Ben was born in London in 1987 and had very musical parents. Her was exposed to music by his parents and therefore found a love for it, listening to their favourite artists from the 60s and 70s. When Ben was 11, he started writing songs. In an interview with American Songwriter, he stated that when he was a kid he started playing guitar because he liked putting words together and make stuff up. "I was quite an imaginative little kid I guess. So your standard little love song turned into your standard adolescent love songs. I think you start getting your own take on things when you're a late teen. that's when everything changes." He could also play other instruments including the drums but he finally decided just to focus on the guitar. After leaving school, Ben actually studied Journalism at Falmouth University in Cornwall. Six months before his course was due to be completed, Ben decided to focus on making music full time. His reputation grew around Cornwall and Devon, when later he was known across the UK with sell-out dates across Europe. He was then asked to sign for Island Records.
Before he had signed for Island records, Ben had already released some material. 2008 saw Ben Howard release his first EP Games In The Dark. His first major release came in 2009 with the EP These Waters which featured six tracks including The Wolves. In 2010, Ben released a third EP called Old Pine, followed by a number of singles such as The fear and Keep Your Head Up. Following the large success from these singles, Ben released his first album in 2011. This was called Every Kingdom and featured many of his already released singles.
2012 was a big year for Ben Howard as his album was nominated for the Mercury Prize. He also went on tour with this album, alongside India Bourne and Chris Bond with whom he worked on this album. He also had support from Willy Mason. Soon after this, Ben released his album in America with appearances confirmed for Texas, and a US tour. During this year, Ben appeared on multiple TV shows, and performed at various festivals including T in the park. In November, Ben released The Burgh Island EP which featured 4 new tracks. These had a more darker tone than his previous work, and he also played electric guitar instead of his normal acoustic. Ben won two BRIT Awards in 2013, where he won British Breakthrough Act and British Solo Male Artist.
