Stephen Fretwell

The British singer/songwriter Stephen Fretwell was born on November 10, 1981, in Scunthorpe, Lincolnshire. He formed his first group, Label, as a teenager, and later moved to Manchester to attend the University of Salford. Although he dropped out after his first year, Fretwell's music career proved to have far more staying power, and he released the record 8 Songs in 2002. Following the release of the EPs Something's Got to Give and The Lines, he began touring Europe as an opening act for Elbow, Travis, Keane, and others. Spending more time onstage helped whittle his songs into sharper shape, and Stephen Fretwell began recording his debut album, Magpie, at Abbey Road Studios. Released by Fiction Records in 2004, Magpie peaked at Number 27 in the UK, with "Run" and "Emily" both enjoying modest success on the singles charts. Championed by multiple icons within the British music scene, he opened for Oasis in 2005 and briefly served as the touring bass player for the Last Shadow Puppets, a project fronted by the Arctic Monkeys' Alex Turner. Meanwhile, his second solo album, Man on the Roof, was released in 2007 and climbed to Number 44. Following the record's release, Stephen Fretwell took a 13-year hiatus from his solo release, during which time his songs appeared in television shows like Skins and Gavin & Stacey. He then resumed his music career with 2021's Busy Guy, led by the single "Oval."