Mr Hudson

In pop terms, there have been few reinventions more dramatic in recent years than that of Mr Hudson, back in 2009. On his first album, at which point he was still referring to himself as Mr Hudson and the Library, he blended indie pop with some pretty esoteric sounds - jazz, hip hop and reggae all present and correct - and it was enough to bring him to the attentions, perhaps via the stature that nationwide airplay on Radio 1 brought him, to some pretty heavyweight figures; he toured with the likes of Kanye West and Amy Winehouse. Then, with follow-up Straight No Chaser, he proved that he’d left his old identity behind; suddenly, the sweater-vests and fedoras were in the bin, and a sleek new look reflected his move into synth-driven pop; it helped, of course, that he had a massive single in the wings, Supernova, which featured West and went to number two on the UK charts. His live shows at the time showed that he’d picked up some of his collaborator’s appetite for drama, too, making a dramatic, protracted entrance to the stage to the strains of his new album’s title track and leaving his old material behind, instead playing his new blend of synthpop and rock to modest, but delighted crowds.