The character arc of Rag'n'Bone Man
A life drawn by Character Arc from the public record
Born Rory Charles Graham on 29 January 1985 in Eastbourne, East Sussex. Between then and now sit an expulsion from his secondary school, a college in another town, MCing from the age of fifteen under a name taken from a 1970s sitcom, a youth project painting and gardening in Crowborough supported by The Prince's Trust, a move to Brighton, a rap group, an album put out on Bandcamp in 2012, an EP made at short notice because a support slot arrived and he had nothing to sell, five years with an underground hip hop label, a publishing deal in 2013, and a single in July 2016 that went to number one in four countries. The line below draws the story so far, in order.
Drag along the line to move, pinch or use the buttons to look closer. Tap the line to pluck it, or any mark for its card. Drawn from the public record of his life; the sources are at the foot of the page.
Who is Rag'n'Bone Man?
Expelled at fifteen. Fastest selling debut of the decade at thirty two.
He was born in Eastbourne and has a younger half-sister. He was expelled from Ringmer Secondary School and finished his education at a college in Uckfield. At fifteen he started MCing with a drum and bass crew under the handle Rag N Bonez, taken from watching repeats of a 1970s sitcom about two rag and bone men. While still at school he was part of a group of young people supported by The Prince's Trust who ran a community project painting and gardening in Crowborough.
He moved to Brighton, where a friend formed a rap group and invited him in. He started performing at an open session night, which is where he met the people who started his career. Over the next few years the group supported serious American hip hop acts at a Brighton venue, and in 2012 put out their own album through Bandcamp and other digital stores.
The origin of his first solo record is worth keeping. Weeks before that group album came out, he was asked to support Joan Armatrading at the Brighton Dome, and had no solo releases of his own to sell on the night. So he made one. He worked with the group's producers to put together an eight track EP, in time.
From 2011 he worked with an underground British hip hop label, releasing collaborations with other rappers and producers. He signed a publishing deal in 2013, started working with a producer who was at the time making another band's debut album, and put out two EPs in 2014 and 2015. A track from the second was playlisted on national radio. That is fifteen years of work, all of it inside a scene most people never hear.
In July 2016 a single called Human went to number one in Austria, Belgium, Germany and Switzerland. The album of the same name, in February 2017, became the fastest selling debut album by a British man that decade and has been certified four times platinum. He won British Breakthrough Act and the Critics' Choice Award at the Brit Awards in 2017, another Brit for the single in 2018, and a BBC Music Award for album of the year. His second album went straight to number one in 2021.
The moments
Rag'n'Bone Man's timeline.
The 1980s
Born in Eastbourne
Everyday. Eastbourne, and a younger sister to come.
The 1990s
Expelled from school
Setback, and it changed everything. Out of one school, into another, at thirteen or so.
The 2000s
A name from a sitcom
Milestone, and it changed everything. Fifteen years old, on a microphone, named after a rag and bone man.
Painting and gardening
Milestone, and it changed his direction. A charity that backs young people, and a project he actually did.
Brighton, and a rap group
Milestone, and it changed his direction. A new town, a new crew, and a night anybody could get up at.
The 2010s
Supporting the Americans
Milestone. Opening for the people whose records he had learned from.
An underground label
Milestone, and it changed his direction. A real label, in a scene almost nobody outside it hears.
Turn the support slot down, or make a record
Crossroads, decided.
The paths laid out: make the record, taken, or play it as the group. Bluestown was his first solo release. Four years later Human went to number one in four countries.
An EP made in a hurry
Milestone, and it changed everything. A support slot with nothing to sell, so he made a record.
An album on Bandcamp
Milestone. Self-released, self-distributed, self-everything.
A publishing deal
Milestone, and it changed his direction. The first piece of music business paperwork with his name on it.
The Wolves EP
Milestone, and it changed his direction. Nine tracks, and better company than the year before.
National radio, at last
Milestone, and it changed his direction. Fifteen years of work, and a national playlist.
Human
Milestone, and it changed everything. One song, four number ones, sixteen years in.
The fastest selling debut
Milestone, and it changed everything. The fastest selling debut of the decade, from a man nobody had heard of.
Two Brit Awards
Milestone, and it changed his direction. Named a breakthrough act after seventeen years of working.
The 2020s
A number one album
Milestone, and it changed his direction. Number one, and it stayed there.
The first record with his name on it exists because somebody offered him a support slot and he had nothing to sell. What he set moving is the least romantic and most useful lesson in the gallery: make the thing when the reason to make it turns up, and do not wait until you are ready.
Your turn
Every line draws a unique story.
His has fifteen years in a scene nobody was watching before the part everybody saw. Yours is already further along than you think, and drawing it takes about five minutes.
Rag'n'Bone Man: frequently asked questions
What people ask about his line.
What is Rag'n'Bone Man's character arc?
Where does the name Rag'n'Bone Man come from?
Was Rag'n'Bone Man expelled from school?
How did Rag'n'Bone Man's first solo record happen?
How long did Rag'n'Bone Man work before Human?
What awards has Rag'n'Bone Man won?
Where does this timeline of Rag'n'Bone Man's life come from?
More character arcs
Lives that rhyme with his.
Sources
- Rag'n'Bone Man, English Wikipedia biography.
- Release and chart records for Human in July 2016, the debut album on 10 February 2017, and Life by Misadventure in May 2021.
- Award records for the two Brit Awards in 2017, the Brit Award in 2018 and the BBC Music Award for Album of the Year.
- The record gives no detail about the expulsion from his secondary school, and none is invented here.