Blue May

Blue May
Born1986 (age 39–40)
Occupations
  • Producer
  • songwriter
  • musician
  • mixer
  • programmer
  • creative director
Instruments
  • Guitar
  • bass
  • piano
  • keyboards
  • drums
PublisherBMG Music Publishing
Awards

Blue May (born 1986) is a British music producer, songwriter, musician, mixing engineer, programmer and creative director. Based in Los Angeles, he has collaborated with artists including Lily Allen, Kano, Joy Crookes, Suki Waterhouse, and Jorja Smith.

In 2016 May received the MOBO Award for Best Album for Kano's Made in the Manor, which was also nominated for the Mercury Prize. He was again shortlisted for the Mercury Prize in 2020 (for Kano's Hoodies All Summer); 2022 (for the Crookes album, Skin); and 2024 (for the Ghetts album On Purpose, with Purpose).

Early life and education

May was born in Wales and raised in London. He was exposed to a wide range of music as a child and grew up listening to David Bowie, Gipsy Kings, Al Green, Jimi Hendrix, Nina Simone, Nirvana, and Prince, among others. He began playing the guitar when he was 10.[1][2] He attended the BRIT School, where he played with Tawiah and Jodi Milliner, who later became frequent collaborators.[3][4]

Career

May began his career in production in his early 20s and produced his first major label artist in 2009. In a 2025 interview with Variety he said "I didn’t know how to hold the pressure of A&R people and the manager and still represent the artist. it was a complete failure."[5] He subsequently discovered the importance of "shutting out the noise of the music industry"[6] and in part designed XXVII, his first large studio, to do so. He won the MOBO Award for Best Album and received four Mercury Prize nominations between 2016 and 2024.[7]

May first worked with Lily Allen as the creative director for her 2018 tour. In December 2024, Allen and May began working on Allen's fifth album, West End Girl, with a team of writers, producers, and players that May and co-executive producer Kito put together.[6][8] It was written and recorded in 16 days at his home studio in the Hollywood Hills. May co-executive produced, produced, mixed and co-wrote all of West End Girl's 14 songs. Released in October 2025, the album, which documents the collapse of Allen's marriage, received widespread critical acclaim.[9][10] A five-star review by Hannah Ewens in The Independent was headlined ''West End Girl: A Brutal, Tell-all Masterpiece"; [11] Chris Willman described it as "deliriously brilliant pop" in Variety;[5] and The Guardian's Alexis Petridis praised "the striking prettiness of its tunes" and the "boldness and quality of its songwriting." [12]

Personal life

May lives in the Hollywood Hills. He has a pitbull, Moobi.[1]

Selected discography

Year Artist Title Album/EP Song(s) Songwriter Credit Notes
2014 Otherness Kindness Y Engineer, mixer
2016 Claire Maguire Stranger Things Have Happened Y Y Executive producer, producer, mixer
2016 Kano Made in the Manor Y Y Producer, mixer Mercury Prize nomination; Best Album [13]

MOBO, Best Album [14]

2017 Suki Waterhouse "Brutally" Y Y Producer, mixer Waterhouse's first release [15]
2018 Leon Vynehall Nothing Is Still Y Engineer, mixer
2019 Kano Hoodies All Summer Y Y Executive producer, producer, mixer Mercury Prize nomination [16]
2019 Africa Express Egoli Y Y Producer, mixer Non-profit South African music collective founded by Damon Albarn; Egoli features Moonchild Sanelly and Radio 123 [17]
2020 Yellow Days "A Day in a Yellow Beat" Y Producer, Mixer
2021 Joy Crookes Skin Y Executive producer, producer, mixer Mercury Prize nomination, Album of the Year [18][19]
2022 Sudan Archives Natural Brown Prom Queen Y Mixer
2022 Suki Waterhouse Milk Teeth Y Y Producer, mixer EP
2023 Jorja Smith "What If My Heart Beats Faster?" Y Y Producer
2024 Ghetts On Purpose, with Purpose Y Mixer Mercury Prize nomination
2024 Suki Waterhouse Memoir of a Sparklemuffin Y Y Producer, mixer
2025 Joy Crookes Juniper Y Y Executive producer, producer, mixer
2025 Lily Allen West End Girl Y Y Executive producer, producer, mixer

References

  1. ^ a b Prescott, Emily (2025-11-02). "16 days with Lily Allen as we made her notorious break-up album". www.thetimes.com. Retrieved 2025-11-12.
  2. ^ (2007, Oct 13), "British Breakthrough Talent", Music Week, p. 18
  3. ^ Patterson, Joseph (2019-08-29). "Hoodies All Summer: Kano's upbeat ode to London's black youth". The Face. Retrieved 2025-11-24.
  4. ^ Lester, Paul (2008-02-22). "No 278: Tawiah". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2025-11-24.
  5. ^ a b Willman, Chris (2025-11-17). "Producer Blue May on the Making of Lily Allen's 'West End Girl,' the Year's Buzziest Album: 'It's a Whole Record of Pretty Much Zero Metaphor'". Variety. Retrieved 2025-11-18.
  6. ^ a b Bain, Katie (2025-11-19). "Billboard Dance Rookie of the Month Kito Was Motivated to 'Make Some S–t Happen' — Then Lily Allen Came Calling". Billboard. Retrieved 2025-11-21.
  7. ^ Cary, Alice (2021-11-11). "Stylish South London Singer Joy Crookes Is Just Getting Started". British Vogue. Retrieved 2025-11-21.
  8. ^ "Lily Allen: Violet Skies' 'wild 10 days' co-writing West End Girl album". www.bbc.com. 2025-11-07. Retrieved 2025-11-30.
  9. ^ Thorpe, Vanessa. "Lily Allen marks a stratospheric comeback with West End Girl". The Observer. Retrieved 2025-11-12.
  10. ^ Petter, Olivia (2025-10-24). "Finally, On Lily Allen's 'West End Girl', We Get An Artist Being Real With Us". British Vogue. Retrieved 2025-12-03.
  11. ^ "Lily Allen's West End Girl is a brutal, tell-all masterpiece - review". The Independent. 2025-10-24. Retrieved 2025-12-02.
  12. ^ Petridis, Alexis (2025-10-24). "Lily Allen: West End Girl – a gobsmacking autopsy of marital betrayal". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2025-12-02.
  13. ^ Duggins, Alexi (2016-10-07). "Kano – The Full NME Cover Interview". NME. Retrieved 2025-11-24.
  14. ^ "Craig David, Lady Leshurr and Kano win big at MOBOs". www.musicweek.com. Retrieved 2025-11-24.
  15. ^ Mukhtar, Amel (2022-02-11). "With a Debut Album and Major TV Role On the Way, Suki Waterhouse Is Ready to Reintroduce Herself". Vogue. Retrieved 2025-11-24.
  16. ^ Beaumont-Thomas, Ben (2020-07-23). "Mercury prize 2020: Stormzy, Dua Lipa and Michael Kiwanuka among nominees". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2025-11-24.
  17. ^ Kenneally, Cyrese (June 26, 2019). "Africa Express share "Where Will This Lead Us To?" with Moonchild Sanelly, Radio 123, and Blue May". The Line of Best Fit. Retrieved 2025-11-24.
  18. ^ Geraghty, Hollie (2025-09-16). "How Joy Crookes made her return with resilient new album 'Juniper'". Rolling Stone UK. Retrieved 2025-11-24.
  19. ^ "Joy Crookes's Introspective Soul Digs Deep Beneath Her 'Skin' (Published 2021)". New York Times. 2021-10-07. Retrieved 2025-12-03.

Blue May on Instagram

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