James Blunt has admitted "life won’t be as fun" without his late friend Carrie Fisher.
The 41-year-old singer/songwriter struck up an unlikely friendship with the ‘Star Wars: The Force Awakens’ actress Carrie Fisher after his ex-girlfriend Dixie Chassay, whose family are long-time friends of the Hollywood star, introduced them.
James admits her passing at the age of 60 last year came as a huge shock to him and he still hasn’t quite processed the loss of his pal.
Speaking about Carrie in an interview on Gordon Smart’s ‘Evening Show’ on UK station Radio X on Monday night (30.01.17), he said: "She was just the most incredible person. She was a hugely bright person and her brain just jumped between subjects and she was an incredible writer and comedian in her own way. Life will definitely not be as much fun now that she’s not around."
Carrie suffered a heart attack on a flight from London to Los Angeles and died on December 27, and then just a day later her mother Debbie Reynolds died at the age of 84.
When the news broke, Blunt took to Twitter to remember Carrie – most famous for playing Princess Leia in four ‘Star Wars’ films – posting: "Sweet dreams, darling @carrieffisher. I’m gonna miss you. So much. x (sic)"
Their friendship became stronger when Carrie learnt that James was heading to Los Angeles to record in the US and she kindly invited him to stay with her at her Beverley Hills home.
He recalled: "I met her in Notting Hill and I said, ‘I’ve got a record deal and I’m moving to LA,’ and she said, ‘Well you’re going to need a place to stay,’ and she put me up, and has been really, I suppose, my kind-of, godmother in the States, my landlady definitely. She was a very, very special woman and it’s an absolute tragedy that she’s gone."
And James, who has a seven-month-old son with his wife Sofia, is saddened his child will never get to meet Carrie, who was the tot’s godmother.
He said: "She’s godmother to my child and I’m very sad that he won’t grow up to know someone who was such a special woman, who helped me when I recorded, well, three albums now."
In a bid to take some comfort after her death, James added: "I suppose the only positive that I take from it is that she’d been riding high – back as General Leia in the new ‘Star Wars’ movie – and she went out on a high and with a bang."
Carrie previously spoke very fondly of James – who is getting ready to release his new album ‘The Afterlove’ – describing him as a very "good person" with a "good soul".
She said: "He’d never been to therapy and I’ve had enough for both of us, so we started talking quite deeply about his time in the army and the kind of impact that it had had and so on. So I was kind of his shrink and landlady. We became very, very good friends by the end. He is a good person and he was very good to me when I had a friend pass away. He’s a really good soul."
James Blunt says ‘life won’t be as fun’ without friend Carrie Fisher
