How singer James Blunt 'prevented World War III'

We're almost constantly being reminded about the threat of World War III at the moment, but we might have had to go through it over 20 years ago if it wasn't for the actions of James Blunt.

The singer, best known for hits such as 'Goodbye My Lover', explained why his solo moment helped to 'prevent' a world war and it seems as if we've now got yet another reason to be grateful for the British star.

Geopolitical tensions are pretty high right now, particularly with Russia and the rest of the world, and the eastern European country was at the epicentre of another potential conflict all the way back in 1999.

Blunt, who previously revealed the dark meaning behind his track 'You're Beautiful', actually served as a captain in the British Army before pursuing his music career after the millennium.

The world owes James Blunt a lot (Dave Simpson/Getty Images)

The wise man said he was ordered to attack Russian troops while in Kosovo but he stood his ground, risking a court martial after refusing the order from a US General.

He was backed by British Gen Sir Mike Jackson, who allegedly said: "I'm not going to have my soldiers be responsible for starting World War III."

Blunt told BBC Radio 5 Live: "I was given the direct command to overpower the 200 or so Russians who were there. I was the lead officer with my troop of men behind us...

"The soldiers directly behind me were from the Parachute Regiment, so they're obviously game for the fight.

"The direct command [that] came in from Gen Wesley Clark was to overpower them. Various words were used that seemed unusual to us. Words such as 'destroy' came down the radio.

"We had 200 Russians lined up pointing their weapons at us aggressively, which was... and you know we'd been told to reach the airfield and take a hold of it.

"And if we had a foothold there then it would make life much easier for the Nato forces in Pristina. So there was a political reason to take hold of this.

"And the practical consequences of that political reason would be then aggression against the Russians."

Blunt quit the army to pursue music in 2002 (C Brandon/Redferns)

Even without the backing of Gen Mike Jackson, Blunt claimed that he still would have refused the order, and suggested that a direct attack on the Russians could have 'absolutely' been the triggering factor in a third global conflict.

Just three years later, he would leave the army for good and score worldwide fame with his 2004 song 'You're Beautiful', while he's also earned popularity thanks to his funny, brutal, or blunt, posts on social media.

When the world needed a hero, Blunt stepped up, and we might well require him to help secure world peace again in the near future, even if it's just by promising not to release any more music.