Julian Perretta | |
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Background information | |
Born |
London, England |
13 January 1989
Genres | |
Years active | 2008–present |
Labels | Interscope Records, Universal Music Group |
Associated acts | Mark Ronson, Lost Frequencies, Jamiroquai, Beyoncé, Ed Sheeran, Feder, ZHU |
Website | www |
Julian Remo Perretta (born 13 January 1989) is an English singer-songwriter and guitarist. Perretta first gained attention in 2010 with the single "Wonder Why", first released in the UK on Columbia Records. 2016 saw the singer score a string of major solo hit singles such as "Miracle" which reached number 1 in 13 countries.
Perretta was born in London to an Italian father and an Irish mother, having one sister. Perretta left school at 15 to pursue a career in music. Playing regular live sets at The Water Rats in Kings Cross and other pubs and bars around central London he developed a fan base. Perretta worked during this time at Starbucks Coffee and The Queens head pub in North London.
In May 2008, he joined Mark Ronson and Amy Winehouse on a European tour, singing the Smiths' song, "Stop Me". In November 2009, Beyoncé invited Perretta to be special guest on her "I Am" Arena Tour.
Shortly after leaving school, he met the members of the band Jamiroquai and began working on demos. Jamiroquai went on to produce Perretta's debut LP and Universal Music Group signed him in 2010. Although a British artist, Perretta found greater success in continental Europe, notably France, Belgium, Switzerland, The Netherlands and Germany. In January 2010, the debut single "Wonder Why" received its first play on national radio. BBC Radio 1 presented the single by host Annie Mac to a positive response by the public. In October 2010 the singer performed on French television shows Le Grand Journal and Taratata.
"Wonder Why" received large radio airplay and charted within the top 5 on multiple iTunes charts around Europe, reaching platinum status. The album, Stitch Me Up was released on 27 March 2011 and received positive reviews from critics. The album was certified platinum a year later, charting at number 1 in France and performing reasonably well in Germany, Denmark, Sweden and Holland.
In March 2011, Perretta toured Europe, playing a total of 104 shows.
In October 2011 Universal released a deluxe edition of the album Stitch Me Up as a Christmas re-edition. It contained 7 new tracks including acoustic versions and behind the scenes videos of the singer on tour. A promotional video for Perretta's single "Ride My Star" was released online on 19 October 2011. Perretta has also appeared on Ed Sheeran tours on various occasions throughout Europe in late 2012, playing some original material and covers.