Calvin Harris Artistfacts

January 17, 1984
Calvin Harris is the stage name of Adam Richard Wiles, who was born in Dumfries, Scotland. His first recordings were "Da Bongos" and "Brighter Days," which were released by the Prima Facie label in early 2002 under the name Stouffer.
Calvin Harris is 6ft 5 ¾ inches tall. He got picked on at school because of his height. "People would call me a 'big lanky ----' and all that kind of stuff," Harris recalled to The Daily Record. "I couldn't fight. The only fight I was in, I fell down before he hit me. The only thing I was good at was running away because I had long legs."
In 2006 Harris signed a publishing contract with EMI after being discovered by one of the label employees on the social networking website MySpace. Harris also signed a recording contract with Sony that same year. He released his debut single, "Acceptable In The 80s, " a tribute to the style and culture of the decade on March 12, 2007. The song reached #10 in the UK.
His debut album, I Created Disco was certified gold in the UK. The record's success led to Harris working with the likes of Kylie Minogue, for whom he wrote the top 10 single "In My Arms" in his bedroom on a 15-year-old computer.
Calvin Harris holds the record for the most Top Ten hits from one studio album on the UK Singles Chart with nine from his third LP 18 Months. They were:

"Bounce" featuring Kelis.
"Feel So Close" featuring Harris, himself, on vocals.
"We Found Love" featuring Rihanna.
"Let's Go" featuring Ne-Yo.
"We'll Be Coming Back" featuring Example.
"Sweet Nothing" featuring Florence Welch.
"Drinking From the Bottle" featuring Tinie Tempah.
"I Need Your Love" featuring Ellie Goulding.
"Thinking About You" featuring Ayah Marar.
According to Forbes, Calvin Harris was the highest-paid DJ of both 2013 and 2014. However, Harris has no DJ experience, so his live performances feature him singing along with a support band (rather than behind a mixer).
Calvin Harris caused a stir in February 2015 with a series of Emporio Armani underwear ads featuring him as the model.
So why did Adam Richard Wiles decide to perform under the name of Calvin Harris? In a 2009 interview with Shortlist magazine, the Scottish DJ said that he felt his birth name was too Caucasian. "My first single was more of a soul track, and I thought Calvin Harris sounded a bit more racially ambiguous," he explained. "I thought people might not know if I was black or not. After that, I was stuck with it."
Calvin Harris craves routine. He told GQ that every weekday, he habitually wakes up, goes to the gym, eats breakfast then spends the rest of the day in his home studio.

"I'm definitely happier just hanging out on my own in a room," Harris said. "Ever since I've been a kid that's the case. I still have no hobbies. At some stage it would be great to learn to do something else. I have a very limited repertoire."
Calvin Harris married TV and radio presenter Vick Hope on September 9, 2023. They tied the knot in a private ceremony at Hulne Priory, a 13th-century monastery in Alnwick, Northumberland. Nile Rodgers and his band Chic performed for guests, which included Big Brother presenter AJ Odudu and BBC radio DJs Vernon Kay, Scott Mills and Jordan North.

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