Sam Newton Battenberg Faulkner was born in Surrey on January 11, 1985 and attended the Academy of Contemporary Music in Guildford, studying the guitar and graduating at the age of 17. He played bass guitar in a Green Day cover band and, before going solo under his full name, Newton Battenburg Faulkner, he formed the funk-rock band Half a Guy with Matt Buchanan, Dave Elvy, and Nicola Crawshaw. The band released a live self-titled EP with no success and rather than play angry metal music in church halls like everyone else, they decided to play uplifting happy songs. Singing, pla...