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Eye to the Telescope
Eye to the Telescope is the debut studio album by Scottish singer-songwriter KT Tunstall, originally released on 13 December 2004 and re-released 10 January 2005 by Relentless Records. On 19 July 2005, it was nominated for the 2005 Mercury Music Prize in the United Kingdom. Tunstall promoted the album in the United States and Canada in December 2005. The album was released on 7 February 2006 in the US. A special CD/DVD edition of the album was released in September 2006 in the United States, along with a different cover and a bonus track.
The album was a strong seller worldwide, selling over five million copies internationally, and became the 51st best-selling album of the 2000s decade in the United Kingdom. It spawned five singles – "Black Horse and the Cherry Tree", "Other Side of the World", "Suddenly I See", "Under the Weather" and "Another Place to Fall", all of which achieved considerable commercial success in 2005 and 2006.
A 20th Anniversary (Stargazer) Edition was released on 31st October 2025 as a 2LP vinyl edition (on blue and pink vinyl), 2CD edition, 4CD edition and combined vinyl and CD versions. The vinyl and 2CD versions have the original album on one disc and a Stargazer EP plus live tracks recorded at the BBC on the second disc. The Stargazer EP consists of three tracks recorded as part of the original recording sessions, including the title track 'Eye To the Telescope'.
Tunstall came to public prominence following her performance of "Black Horse and the Cherry Tree" on Later... with Jools Holland in 2004. Tunstall's parents and friends were not interested in music, and she began writing music and playing guitar at the age of fifteen years old. She performed her first gig at a venue called The Vic in her native St Andrews after learning to play guitar. Her performance was described as being like a "fish in water", credited to her confidence and ability to "hold the court" in the room. Following the gig, Tunstall was asked to join a band by a member of the audience, and began performing backing vocals in the band on a frequent basis. She described making the album as "fantastically scrappy", with only a "handful" of musical friends.
Tunstall began writing songs using a piano, and were often piano style ballads. Her earlier musical sound had become shelved by the time she began writing and recording for Eye to the Telescope. During the writing of "Black Horse and the Cherry Tree", Tunstall claimed she "didn't even sit down" during the writing. Following this, Tunstall signed a small recording contract with Capitol Records before she was released from the contract three days later. The only other offer of a recording contract was with Relentless Records, worth £23,000 at the time. As a result, Tunstall says that the album sounds "underground", and she deliberately stayed as an independent artist as she didn't want to sign a recording contract, but ultimately had to if she wanted to release the album. She later said that the song "Black Horse and the Cherry Tree" was inspired by the fact she felt like she was "signing her soul away to the devil" by signing a recording contract. The riffs of the song are a result of Tunstall trying to learn to work the pedals she was provided with during her time performing lead vocals for a band she was a member of. She was on tour with the band during her performance on Jools Holland, and returned to her touring schedule the following day.
The album was described as being like an album "written by someone much further in their career" by music blogger Paul Laird. "Other Side of the World" was described by Tunstall as one of her first co-written songs, which she wrote together with Martin Terefe. Her partnership with him for the writing of the song allowed Tunstall to be vulnerable in her style of writing, and credited him for pushing her to be more personal in her writing ability. Ultimately, the song is about a long-distance relationship, and Tunstall said that she used a "Swedish way of speaking" in some parts of the song, and placing a stronger emphasis on some words throughout, as a result of her partnership with Terefe. The BBC said of the album that it was obvious "a master was at work" during the writing of the album. Lyrically, the album was inspired by The Beatles and with Radiohead influences, something later confirmed by co-writer for the album Terefe. He credited the songwriting for the album as being inspired as a result of "playing" with different musical instruments, and experimenting with them and finding out what the final sound would be like.
"Suddenly I See" took its inspiration for its riff throughout the song from listening to blues, which Tunstall listened to each morning whilst driving to the studio. They wished to recreate the same "blues feel" on "Suddenly I See", with Tunstall wishing to explore Bo Didley style beats for the recording. The song was inspired by Tunstall having a feeling of wishing to show people her ability, and to stop trying to convince others that she could have a successful musical career. Tunstall said that her feeling stemmed from seeing Patti Smith on a cover and her perceived confidence, which she later claimed was "something she wanted" as well. It was not initially considered as a single release, and during the recording session of the album, it was never suggested as a single due to the fear of it being written in a commercialised manner in order to become successful. It was described as "fun" to record during the sessions.
Producer Steve Osborne realised both the passion and strong ability Tunstall had for playing guitar, and wished to use this as an advantage during the production of the album. He wanted to find something that separated Tunstall from other solo artists, and attributed her guitar playing as being "like a drummer". He wanted Tunstall to play with a guitar during each of the recording sessions as a result of her passion for playing guitar, recognising that her right hand was almost a crucial part in ensuring that Tunstall "sounded right" during the recording sessions.
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Eye to the Telescope
Eye to the Telescope is the debut studio album by Scottish singer-songwriter KT Tunstall, originally released on 13 December 2004 and re-released 10 January 2005 by Relentless Records. On 19 July 2005, it was nominated for the 2005 Mercury Music Prize in the United Kingdom. Tunstall promoted the album in the United States and Canada in December 2005. The album was released on 7 February 2006 in the US. A special CD/DVD edition of the album was released in September 2006 in the United States, along with a different cover and a bonus track.
The album was a strong seller worldwide, selling over five million copies internationally, and became the 51st best-selling album of the 2000s decade in the United Kingdom. It spawned five singles – "Black Horse and the Cherry Tree", "Other Side of the World", "Suddenly I See", "Under the Weather" and "Another Place to Fall", all of which achieved considerable commercial success in 2005 and 2006.
A 20th Anniversary (Stargazer) Edition was released on 31st October 2025 as a 2LP vinyl edition (on blue and pink vinyl), 2CD edition, 4CD edition and combined vinyl and CD versions. The vinyl and 2CD versions have the original album on one disc and a Stargazer EP plus live tracks recorded at the BBC on the second disc. The Stargazer EP consists of three tracks recorded as part of the original recording sessions, including the title track 'Eye To the Telescope'.
Tunstall came to public prominence following her performance of "Black Horse and the Cherry Tree" on Later... with Jools Holland in 2004. Tunstall's parents and friends were not interested in music, and she began writing music and playing guitar at the age of fifteen years old. She performed her first gig at a venue called The Vic in her native St Andrews after learning to play guitar. Her performance was described as being like a "fish in water", credited to her confidence and ability to "hold the court" in the room. Following the gig, Tunstall was asked to join a band by a member of the audience, and began performing backing vocals in the band on a frequent basis. She described making the album as "fantastically scrappy", with only a "handful" of musical friends.
Tunstall began writing songs using a piano, and were often piano style ballads. Her earlier musical sound had become shelved by the time she began writing and recording for Eye to the Telescope. During the writing of "Black Horse and the Cherry Tree", Tunstall claimed she "didn't even sit down" during the writing. Following this, Tunstall signed a small recording contract with Capitol Records before she was released from the contract three days later. The only other offer of a recording contract was with Relentless Records, worth £23,000 at the time. As a result, Tunstall says that the album sounds "underground", and she deliberately stayed as an independent artist as she didn't want to sign a recording contract, but ultimately had to if she wanted to release the album. She later said that the song "Black Horse and the Cherry Tree" was inspired by the fact she felt like she was "signing her soul away to the devil" by signing a recording contract. The riffs of the song are a result of Tunstall trying to learn to work the pedals she was provided with during her time performing lead vocals for a band she was a member of. She was on tour with the band during her performance on Jools Holland, and returned to her touring schedule the following day.
The album was described as being like an album "written by someone much further in their career" by music blogger Paul Laird. "Other Side of the World" was described by Tunstall as one of her first co-written songs, which she wrote together with Martin Terefe. Her partnership with him for the writing of the song allowed Tunstall to be vulnerable in her style of writing, and credited him for pushing her to be more personal in her writing ability. Ultimately, the song is about a long-distance relationship, and Tunstall said that she used a "Swedish way of speaking" in some parts of the song, and placing a stronger emphasis on some words throughout, as a result of her partnership with Terefe. The BBC said of the album that it was obvious "a master was at work" during the writing of the album. Lyrically, the album was inspired by The Beatles and with Radiohead influences, something later confirmed by co-writer for the album Terefe. He credited the songwriting for the album as being inspired as a result of "playing" with different musical instruments, and experimenting with them and finding out what the final sound would be like.
"Suddenly I See" took its inspiration for its riff throughout the song from listening to blues, which Tunstall listened to each morning whilst driving to the studio. They wished to recreate the same "blues feel" on "Suddenly I See", with Tunstall wishing to explore Bo Didley style beats for the recording. The song was inspired by Tunstall having a feeling of wishing to show people her ability, and to stop trying to convince others that she could have a successful musical career. Tunstall said that her feeling stemmed from seeing Patti Smith on a cover and her perceived confidence, which she later claimed was "something she wanted" as well. It was not initially considered as a single release, and during the recording session of the album, it was never suggested as a single due to the fear of it being written in a commercialised manner in order to become successful. It was described as "fun" to record during the sessions.
Producer Steve Osborne realised both the passion and strong ability Tunstall had for playing guitar, and wished to use this as an advantage during the production of the album. He wanted to find something that separated Tunstall from other solo artists, and attributed her guitar playing as being "like a drummer". He wanted Tunstall to play with a guitar during each of the recording sessions as a result of her passion for playing guitar, recognising that her right hand was almost a crucial part in ensuring that Tunstall "sounded right" during the recording sessions.