Stephen Fretwell

Stephen Fretwell (born 10 November 1981) is an English singer-songwriter. He has released four studio albums and is often compared with acts such as Bob Dylan, Fred Neil, and Tim Buckley.

Biography

Early life Fretwell was born in Scunthorpe, England on 10 November 1981. He discovered the music of Bob Dylan at a young age in the form of the Bob Dylan's Greatest Hits record which he found in a bargain bin.

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 dropped out within a few days, 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.

2002–2006: 8 Songs and Magpie

Fretwell decided to stay in Manchester permanently, later releasing 8 Songs which he released on Northern Ambition, a label owned by a friend. It peaked at No. 27 in the UK Albums Chart in August 2005. 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.

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

Cameron Crowe is a fan of Fretwell's work, Crowe encouraged Fretwell to write songs for the film Elizabethtown (2005) and even sent Fretwell his own personal copy of the Easy Rider soundtrack as a gift.

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

2007–2012: Man on the Roof and the Last Shadow Puppets 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. Also contributing to the album were fellow Manchester artists Elbow, Badly Drawn Boy, and Cherry Ghost.thumb Fretwell in a press photo for Busy GuyIn 2012, he quit music to focus on his family.

2021–present: Returning to music and Busy Guy On 1 March 2021, Fretwell released the single "Oval" after a 13-year hiatus and announced the album Busy Guy, released on cult indie record label Speedy Wunderground owned by friend Dan Carey, who also produced the record. The album released to critical acclaim, with Far Out praising the "cycle of colour songs that fill up the second half of the LP" and Beats Per Minute calling it a "delicately sincere and softly stark album".

Discography Albums 8 Songs (mini-album, 2002) Magpie (Fiction, 2004) UK No. 27 Man on the Roof (Fiction, 2007) UK No. 44 Busy Guy (Speedy Wunderground/PIAS, 2021)

EPs Something's Got to Give The Lines Four Letter Words (2007)

Singles "Run" (2005) UK No. 79 "Emily" (2005) UK No. 42 "New York" (2005) "Scar" (2007) "Oval" (2021) "Embankment" (2021) "The Long Water" (2021)

Other contributions Dream Brother: The Songs of Tim and Jeff Buckley (2006, Full Time Hobby) – "Morning Theft"