Early life:

Graham Matthew Jay was born on 10 October 1978 to two folk musicians in Plymouth, England. They moved to Abergavenny, South Wales when he was ten years old. He was an able sportsman as well. He excelled in volleyball, badminton, cricket, and football. He was an able musician as well. He started with the violin and moved on to electric bass and guitar.

Education:

His schoolteachers were apprehensive about his capabilities in school. He was an able sportsman and musician. Hence, his teachers were of the opinion that he would not do well at school. However, he scored well. He could not secure a University seat. Hence, he decided to take a gap to improve his scores the succeeding year. He used this gap to improvise on his writing skills.   

Career:

Being a son of musicians, he had music running in his blood. He began writing songs when he was just fifteen years of age. The Beatles and The Beach Boys are his influences. At the age of 20 years, he produced a demonstration of original songs recorded with his brother Eddy. He won a recode deal with EMI-backed Food Records soon after.

He released his debut album, Draw. Three of the songs in the album became very famous. Comparisons were drawn between Jay and Nick Drake. His success made the press group him with Elliott Smith, Jeff Buckley, and David Gray. He wrote his own lyrics as well.

He moved over to Nottingham where he was involved in a club scene. By the end of 2002, he parted ways with EMI.  

Sudden demise:

At the height of his career, Matthew Jay died suddenly on September 25, 2003. He fell from an apartment block in London. People thought it to be suicide. Some people say it is murder. Some people say he was depressed, whereas some say he was not. There is a lot of controversy surrounding his death and an inquest returned an open verdict.

Posthumous works:

He was in his prime when he dies. Hence, many of his works were released posthumously. Some of his posthumous releases are as follows.

·         Matthew Jay: Too soon, in 2004

·         What would Love do now, in 2006

·         Further than Tomorrow, in 2008. Matthew’s friends and family came together to finish this unfinished work and compiled this album taking details from his computer. 

Certain facts about Matthew Jay:

·         Matthew Jay’s favorite musician was John Lennon.

·         His favorite football team was Liverpool.

·         His favorite journal was Q Magazine.

·         Rome is his favorite vacation spot.

·         His motto: Become yourself and then you get somewhere.

·         Website: www.matthewjay.com

·         He was near the twin towers on the fateful day of 09/11.

·         He enrolled himself at the University of Westminster, London to do an M.Sc in Sound Recording in 2003. However, fate decided otherwise as he plunged to his death from the seventh floor of his student’s apartment in Harrow, London.

·         There was an identity crisis. Another person by the name of Matthew Jay in Swindon was served a notice by his property owner. This happened because his previous employer sent the wrong details to the HM Revenue and Customs department.