James Newman, This Year’s UK Representative for Eurovision 2020, Reveals Video for ‘My Last Breath’

James Newman
Unveils Breathtaking Video For ‘My Last Breath’
This Year’s UK Representative For Eurovision 2020
Starring Dutch Athlete Wim Hoff & Directed By Charlie Lightning
65^th Eurovision Song Contest To Be Held In Rotterdam – May 16th

James Newman has today unveiled the stunning video for his UK Eurovision Song Contest 2020 entry ‘My Last Breath’. The track premiered on BBC Radio 1 and BBC Radio 2 this morning.

Shot in Sněžka, a mountain on the border between Czech Republic and Poland, the video for ‘My Last Breath’ is directed by Charlie Lightening (Director of Liam Gallagher’s ‘As It Was’ Documentary) and features Dutch Athlete Wim ‘The IceMan’ Hoff, famous for creating the “Wim Hoff Method” of breathing, on an extreme journey of adversary through the mountains, echoed by James’ beautifully raw vocals.
Watch the video for ‘My Last Breath’ HERE

James first met Wim two years ago when he attended a Wim Hoff workshop, and since then has been an advocate of his method and practices. It was this experience that not only inspired the video but was at the heart of how the song was created.

Of the collaboration, James comments; “We all love cold water swimming and every January we rent a house somewhere we can do that. This year, we went to Appin in the west Highlands, where we swam in a freezing loch and went hiking. We were literally climbing mountains in search of a song, reaching peaks and saying there’s a Eurovision winner up here somewhere! We just had to find it.”
Wim adds; “We’re always breathing, yet we’re mostly unaware of its tremendous potential. Heightened oxygen levels hold a treasure trove of benefits, and the specialized breathing technique of the Wim Hof Method unearths them all: more energy, reduced stress levels, and an augmented immune response that swiftly deals with pathogens.”

James Newman is a hugely successful Brit Award winning and Grammy nominated songwriter. He won a Brit for British Single of the Year (2014) for ‘Waiting All Night’, performed by Rudimental and Ella Eyre. He has also written hit singles ‘Lay It All On Me’ performed by Rudimental ft Ed Sheeran, ‘Blame’ performed by Calvin Harris ft. John Newman, and ‘Therapy, performed by Armin Van Buuren and James Newman.

The 65^th Eurovision Song Contest will be held in Rotterdam, The Netherlands on May 16th 2020. Newman says: “It’s such an honour to be representing the United Kingdom this year at Eurovision – I still can’t quite believe it! I’m also so proud to be taking ‘My Last Breath’ as the song. I wrote it with some of my best friends, who are amazingly talented songwriters in their own right. I knew it was ‘the one’ after first recording it. I just loved the simplicity and universal message of the song.”

James co-wrote ‘My Last Breath’ with acclaimed British songwriters Ed Drewett, Iain James and Adam Argyle who have collectively written songs for One Direction, Little Mix, Olly Murs, Professor Green, Leona Lewis, Dua Lipa and James Bay, with Iain also having co-written the winning Eurovision song for Azerbaijan, ‘Running Scared’ performed by Ell & Nikki in 2011.

The Eurovision Song Contest will take place on Saturday 16^th May in Rotterdam broadcast live on BBC One, with commentary by Graham Norton; and live on BBC Radio 2 with commentary from Ken Bruce. The semi-finals will be held on Tuesday 12^th & Thursday 14^th May, broadcast on BBC Four and hosted by Scott Mills and Rylan Clark-Neal.

Pictures are available now at www.bbcpictures.co.uk
More Eurovision news can be found on www.bbc.co.uk/eurovision