James Blunt has pledged to legally change his name to Ryan Air after his eighth studio album, Airplane Mode, reached the top of the Official Charts, marking his first No1 in 19 years.
The Celebrity Traitors star had promised earlier this month that if the album made it to Number 1, he would change his name. He announced: "You may have heard that my new album, Airplane Mode, is out now, and if it makes it to Number 1, I will legally change my name to Ryan Air."
He added: "So stream it, buy it. Just get it to Number 1, or else I'll have to carry on being James Blunt. And nobody wants that."
A Cheese-Related Bet With a Twist
In a bizarre twist, a man known on X as Joe Bangles, famous for asking celebrities to name their favourite cheese, vowed to change his name to James Blunt if the singer achieved the feat. He also agreed to give £1,000 to Blunt's chosen charity if the star revealed his favoured cheese, something the 52-year-old has long refused to do, even when ambushed on live TV.
Posing with his gold Official Charts No1 trophy on X, Blunt wrote: "Hi Joe, I have bad news. My chosen charity is The Blue Marine Foundation. My favourite cheese is Delice de Bourgogne. I’m Number 1 in the album charts. And you’re no longer called Joe." He signed off the post: "Much love, Ryan Air."
Bangles replied: "It has been such fun. Appreciate you humouring me along the way and I can hang up my celeb cheese fact finding gloves and tuck into my new favourite cheese. Enjoy your number 1, it's an amazing album and you deserve it!"
Earlier Suspicion and Chart History
When appearing on This Morning earlier this week, Blunt was instantly suspicious when a viewer sent in a question asking his favourite cheese. He told hosts Dermot O'Leary and Alison Hammond: "This person's a plant. Their real name's not Julie. This is a guy called Joe Bangles and I will never tell you my favourite cheese." However, he had a change of heart.
Blunt's last album to achieve a UK number one was All The Lost Souls in 2007, while his 2005 release Back To Bedlam spent 10 weeks at the summit.
Reaction to Reaching No1
On learning he was No1, the singer told the Official Charts Company: "I can’t tell you how grateful I am to every single person who has gone out there and downloaded, or bought, or streamed my album. From the bottom of my heart, thank you so much." Asked how he planned to celebrate, the star said: "I'm going to get absolutely p***ed."
Two years ago, the star had promised to legally change his name to Blunty McBluntface if the reissue of Back To Bedlam made it to No1, but it fell short of topping the chart, reaching No7.
