British harmony group Blake are among the acts performing at Bluewater’s Summer Live! this week. University of Kent graduate Humphrey Berney is one third of the trio. He spoke to Kathryn Tye about his excitement at returning to the county.

British vocal group Blake were deemed a ‘classical boyband’ when they made their debut in 2007, singing covers of traditional pieces and film themes.

Six years on, their sound has evolved to include pop and rock and their line-up has changed too, with original member Dominic Tighe replaced by Humphrey Berney in 2009 and this year’s departure of Jules Knight, leaving them as a trio.

But the changes have made Blake stronger than ever, according to newest member Humphrey.

School and university friends Jules Knight, Ollie Baines, Dominic Tighe and Stephen Bowman formed Blake in 2007 after reuniting on Facebook

The 33-year-old said: “Jules went in January and we have been a three piece since then. It was a bit of a baptism of fire but it couldn’t have worked out better.

“It has added a dynamism to the group as we had to rework some of the harmonies and work a bit harder as we are singing bits that we hadn’t sung before. It is a chance to approach the music in a new direction, which is very exciting.”

They will be demonstrating their new style when they stop off for a concert at Bluewater this week, as part of their UK tour.

Humphrey said: “It will be a real mix of music from classical favourites like Nessun Dorma to emotional movie music by people like Ennio Morricone and then more harmony pop, singing things like Billy Joel, U2 and Snow Patrol. All held together with a bit of banter on stage.”

The group will also be performing some of their own original music, taken from the latest Blake album, appropriately titled Start Over.

School and university friends Jules Knight, Ollie Baines, Dominic Tighe and Stephen Bowman formed Blake in 2007 after reuniting on Facebook.

Humphrey said: “We have 10 original songs and four covers on the album and we worked with some amazing songwriters such as Diane Warren who has written some of the biggest pop hits in the past 20 years.

“It is definitely much more of a pop album, influenced by male harmony groups like the Bee Gees and the Beach Boys. We wanted to challenge and push ourselves. What we do best is to make music emotionally engaging, whether it’s pop or classical.”

And that reluctance to put themselves into a category is one of the factors which Humphrey attributes for Blake’s success. He said: “People always want to put something in a box. At the age of 33 to be told I’m in a boy-band is a great compliment, but I don’t think of us as a man-band or boy-band – we are Blake.

The group chose their name due to a mutual appreciation of British poet William Blake

“The thing that makes us is good music, whether it’s classical or pop. People’s iPods have everything from Rachmaninoff through to a bit of Beyonce. If you can experience all of that in one night, held together by a bit of cheeky charm, it seems to work well.”

And regardless of their clean-cut image, he admits to still enjoying some booze-fuelled evenings with his Blake bandmates. He said: “We have many a story that would make a rock and roll band proud. But what goes on tour, stays on tour!

“The reason Blake is still going is because we are genuinely great friends. In the first month I joined it became very clear that we were all very similar in character and our sense of humour and that it was going to work. We are probably on the road 250 days a year together and there’s nothing like spending lots of time together to make very small cracks become canyons if you’re not great mates.

“We are very lucky to love our job and be great friends and I think that shows on stage. Because we are having fun, the audience has fun.”

Blake will be performing at Summer Live! on Thursday, August 8. Doors open at 6pm and the show starts at 7.30pm. Tickets from £20. Call 0844 847 2479 or visit www.bluewater.co.uk