Blake, a British vocal group formed in 2007 by Oliver Baines, Stephen Bowman, and Dominic Tighe, emerged from a friendship that began in school and was rekindled via Facebook. The trio recorded their debut album Blake in six months; released 5 November 2007, it entered the UK Classical Album Chart at Number 1 and reached the top 20 of the UK Pop Album chart, earning a Classical Brit Award for Album of the Year in 2008. Their second album And So It Goes(29 September 2008) peaked at number 14 on the UK album chart and topped several classical charts worldwide, while the 2009 release Together (12 October 2009) reached Number 1 in the Australian and South African classical charts. In 2010 the track "Beautiful Earth" was selected as the World Wildlife Fund Earth Hour Anthem. In 2013 the group released Start Over, followed by the EP The OPM Album (2013) and the Christmas album A Classic Christmas(2015), the latter produced through a PledgeMusic campaign. Blake established their own label, Blake Records, in 2009 and continued touring globally, performing for royal audiences and at major venues such as Wembley Stadium and the Olympic Stadium. Their work has consistently appeared on classical charts, and they have been recognized for collaborations with artists such as Dame Shirley Bassey and Camilla Kerslake, maintaining a presence in both classical and pop music spheres.
