'Blunty McBluntface': James Blunt’s name change stunt sparks ‘inevitable’ suggestion

In addition to being known for hits such as “You’re Beautiful” and “Goodbye My Lover”, singer James Blunt has become known for his self-deprecating tweets on X / Twitter – and a name change stunt to promote the re-release of his debut albumBack to Bedlam is very much a continuation of that.

All of the songs have been given a 2024 remaster – 20 years after the record first came out – and unsurprisingly, Blunt said Back to Bedlam is the one album “people actually bought” out of his seven releases.

“So on its 20th anniversary, the record label and I thought we should repackage it with some early demos, and milk it for all it’s worth,” he said.

Never change, James.

And in an attempt to boost sales, Blunt shared a video to his social media platforms on Wednesday (October 2) declaring he will legally change his name if the anniversary edition hits number one on the album charts.

He said: “You have the power to absolutely f*** my life.

“I’m re-releasing my debut album Back to Bedlam on October 11, something which has kept me consistently rich for the past 20 years.

“So as a way to give back to you, my adoring public: if Back to Bedlam re-enters the charts at number one, I will legally change my name. What will I change it to? Well, that’s entirely up to you.”

The video, which also features a cameo from YouTube content creator Jack Howard, ends with Blunt stating the name change won’t happen if it doesn’t hit number one and that the stunt is “the most important demographic moment of the year”.

In a caption accompanying the video, Blunt explained the most-liked comment across his social media profiles will be what he changes his name to, if the British public does indeed decide to push Back to Bedlam to the top of the charts.

Naturally, the weird and wonderful (or, rather, ‘beautiful’) suggestions have come flooding in - including one people have considered to be “inevitable”:

And that is "Blunty McBluntface".

More social media users commented their thoughts, including "Blames Junt".

And another said "Spartacus".

As a quick reminder, 'Boaty McBoatface' topped a poll back in 2016 when the Natural Environment Research Council asked for names for its new research vessel.

They ended up calling it the RRS Sir David Attenborough instead, with Boaty being the name for one of the autonomous underwater vehicles housed on the ship.

Now, variations of 'Boaty McBoatface' tend to pop up whenever an organisation or individual takes the (somewhat dangerous) decision to let the public pick a name for something.

Meanwhile, some have put forward names which are already in use by more controversial individuals.

One said "Liz Truss".

And another put forward "James Corden".

Even comedian and prankster Joe Lycett has “some ideas” - which is hardly surprising, considering he made headlines back in 2020 when he changed his name to Hugo Boss in protest against the fashion house allegedly targeting smaller organisations which use ‘boss’ in their names.

At the time of writing, however, it appears as though the most popular suggestion is ‘Divock Origi’ (the former Liverpool striker), with more than 13,000 likes on X / Twitter.

Sign up to our free Indy100 weekly newsletter

How to join the indy100's free WhatsApp channel

Have your say in our news democracy. Click the upvote icon at the top of the page to help raise this article through the indy100 rankings.