Benjamin Francis Leftwich | |
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Performing at Jersey Live in 2011.
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Background information | |
Born | 4 September 1989 |
Origin | York, England |
Genres | Indie, Acoustic, Folk |
Occupation(s) | Singer, songwriter |
Instruments | vocals, guitar, piano |
Years active | 2006–present |
Labels | Dirty Hit |
Website | benjaminfrancisleftwich |
Benjamin Francis Leftwich (born 4 September 1989) is an English singer-songwriter from York. Leftwich released his first album 'Last Smoke Before the Snowstorm' in 2011 which peaked at #35 on the UK charts. In February 2016 he announced his next album 'After the Rain' on his Facebook page, released on 19 August 2016.
Leftwich began playing at the age of ten and grew up listening to The Rolling Stones and Nina Simone; later discovering Nick Drake, Bob Dylan, and Elliott Smith. He cites Arcade Fire, Ryan Adams, and Bruce Springsteen as inspirations.
Leftwich was educated at Hempland Primary School, and then at Bootham School.
Leftwich's debut album, the Ian Grimble-produced Last Smoke Before The Snowstorm, was released in July 2011. The Fly called it "a majestic debut"The Skinny, while the Sunday Express called it "lovely". Hazel Sheffield, writing in The Guardian, gave it a 3/5 rating, as did David Pollock, writing for The Scotsman, who drew comparisons to Damien Rice and José González. Leftwich's "Shine" was named Spotify's most addictive track of 2014, the most repeat-played song of the year. In 2015, Benjamin Francis Leftwich co-wrote "Grow" with British artist Frances which featured in the Amazon UK TV advert.