Stephen Fretwell

Last updated

Stephen Fretwell
Stephen Fretwell.jpg
Stephen Fretwell performing at Ben and Jerry's Double Scoop Sundae festival, Heaton Park, Manchester, 2011.
Background information
Born (1981-11-10) 10 November 1981 (age 42)
Origin Scunthorpe, England
GenresFolk Rock, Psychedelic Folk
Occupation(s)Singer-songwriter
Instrument(s)Vocals, guitar, bass guitar
Years active2000–present
Website www.stephenfretwell.com

Stephen Fretwell (born 10 November 1981) is an English Singer-Songwriter. He has released 4 studio albums and is often compared with acts such as Bob Dylan, Fred Neil and Tim Buckley. Though receiving critical success Fretwell has enjoyed only limited commercial success.

Contents

Biography

Fretwell attended St. Augustine Webster Primary School in Scunthorpe and St. Bede's Catholic School in Ashby before furthering his study at John Leggott College. It was in his teenage years that he started his first band, named Label.

After moving to Manchester to attend Salford University (to study English, but dropping out within a few days), [1] he started to earn notices in NME and Q . During this period songs such as "Emily" and "What’s That You Say Little Girl?" were first written.

Fretwell decided to stay in Manchester permanently, later releasing 8 Songs which he released on Northern Ambition, a label owned by a friend. [2] He left university after one year, and started to perform at local acoustic nights in the Manchester area. The first of these was at The Roadhouse, a venue in the centre of Manchester's Northern Quarter.

He later released the Something's Got to Give EP and The Lines, both self-financed. He then supported Travis, Elbow, Athlete, Keane and KT Tunstall. Signed to Fiction Records, and while under management by Colin Lester's and Ian McAndrew's Wildlife entertainment, his debut album Magpie was released in November 2004. It was recorded at the Abbey Road Studios. [2] It peaked at No. 27 in the UK Albums Chart in August 2005. [3] The first single taken from the album was "Run" and was subsequently followed by "Emily" (2005) and the Four Letter Words EP. "Emily" reached No. 42 in the UK Singles Chart in August 2005. [3] He had previously supported Oasis at Marlay Park in Dublin on 16 July 2005.

He was described by Q as "Scunthorpe's finest export... ever". Fretwell described this as flattering but not something he actively encouraged. [4]

His version of Jeff Buckley's "Morning Theft" appeared on the 2005 tribute album Dream Brother: The Songs of Tim and Jeff Buckley .

His song Play featured in the 2005 Dominic Savage film Love + Hate .

His song "Bad Bad You, Bad Bad Me" was featured in an episode of the ABC family drama Brothers & Sisters called "The Missionary Imposition".

He released a single called "Scar" on 3 September 2007, which was included on his album Man on the Roof. This album was recorded in New York City, released by Fiction Records on 10 September 2007, and featured James Iha. [2] In the UK Albums Chart the album would peak at number 44, becoming his second Top 75 hit.

On April 4th 2011 Manchester Aid to Kosovo [5] released a charity album 'Ten' to which Fretwell contributed the track 'Tamarind'. [6] Also contributing to the album were fellow Manchester artists Elbow, Badly Drawn Boy and Cherry Ghost.

Cameron Crowe has claimed to be a fan of fretwell's work, he asked him to do a few songs for his film Elizabethtown and sent him a copy of the easy rider soundtrack

Fretwell also played bass on tour with the Last Shadow Puppets, the side project of Arctic Monkeys' Alex Turner another fan of Fretwell.

His song "Run" is the theme tune to the situation comedy Gavin & Stacey and his song "Darling Don't" appeared on the third series of the teen drama Skins .

His song "Play" from the album Magpie was featured in the 2009 movie The Joneses .

On 1 March 2021, Fretwell released a new single, "Oval" after a 13 year hiatus [7] and announced a new album, called Busy Guy, to be released on cult indie record label [8] [9] Speedy Wunderground owned by friend Dan Carey. [10] [11]

Discography

Albums

EPs

Singles

Other contributions

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bernard Butler</span> Musical artist

Bernard Joseph Butler is an English musician, songwriter and record producer. He has been hailed by some critics as the greatest guitarist of his generation; BBC journalist Mark Savage called him "one of Britain's most original and influential guitarists". He was voted the 24th greatest guitarist of the last 30 years in a national 2010 BBC poll and is often seen performing with a 1961 cherry red Gibson ES-355 TD SV with a Bigsby vibrato tailpiece.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Creatures</span> English band

The Creatures were an English band formed in 1981 by vocalist Siouxsie Sioux and drummer Budgie of the group Siouxsie and the Banshees. The Creatures released their first EP Wild Things in 1981. They recorded four studio albums: Feast in 1983, Boomerang in 1989, Anima Animus in 1999 and Hái! in 2003.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ian Brown</span> English musician; singer of The Stone Roses

Ian George Brown is an English musician. He was the lead singer and the only continuous member of the alternative rock band the Stone Roses from their formation in 1983. Following the band's initial split in 1996, he began a solo career, releasing seven studio albums, a greatest hits compilation, a remix album, an 11-disc box set titled Collection, and 19 singles. He returned to singing for the Stone Roses in 2011, although this did not spell the end of his solo endeavours, releasing First World Problems through Virgin/EMI Records on 25 October 2018.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Badly Drawn Boy</span> English singer-songwriter

Damon Michael Gough, known by the stage name Badly Drawn Boy, is an English indie singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">James (band)</span> English rock band

James are an English rock band from Manchester, formed in 1982. They achieved popularity during the 1990s, with four top-10 hits on the UK Singles Chart and nine top-10 placings on the UK Albums Chart. The band's best-known singles include "Come Home", "Sit Down", "She's a Star" and "Laid". "Laid" also became a hit on American college radio. Following the departure of lead singer Tim Booth in 2001, the band became inactive, but members reunited in January 2007 and have since released a further seven albums. Live performance has continually remained a central part of the band's output. As of 2010, the band had sold more than 25 million albums worldwide.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ocean Colour Scene</span> English rock band

Ocean Colour Scene are an English rock band formed in Birmingham in 1989. They have had five top 10 albums including a number one in 1997. They have also achieved seventeen top 40 singles and six top 10 singles to date.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Elbow (band)</span> English alternative rock band

Elbow are an English rock band formed in Bury, Greater Manchester, in 1990. The band consists of Guy Garvey, Craig Potter, Mark Potter and Pete Turner. They have played together since 1990, adopting the name Elbow in 1997. Drummer Alex Reeves replaced Richard Jupp in 2016 as a touring and session musician at first, before becoming a full member in 2024.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Willy Mason</span> American singer-songwriter (born 1984)

Willy Mason is an American singer-songwriter.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Bravery</span> American rock band

The Bravery is an American rock band formed in New York City in 2003. The band consists of lead vocalist Sam Endicott, guitarist Michael Zakarin, keyboardist John Conway, bassist Mike Hindert and drummer Anthony Burulcich. They are best known for their 2005 top 10 UK single "An Honest Mistake" and their certified gold 2008 single "Believe". Before their initial split, they released three studio albums: The Bravery (2005), The Sun and the Moon (2007) and Stir the Blood (2009). They also released a remixed edition of their second album, called The Sun and the Moon Complete, in 2008, as well as an Internet live album called Live at the Wiltern Theater in 2010. The group's music is mostly post-punk, dance-influenced rock.

Alfie were an English indie rock band, formed in 1998 in Manchester. The band were composed of singer Lee Gorton, guitarist-vocalist Ian Smith, drummer Sean Kelly, bassist Sam Morris and cellist-guitarist Matt McGeever.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fashion (David Bowie song)</span> 1980 song by David Bowie

"Fashion" is a song by the English musician David Bowie from his 14th studio album Scary Monsters (1980). Co-produced by Bowie and Tony Visconti and recorded from February to April 1980 at New York and London, it was the last song completed for the album. Originating as a reggae parody titled "Jamaica", "Fashion" is a post-punk, dance and funk track structurally similar to Bowie's "Golden Years". King Crimson guitarist Robert Fripp contributed lead guitar.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sound and Vision</span> 1977 song by David Bowie

"Sound and Vision" is a song by the English musician David Bowie. It was released in January 1977 by RCA Records on side one of his 11th studio album Low. RCA later chose it as the first single from the album. Co-produced by Bowie and Tony Visconti, the song was recorded at the Château d'Hérouville in Hérouville, France, in September 1976, and completed at Hansa Studios in West Berlin in October and November. The song began as a simple G major chord progression that Bowie gave to the backing musicians, writing and recording his vocals afterward. It features backing vocals from Brian Eno and Visconti's then-wife Mary Hopkin.

Fiction Records is a British record label founded by Chris Parry in 1978, owned by Universal Music Group and based in the United Kingdom. It is best known for being the home of The Cure for over 20 years. It was originally a part of Polydor, but in January 2014, Universal restructured Fiction as a standalone label, removing it from Polydor's corporate affiliation. Fiction repertoire is now released internationally through Virgin.

Daniel De Mussenden Carey is an English record producer, songwriter, mixer and remixer. He owns his own studio in South London and runs the record label Speedy Wunderground.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Courteeners</span> English band

Courteeners are an English band formed in Middleton, Greater Manchester, in 2006 by Liam Fray, Michael Campbell, Daniel "Conan" Moores and Mark Cuppello (bass); the last was replaced by the band's producer Joe Cross in 2015. They previously toured with pianist Adam Payne, who has been featured on every album, but in 2019 was replaced with Elina Lin. In December 2012, the band dropped "The" from their name, continuing simply as "Courteeners".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kate Nash</span> English singer-songwriter

Kate Marie Nash is an English singer-songwriter and actress.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Late of the Pier</span> English dance-punk band

Late of the Pier was an English four-piece dance-punk band from Castle Donington, signed to Parlophone. Their debut album Fantasy Black Channel, produced by Erol Alkan, was released in 2008 by Parlophone.

An independent record label is a record label that operates without the funding or distribution of major record labels; they are a type of small- to medium-sized enterprise, or SME. The labels and artists are often represented by trade associations in their country or region, which in turn are represented by the international trade body, the Worldwide Independent Network (WIN).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Black Midi</span> English music group

Black Midi are an English rock band from London, formed in 2017 and currently consisting of Geordie Greep, Cameron Picton, and Morgan Simpson (drums). The trio has been frequently joined by Seth Evans and Kaidi Akinnibi (saxophone) in both studio and live performances since 2020. Their name is derived from the Japanese electronic music genre black MIDI, though their own music has no relation to it, instead incorporating styles such as math rock, progressive rock, post-punk, and avant-jazz.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Squid (band)</span> British post-punk band

Squid are an English post-punk band from Brighton, England. Consisting of lead singer and drummer Ollie Judge, guitarists Louis Borlase and Anton Pearson, bassist Laurie Nankivell and keyboardist Arthur Leadbetter, they are currently based in Bristol.

References

  1. "Tireless route to the top for Fretwell". 2 September 2005.
  2. 1 2 3 Monger, James Christopher. "Stephen Fretwell". Allmusic . Retrieved 7 May 2010.
  3. 1 2 Roberts, David (2006). British Hit Singles & Albums (19th ed.). London: Guinness World Records Limited. p. 215. ISBN   1-904994-10-5.
  4. Wright, Jade (1 July 2011). "Stephen Fretwell: Nowhere parties like Liverpool". Liverpool Echo . Retrieved 6 December 2020.
  5. Cragg, Michael (4 April 2011). "New music exclusive: Badly Drawn Boy – Is There Nothing We Could Do?". The Guardian. ISSN   0261-3077 . Retrieved 2 November 2023.
  6. Various - Ten - Manchester Music For Kosovo, 4 April 2011, retrieved 2 November 2023
  7. Krol, Charlotte (1 March 2021). "Stephen Fretwell returns after 13 years with new song 'Oval' and announces new album this summer". NME . Retrieved 1 March 2021.
  8. "OPINION: Speedy Wunderground: The indie label with a cult-like status". 21 October 2020.
  9. "Speedy Wunderground at three – the cult indie label looks back on their best bits so far". NME . 12 June 2018.
  10. "About Speedy Wunderground".
  11. "Singer-songwriter Stephen Fretwell returns: 'I took a leap that cost me my marriage'". TheGuardian.com . 8 July 2021.
  12. "#FoundFretwell: Stephen Fretwell Returns with 'Oval'". 2 March 2021.
  13. Reilly, Nick (7 April 2021). "Stephen Fretwell announces anticipated third album Busy Guy". NME. Retrieved 7 April 2021.
  14. "STEPHEN FRETWELL | full Official Chart History | Official Charts Company". OfficialCharts.com .
  15. "Stephen Fretwell Returns with 'Oval'". March 2021.