Quick Facts
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Biography
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.
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.
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.
Career
2018
Cork's official recording career started with a collaboration with Simon Jefferis. Their single Easy was released on 9 March 2018.
His first solo release was Piano Tapes in September 2018, a live five-track EP recorded at Red Gate Recorders in Eagle Rock, California. Elton John, on hearing the EP, referred to Cork as "sensational" and "a name to look out for".The single Mama Said was described as "devastatingly beautiful" by Billboard.
2019-2020
After launching a residency at London's Fiction Studios in 2019, Cork supported Emily King and Tom Walker and appeared at British Summer Time in Hyde Park supporting Stevie Wonder and Lionel Richie. This was followed by Cork's second EP, Letters To Strangers, in the summer of 2019.
Cork supported Duncan Laurence on his European Tour 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.
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.
To coincide with the release of Secrets I’ll Never Tell, Cork released a series of podcasts by the same name. 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, He announced he would be taking time off to write and record his debut album in 2022.
On 21 October 2022, Cork hosted an album preview show at London’s Collins Music Hall to preview tracks from his debut album. This included the debut single Dream Of You released on V2 Records on 18 November 2022 to coincide with his Incase It Don’t Come True European Tour.
PPLUK Momentum Fund Artist
On 26th July 2021, 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 |
|
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 | Untitled |
| "Try Sleeping With A Broken Heart" | non-album single |
Songwriting credits
- Auryn - "Right Thing To Do" on Ghost Town
- Mark Feehily - "Love Me, Or Leave Me Alone" on Fire
- Adam Lambert - "Feel Something" on Velvet
- Ørjan Nilsen - "Hold me"
Performance credits
- ORKID - "Hands" on I Don't Give A Damn (piano)
- Angel Haze - "April's Fool" on Dirty Gold (vocals)
- Adam Lambert - "Feel Something" on Velvet (piano/backing vocals)
- Ørjan Nilsen - "Hold me" (vocals)
- Adam Lambert - "I'm A Man" on High Drama (backing vocals)
