At Aqualung’s recent ‘one night only UK tour’ (his first performance in the UK for 12 years at Bush Hall, London) Matt Hales let his devoted audience know just how clued up he is on streaming trends: Matthew Nicholas Hales (born 17 January 1972) [1] is an English singer, songwriter, musician and record producer who has been performing professionally under the name Aqualung since the early 2000s. [2] Aqualung is best known in the UK for his song " Strange and Beautiful", which was featured on a television advertisement for the new Volkswagen Beetle during the summer of 2002 [3] and went on to become a top 10 hit on the UK Singles Chart later that year. [4] In the United States, Aqualung is also known for the song " Brighter Than Sunshine", which had considerable airplay and was used in the film A Lot Like Love [5] and various television spots. Hales has released seven albums as Aqualung. The most recent, Dead Letters, appeared in 2022. Aqualung first came to attention in 2002 when the debut single ‘Strange & Beautiful (I’ll Put A Spell On You)’ became a surprise UK Top 10 after being discovered via a Volkswagen Beetle advert. While that song created a magnetic allure, the strength and versatility of Hales’ songwriting further enamoured audiences. The debut self-titled Aqualung album reached Gold status in recognition of over 100,000 domestic sales, while the brighter symphonic scope of his second album, ‘Still Life’, led to another chart hit with ‘Brighter Than Sunshine’. By the time Aqualung’s third album, ‘Memory Man’ emerged, glowing comparisons had been made with everyone from Bacharach to Radiohead via The Beach Boys, while his music has featured in ‘Twilight’, ‘Gossip Girl’ and ‘Grey’s Anatomy’. Mervis, Scott (5 May 2005). "Music Preview: Matt Hales, aka Aqualung, explains confusion with Jethro Tull album". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette . Retrieved 21 February 2013.

Pearson, Beth (20 November 2002). "Music Aqualung, St Andrews in the Square, Glasgow". Newsquest. Archived from the original on 12 May 2014 . Retrieved 21 February 2013.

Brown, Helen (6 July 2012). "Lianne La Havas, Is Your Love Big Enough?, review". Telegraph Media Group . Retrieved 22 February 2013. Maynard, Trent (17 December 2012). "news: Lianne La Havas' year in review". Box Television. Archived from the original on 5 February 2013 . Retrieved 22 February 2013. BRIGHTER THAN SUNSHINE: "2003 10 09 Official Scottish Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. officialcharts.com/. In the time between the previous Aqualung album, 2015’s ‘10 Futures’, and the release of ‘Dead Letters’, Hales’ reputation as a songwriter and producer flourished. Collaborating with all kinds of artists – including Lianne La Havas, Bat For Lashes, Mika, Tom Chaplin, Jason Mraz, For King & Country and countless others – his hectic yet immensely rewarding schedule resulted in huge acclaim, including both an Ivor Novello and a Grammy. No wonder, then, that aside from occasionally briefly resurfacing, Aqualung remained in hibernation. Still, it’s unlikely Aqualung’s gentle ballads will trouble the top of the Billboard charts (hey, Matt did get close enough, in 2003 ‘Brighter Than Sunshine’ reached 32 on the Billboard Adult Top 40 chart in the U.S.).

Ganz, Caryn (10 March 2010). "Sara Bareilles Turns Panic into Rebirth on Uptempo Summer Disc". Wenner Media LLC . Retrieved 21 February 2013. Collaborating with all kinds of artists - including Lianne La Havas, Bat For Lashes, Mika, Tom Chaplin, Jason Mraz, For King & Country and countless others – Hales’ hectic yet immensely rewarding schedule resulted in huge acclaim, including both an Ivor Novello and a Grammy. No wonder, then, that aside from occasionally briefly resurfacing, Aqualung remained in hibernation. Well, isn't that interesting? I love articles like this, and I will be forwarding this one to Matt Hales so he can have a gentle laugh or a shrug of the shoulders.

Collaborating with all kinds of artists - including Lianne La Havas, Bat For Lashes, Mika, Tom Chaplin, Jason Mraz, For King and Country and countless others – Hales’ hectic yet immensely rewarding schedule resulted in huge acclaim, including both an Ivor Novello and a Grammy. No wonder, then, that aside from occasionally briefly resurfacing, Aqualung remained in hibernation. percent of number one hits between 1958 and 1990 were in multiple keys,” he noted. “What’s odd is that after 1990, key changes are employed much less frequently, if at all, in number one hits.”

A quirky little thing here, is that the cover of Dead Letters will tell you side one isn’t done. But it is. matt hales' first studio album in over 7 years is a bundle of deeply personal, emotionally charged expressions of intense feeling. Brownlee, Bill (2 April 2008). "Review: Hotel Cafe Tour". The Kansas City Star . Retrieved 21 February 2013. Fool’ starts off as a sombre piano ballad. As the song progresses strings and guitars gently explode from the speakers. These tiny maelstroms match the lyrical content of the song. “It’s been a while since I told the truth”; “You think I’m a fool / I think you’re right” and “You are the hurricane that blows me away” are wonderfully telling lyrics. Songs have been getting shorter and shorter. Now 3 minutes and 17 seconds long, the average pop song lost a whole minute between 2020 and 1990. It’s all because streaming allows people to skip songs that don’t get ‘to the point’ soon enough.STRANGE AND BEAUTIFUL: "2002 09 22 Official Scottish Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. officialcharts.com/.