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Dirty Blond

Bio

Dirty Blond (Corey Sanders). Wales-born, self-taught from age twelve. Wrote "You Are the Reason" for Calum Scott — a global hit. Over 9 billion streams as a songwriter. Now stepping into his own songs, backed by his brother Tommy on bass and Mark Prendergast of Kodaline on piano.

Story

Corey Sanders grew up in Bridgend, a town he still describes as one with monsters under the bed — the kind the coal mine closures hollowed out generations before he was born. Music was the way out. Self-taught on piano and guitar from twelve, in his first band by fourteen, signed to a publishing deal by seventeen. At eighteen he moved to north London and lived in a garage for two years, sleeping on stacked mattresses while friends had the house above him. He wrote "You Are the Reason" after a teenage heartbreak — it became a global hit for Calum Scott. Years of songwriting success followed, quietly, from behind the pen. Then his own life fell apart the same way: he'd bought a home and a ring, and his partner was already planning to leave for the United States. He went back to the guitar, the same way he always had. "Empty Of You," "Hurt Again," "So Long Baby" — songs written to survive one collapse, that ended up becoming the thing that connects rooms full of strangers to each other. He brought in his brother Tommy on bass and Mark Prendergast of Kodaline on piano, because this time the songs needed to be lived in, not just written alone. Dirty Blond isn't trying to escape where he's from anymore. He's writing songs for people to sing after Delilah's finished playing.

Releases

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