offer to him the same night[18] and within a few days, Blunt signed a recording contract with Perry, and one month later he was in Los Angeles working with producer Tom Rothrock.

While his parched and effeminate falsetto recalls Gasoline Alley-era Rod Stewart with a healthy dose of Antony and the Johnsons, it's the late Elliott Smith who casts the largest shadow on Back to Bedlam.

"[23] Slant Magazine said, in a three-and-a-half-star review, "Bedlam is an overall raw listening experience" and that, though "Blunt's writing often juxtaposes love with death", it's "More reason for American girls to go gaga over this able British bloke.

"[24] In a four-star review, About.com said: "To aptly describe James Blunt's music in his debut album Back to Bedlam, it would be an injustice to ignore the backdrop of his past and its relation to his music – in fact it's impossible to do so" and gave praise to the songs which they called "Hauntingly captivating, his words paint the pictures of many stories lived, masterly recited through his songs.