Ed Harcourt started out playing bass guitar for a Weezer-like British indie-pop band called Snug, but after Snug failed to cozy up to any kind of lasting audience, Harcourt began working on his own solo career. He learned to play the piano, which now is his primary instrument, as well as the guitar and drums. Knowing how to play all the instruments for a proper band undoubtedly gave Harcourt a much better perspective than some other solo guitarists and certainly accounts for the diverse, multi-faceted sound he creates. For his first full-length album, Here Be Monsters (2001), Ed Harcourt plays nearly a dozen different music making devises, including the saxophone, harmonica and beatbox.

Before Here Be Monsters, Ed Harcourt signed with Heavenly Records and released an EP called Maplewood in 2000. Recorded in the rural home of his grandmother, Maplewood EP contained "Apple of My Eye," a single that would reappear on Monsters with more production pumped into it. The Ed Harcourt fan base grew steadily, both in England and the United States. Harcourt came out with From Every Sphere in Britain in February of 2003, then released it to American record stores about four months later. Sphere proved to be his most successful album, chart-wise, eventually peaking at No. 39 in the U.K. and No. 6 in Sweden. Ed Harcourt toured extensively throughout the early and mid 2000s, oftentimes appearing with bands like Snow Patrol, R.E.M., and Wilco.

In 2007, Ed Harcourt released an album titled Until Tomorrow Then, The Best of Ed Harcourt. While he's still relatively young to be releasing greatest hits albums, the ample body of songwriting that Harcourt has accumulated since his first releases as a solo artist is sufficient. By no means is this artist resting on his laurels, either. Stay tuned for the next Ed Harcourt album sometime very soon.